Reading water color for more crankbait walleyes

[slimshady]

I recently had several people ask me what the most important factors are for finding and catching walleyes on crankbaits in Lake Erie or Lake St. Clair. IMO, being able to read the water color and/or find the right water color is THE biggest factor. This is second nature to those of us that have been doing this for many years. However, if you are new to the trolling game, you may not know what you are looking for. What's "too muddy" look like? What's "too clear" look like? What does "just right" look like? What role does weather or light conditions play in selecting the "right" water color? What patterns are best for each situation? Therefore, I decided to write an article about it and post it on my website. Here's a link to it if anyone is interested:

https://slimshadycustoms.com/blogs/n...kbait-walleyes

Cheers!

[Fishing Tiger]

Very well written, thank you.

The only thing I would add is the waves/chop from the wind. In really clear water a chop on the top of the water does help and you can sometimes do better with colors that work in dirty water. Clear water and a flat smooth day can be really tough.
Of course this is IMHO and we always will keep a few contrary colors in our spread until the fish tell us what they want for sure.

[slimshady]

Very well written, thank you.

The only thing I would add is the waves/chop from the wind. In really clear water a chop on the top of the water does help and you can sometimes do better with colors that work in dirty water. Clear water and a flat smooth day can be really tough.
Of course this is IMHO and we always will keep a few contrary colors in our spread until the fish tell us what they want for sure.

That's a good point, for sure. Wind and waves definitely play a role in the overall weather and conditions formula, as it changes the amount of light that penetrates the water.

[slimshady]

BTW, here's the second part of my previous article for anyone who is interested. Part 2 focuses on how I go about finding the right water color without driving all over the lake looking for it.

Other potential topics that I am considering for future articles:

- Crankbaits, Spoons or Harnesses? : How do I choose? Does time of the year matter? Can I run them at the same time?

- Tips for Painting Custom Baits: . Finding Blanks, Painting options (rattle-cans, spray-guns or airbrushes), oil or water based?, clear-coat options, jigs and stencils, etc

- Crankbait shapes, sizes, bill shapes, diving depth, tuning, etc. How each impacts the motion in the water, what to pick & when, dive curves, etc

Let me know if any of these topics would be interesting to you. If you have any other topics that you have questions about, or would like me to write about, shoot me a PM or reply here.

Again, I know that there are likely people on this site that know as much or more than I do about crankbaits or about catching walleyes on Erie. However, at the same time, I know there are others who are just getting started and could benefit from what I have learned over the 40+ years that I have been chasing walleyes on this system. My articles are written for them.

Cheers!

https://slimshadycustoms.com/blogs/n...-lake-st-clair

[itsbob]

I think that advice about avoiding water is in early spring when water is still in 30s and 40s.And,clean water that time is usually difficult to even find.But if you do have clean water,it is usually a couple degrees colder than any nearby stained water.A great place to fish is where that transition of color is located if you can find it.And yes,trust your electronics.If marking fish,give it a try.A few years ago was fishing in early spring and asked Captain Keith from pooh bear charters where to fish.He told me to stay out of the clean water.Not catching there with the cranks he was running.

[itsbob]

Nice article on reading water color.Water clarity is one of the most important factors affecting your catch rate.The water clarity is usually a big factor in the spring when water is still pretty cool, and the jig/ crankbaits bite is what we are using to catch fish.One way to find proper water color is to use the satellite pictures that the NOAA puts out on their websites.Look for that greenish color in those pictures and avoid the chocolate and blue areas.But because of cloud cover we sometimes don't get pictures every day and even a week at a time.You also can't go by a two day old picture because of currents and winds constantly moving that water around.One of the reasons you will catch fish in the greenish color water over the clear water is due to the cloudy water is warmer than the clear water.It is more comfortable in the warmer water for the fish and the walleye use it to ambush their prey bait.

[slimshady]

Nice article on reading water color.Water clarity is one of the most important factors affecting your catch rate.The water clarity is usually a big factor in the spring when water is still pretty cool, and the jig/ crankbaits bite is what we are using to catch fish.One way to find proper water color is to use the satellite pictures that the NOAA puts out on their websites.Look for that greenish color in those pictures and avoid the chocolate and blue areas.But because of cloud cover we sometimes don't get pictures every day and even a week at a time.You also can't go by a two day old picture because of currents and winds constantly moving that water around.One of the reasons you will catch fish in the greenish color water over the clear water is due to the cloudy water is warmer than the clear water.It is more comfortable in the warmer water for the fish and the walleye use it to ambush their prey bait.

I would agree that going by a 2-day old satellite image is less than ideal and I mentioned in the article that currents and wind are always changing the water conditions. 100% agree on that.

However, I would argue that 2-day old information is better than none. If you don't have any other reports to go by, then I will use the 2-day old image and the weather info from the time in between and try to extrapolate what has likely happened to the water in between. I know from experience that a strong E wind will muddy things up in MI waters, and a S or SW wind will do the opposite. So, I can use that information to estimate what changes have likely happened since the last clear image.

It's not perfect, but it gives me some idea what I am likely to be facing. If I kept my boat in slip and was able to go whenever I wanted, then it may not matter as much. I would just go and start searching. However, I am usually trying to decide whether to go to Erie or Lake St. Clair, and which launch to go to from there. I may even decide to stay home and do yard work and fish another day if I think it will be a muddy mess, so any information I can use towards that decision helps.

[fishfinder]

Well I have learned something new. I will stay out of the clear water. I have only trolled a few times and just got lucky and caught a couple. I plan on trolling a lot more this year so I enjoy your article

[slimshady]

Glad to hear that. That’s why I wrote it. Thanks for letting me know.

[rcolson29]

Nice article, and appreciate you sharing the alternative satellite imagery site!

We were fishing west of the islands last year late March on the first day of our trip, and the water was definitely too dirty. We only had a couple hours to fish and marking plenty so hung with it. What surprised me was how good the late evening bite became in that dirty water. If memory recalls we ended with 8, and many came off a black and gold deep husky jerk. Guess it just had the right contrast in that muddy water. Having said that I won't intentionally seek out that type of water. Definitely prefer the chalky green as described.