#814737 - 01/13/13 10:42 AM
Best Colors for Muddy Water
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Fry
Registered: 05/14/12
Posts: 38
Loc: CHEHALIS, WA
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I have heard for years fly fisherman advocate dark colors for muddy water. The whole "silhouette" argument never made sense to me. Dark colors are for clear water in my book. I've tried dark jigs in muddy water twitching and under a float without success. The colors that have worked for me in off water for salmon and steelhead have been the flourescent colors like chartreuse, fl. red, fl. pink, etc.
To help explain the constrast of philosophies, I've just accepted the hard core fly fisherman have their own world of fishing. However, recently I've heard a couple respectable gear guys advocate dark colors in muddy water. I've never seen it work though. Anyone care to add to the debate? rich
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#814738 - 01/13/13 10:53 AM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: humble-hubby]
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WINNER
Registered: 01/11/03
Posts: 10513
Loc: Olypen
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I can only speak from my personal experience. I hate fishing muddy water, but on the occasions that I have been forced to, I've had some success using large orange/red combinations. Also some success using silver spoons. Dark never made much sense to me, although I've heard of it. Always seemed to me that dark would look like any other piece of debris typically found floating downstream in muddy water.
Good question.
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#814745 - 01/13/13 12:13 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: steeleywhopper]
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River Nutrients
Registered: 10/28/09
Posts: 3316
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While I agree that fly fishermen are full of it (I should know; I am one), I am a believer in not simply dark stuff, but BIG, dark stuff in off-color water. By "off-color," I mean water with less than about a foot of visibility. I won't bother fishing anything muddier than that with flies, first because of the lack of visibility, and also due to the general difficulty of presenting flies where fish can see them in the larger volumes of water that usually come with that level of turbidity. In those conditions, see RB3's post above, or simply say to heck with it, stay home, and live to fight another day. I may be full of it, but I know when to quit.
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#814746 - 01/13/13 12:15 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: steeleywhopper]
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River Nutrients
Registered: 04/25/00
Posts: 5078
Loc: East of Aberdeen, West of Mont...
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The following colors, have been known to work. The dark colors have done well for me, when most fishermen are staying home because they think water is to high and off color.
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"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"
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#814749 - 01/13/13 12:34 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: DrifterWA]
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Dick Nipples
Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 28170
Loc: Seattle, Washington USA
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Color is far less important than two things in muddy water...size, and contrast.
Size so they can see the big silhouette, and contrast so they can see the movement better.
Black and white, orange and green, whatever...just make sure there's some heavy contrast in there.
Hint: Black or white make the best contrast with each other, and with most any other color.
Fish on...
Todd
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#814752 - 01/13/13 12:51 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: Todd]
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Spawner
Registered: 07/11/08
Posts: 534
Loc: alaska and washington
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To me water temp and color are closely related. Dark, muddy water stuff like chartruese spin and glows and a gob of eggs. Cold water dictates big stuff also, such as large silver spoons. As a kid I used to fish very cold water for rainbows, never get a bite on red egss, never get a bite on yellow eggs. Always get a bite on the combo, i think the contrast was the deal. Water gets warmer and clear, you better go back to the small stuff. The giant Kwikfish, much as I hate em are hard to beat in the muddy, and the big spinglows with yarn, and big bait at the same time are good.
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#814764 - 01/13/13 01:35 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: DrifterWA]
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Spawner
Registered: 05/10/09
Posts: 779
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The following colors, have been known to work. The dark colors have done well for me, when most fishermen are staying home because they think water is to high and off color. That Orange jig is ridiculously bright
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#814765 - 01/13/13 01:41 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: ChumDog]
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Juvenile at Sea
Registered: 09/19/10
Posts: 222
Loc: Talkeetna
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The way we see water, and the way fish see water is drastically different,as we all know. Even on a cloudy day, in dirty water... when the fish look 'up' they see a well lit background. You dont need much ambient light to make the above water look very well lit. And with such a bright(relatively speaking) background, it makes sense black shows up best. In murky water, the sediment breaks up that light, and it becomes a much more 'even' tone.
We got some underwater video on the Situk this fall, and over the season the water started to really color up. We went from just about anything working in clear water, to black, or sometimes purples, and blues. But the name of the game was, DARK for muddy water coho. I think having that, big black profile, is actually all the contrast you need. Its a perfect contrast color, to how fish see water in muddy situations.
Hard to explain without seeing it, but there has got to be a youtube clip of some fly tests in all sorts of water conditions, that touch on color...
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The right angle?..Seems like 90 degrees is 'bout right.
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#814801 - 01/13/13 03:38 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: neon]
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Spawner
Registered: 07/21/08
Posts: 962
Loc: Monroe, WA
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Black/White, White Matte Spoons, Bright Orange/Chartreuse, Bright Pink/Chartreuse. My go to is Hot Pink/Chartreuse followed by Black/White because of the contrast... Big drift bobbers/yarn, Rags, Worms and Spoons to. Contrast rocks for pretty much all Steelhead conditions.
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#814854 - 01/13/13 05:42 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: Rossiman]
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Returning Adult
Registered: 02/22/10
Posts: 440
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Nice jigs drifter. I am surprised more people, especially the manufacturers have not caught on to incorporating legs into their ties.
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#814965 - 01/13/13 11:37 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: Rossiman]
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SRC Poser
Registered: 11/04/10
Posts: 2143
Loc: Snohomish
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Black/White, White Matte Spoons, Bright Orange/Chartreuse, Bright Pink/Chartreuse. My go to is Hot Pink/Chartreuse followed by Black/White because of the contrast... Big drift bobbers/yarn, Rags, Worms and Spoons to. Contrast rocks for pretty much all Steelhead conditions. Nice spoons! Did you airbrush those?
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No head like STLHD! "Dude...where's your boat!?" Team runaway drift boat prostaff. Big Stick 2012: "EVERY thought of my being, is in regards to being a Hi-Tech Predator and I relish the role."
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#814973 - 01/13/13 11:48 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: steeliedrew]
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Spawner
Registered: 07/11/08
Posts: 534
Loc: alaska and washington
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LOL, remember the daredevil?
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#814975 - 01/13/13 11:48 PM
Re: Best Colors for Muddy Water
[Re: gregsalmon]
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Dick Nipples
Registered: 03/08/99
Posts: 28170
Loc: Seattle, Washington USA
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LOL, remember the daredevil? Contrast...they came in red/white, and black/white. Fish on... Todd
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Team Flying Super Ditch Pickle
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