10-06-2015, 03:45 AM
Yeah, I'm guilty as charged of going with bait or gear (especially spinners) in off colored water at times. The fast results often make the decision easy to make though.
That said, you prove an excellent point. I think it is easy to underestimate the sensory ability of fish in murky water via their lateral lines and other mechanisms. In the river you are catching those in, a fish wouldn't last all that long if it couldn't adapt and function in the muddy water.
I think even in trout streams, the same principles apply. A few weeks ago, I ran up to the local blue ribbon trout stream for a couple hours. They were doing a water release from the dam and the water was kind of high and notably off color. In spite of expecting a slow day, I still went for it. (I only had a fly rod and flies, so no gear, river is AFL only) To my surprise, I had fast fishing on some nice fish and had a great afternoon.
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That said, you prove an excellent point. I think it is easy to underestimate the sensory ability of fish in murky water via their lateral lines and other mechanisms. In the river you are catching those in, a fish wouldn't last all that long if it couldn't adapt and function in the muddy water.
I think even in trout streams, the same principles apply. A few weeks ago, I ran up to the local blue ribbon trout stream for a couple hours. They were doing a water release from the dam and the water was kind of high and notably off color. In spite of expecting a slow day, I still went for it. (I only had a fly rod and flies, so no gear, river is AFL only) To my surprise, I had fast fishing on some nice fish and had a great afternoon.
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