I tried fishing the Fox River in Green Bay yesterday. The water is so dirty I couldn't see my bait 6" below the surface. We tried suckers with brite tailgunners and casted noisy brite crankbaits. We worked all depths and even tried trolling crankbaits towards the end of the day. We didn't get anything. When we were putting the boat back on the trailer we were checked by a warden who must've thought he was a comedian because he asked if we had any follows.

My question is: has anyone had any success fishing water with as low visibility as this with suckers or casting? I don't like to troll and I want to tap into the big fish in the Bay. I'm thinking I might have to concentrate my efforts out on the big water. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi Joe,
The water on Vermilion isn't dirty but
it is very stained and murky at times.
I throw bright large profile baits and
make as much noise as possible. Sound
will travel a long way in water and it should be the most important part of the presentation. After you get their
attention...the large profile, and the
bright colors, will help them zero in on your bait. :)

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking about this more and I would think from the musky's stand point it would be like after dark only with a possible water temp rise in the afternoon from the sun. I'm figuring night time tactics would apply to water which certainly can't let much light past the top foot. Maybe if I can figure some presentation out for the river it would also work on lakes with a night bite. I wonder how Tony Grant's Rattle Traps would work.

Jomusky-I have found baits like big rattle traps to be low-percentage dark water baits.For me speed in that type water is not used very much(for me)anytime of the year and have landed more fish on this type water with non-rattle baits SLOW!I have found this type water to be a super-challange and for me its slower and location,location,location!Ever need any other THOUGHTS give me mail! Jeff

I went up 2 weeks ago for walleyes and I thought that I had put my boat in my buddies cup of coffee EXTRA cream. the best thing to use is something loud kinda like TNT 10 second fuse.

go out into the bay!!! troll, troll, troll.

On any lake or river that I have fished that is not clear, I have always had my best luck when that water is at it's clearest. For instance I fished in hayward for labor day and the lake I was on has a brown stain. This year it had a big bloom with 1ft. of visibility and we caught no fish or follows. Two years ago, same lake and conditions, 1 fish. Last year same time, no bloom, caught a few and seen alot.

Yes, Jo you could travel out into the Bay and troll the clear water... but that would be a needle in the haystack. We KNOW there are fish in the river, so the locational element is significantly reduced. Now you just need to pinpoint their location and follow the above advice. Bonk them on the nose with something slow.

What I'd like to know is if the fish STAY in the river year round or if it is a seasonal event (spring and fall). If they are there next summer, I would think we could better pinpoint their regular hangouts with easy to use Topraiders and the like.

I would think slowly dragging a big 10 inch Jake along the banks would be as good as any. The real trick will be keeping your confidence up in that cesspool.

jlong

My guess is that the water gets to warm in the river for musky during the summer. Perhaps there is a time in the spring when they are still in there and agressive enough to hit a topwater.

We had up to 85deg.this summer and were spank`in em in that hot-chocolate!The river was hot both ways.I am a firm beleiver that some fish live river systems through-out there whole lives!If there is prey there is predators!I live on a system like this and this seems to hold true 90% of the time! Jeff