Stained water
Also called dirty water, muddy water, clarity
Water you can see roughly a foot into. Not clear enough for subtle natural colors, not dirty enough to need a rattle on everything.
Clarity is the single most useful thing to assess when you arrive at a lake, and stained is the most common condition. It sits between clear water, where fish hunt by sight and natural finesse presentations win, and muddy water, where they hunt by vibration and everything needs to be loud.
In stained water the answer is contrast rather than realism. Chartreuse and white spinnerbait skirts, shad patterns with a defined dark back, and crankbaits with some flash. Fish can see, they just cannot see far, so you want something they can pick out at three feet.
It also means you can get closer. Boat position and cast angle matter far less than in clear water, and fish will tolerate an approach that would empty a clear pond.
Clarity is rarely uniform across one lake. Wind pushes suspended sediment onto a bank, an inflow dumps a plume of stained water into clear water, and the seam where the two meet is often the best spot on the lake.
Drop a white lure in the water beside you and watch it disappear. That depth is your visibility, and it tells you which color family to use.
Related terms
Where this comes up
The guides that use stained water and show it on real gear.
Stained water is one of 206 terms in the glossary.
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