INDIANANGLER

Hi all
Please give your opinion on use of lures in muddy rivers and lakes. Can artificial lures be of any use???? Would appreciate if the name of lure and technique used is specified.

Regard
Sualeh

Vibration and/or rattles are the key to lure choice.
I've had some sucess with various brands of lipless crankbaits. Some of the Aussie lures with mad actions like the Halco Poltergiest will work, Spinners are worth a shot and in the right conditions, poppers will produce results in turbid water.
As a general rule, would want to be working them as slow as possible.

Thanks for the tips Ken. Another thing that comes to mind is exploiting the sense of smell that all predators possess and make full use of it in murky waters. I have been using chicken liver/prawn/fish fillet etc on the treble hook of the spinner for catching big size trouts in mountain lakes/streams and had good success with this technique. Chicken heart/liver, if fresh and bleeding, really works well. Haven't tried this technique in muddy waters though. What do you say?
Regards
Sualeh

Hi Sualeh,

Muddy Waters=Low visibility... and fish hunt by sight as much as they do by smell, taste and feel...

as far as spoons go, only the really bright and shiny low light types such as silver tobys work. You can also use spinners such as vibrax or mepps... ratling plugs also work...

the reason bait works well is becuause of the smell & taste...

Are the rains over at your end???

Hi,
was reading yesterday, they have brought out a series of rattler like looking lures and they illuminate / light up when retrieved. Specially meant for muddy waters . I suppose they will be something like the yo- yo's that the kids use.Batteries are inbuilt.
one or two strikes on this in clear water is definite - but after that the fish will understand.
WW...Hamdhingra

Any spinner size from 3 to 5 of most makes which have silver or bright copper blades with chicken skin should work.

Thanks guys.
Michaelaga, how do you use the chicken skin?? can you give details please.
Regards
Sualeh

I should have included spinner baits in the original list. lots of "sound" and plenty of flash as well.
Something to bear in mind is that fish see much further into the red end of the spectrum than we can and as a consequence, their ability to see in murkey water is much better than you might imagine. Perch species in particular have phenominal vision in low light and turbid conditions.
OK, so you have no Indian perch or zander but you may find that there are some local species that respond better than others in turbid conditions and if there are, you can fine tune your tactics to target them when the river or lake is muddy.

Baits on lures ?
Well, tipping spinners with earthworm is a standard tactic in Africa when fishing the Zambesi for Robustus bream. Apparently, they're notorious for following lures without taking and the bait gets them to go from following to taking.
I tend to find that a bait on the hook destroys the action of my lures (although it's not so bad if you change the treble for a single) and doesn't noticably improve strike rates, so I don't bother with it. I've also tried some of the various ways of flavouring a lure (nasty sticky gells and oils of various sorts) but not noticed an improvement in catches.

One thing I do find is that you can only adjust your tactics upto a point and then lures have to give way to bait fishing with big smelly baits of meat, cheese, fish or something similar. The plus side is that if he river is up enough to force this change of tactics, the increased flow will concentrate the fish into eddies and other places with a little shelter from the scouring force of the current. A little watercraft can put you onto a good catch in these situations.

When the water is muddy then the flash of shiny lures is of little use as the fish can't see it beyond a distance.

Noisy big plugs work better and sound and vibrations travel no matter how muddy the water is.

Oh, I don't think I'd go so far as to say that.

Flash or gaudy colouration may not be the thing that alerts the fish to the presence of your lure or what exites it's predatory instincts to come hunting it, but it plays a big part in final lose range location and in turbid water, can make the difference between a wild near miss and a hookup.

Hi IG, not yet. Since the last 3 weeks in Islamabad, we are having rains 2-3 days/wk. Thats why all lakes and nulluhs are murkey.
Cheers
Sualeh

Good tips Ken, thanks a lot mate.
Regards
Sualeh

Ken your tips are indeed appriciated and set the mind on a new line.Thanks
Hamdhingra

Hi everybody,

Would like to have some tips ..i always get yellow catfish from rivers of alleppy,kerala, whenever i am using chicken livers or chicken waste , not able to get any good fish , infact the river which is at Kanjipadam,alleppy,kerala is full of big fishes (katla,rohu,etc..) , may i request you to help me out by advising which bait i must use in such rivers , even used spinners, jigs and crankbaits , but nothing worked in day or night .

please do help me ..please..as i am going back to same place on this coming friday again.

Hello Joe,

Search the forum for Catla, Rohu, Feeder Rig, etc.
Catla and Rohu can mainly be targeted with veg baits.

Regards,
Humaid

Hi joe,
For targeting Rohu and Catla in river you must use bread and earth worm as hook bait. Try to select a spot where current is low or no current. Try to ground bait the spot regularly at least 3 days to stock fishes in that spot. For ground bait go with simple approach (rice husk, cake crumbs, soaked oil cakes). Hopefully you will get success.
Regards,
Arefin