Muddy Water Challenges

Some days you just don’t catch them like you want. This was one of those days. On previous trips to this location I had landed many large striped bass and several trophy size spotted bass on topwater flies. With that success in mind, I tackled the float expecting some action.

Unfortunately, a chance rain the night before had muddied the flow and left us with stiff winds and high skies. Neither of these factors add up to good fishing. Despite that I hammered away with my trusty Bull Shad and popper flies. I connected early with a very hard pulling striper, but the bite shut off as quickly as it turned on and the popper only seemed to attract eager panfish.

Ditching my original strategy, I tied on a crawfish imitation I had tied the night before and began to slowly work it around cover. The bites were few and far between, but I landed several small spotted bass and one respectible large mouth. My expectations did not match my success, but I had a great time out in my JK Kilroy anyway!