How-To

Elites’ top muddy water baits

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Muddy water. It’s a given when seasonal rains run on the heavy side and the byproduct is dirty water. Dingy and warm water runoff are ideal for catching largemouth during this time. <br><br><i>All captions: Craig Lamb</i>
Muddy water. It’s a given when seasonal rains run on the heavy side and the byproduct is dirty water. Dingy and warm water runoff are ideal for catching largemouth during this time.

All captions: Craig Lamb

Such was the scenario in play at the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake. Wherever you live and fish, these go-to baits will produce largemouth in off-colored water. Give them a try to catch more and bigger fish.
Such was the scenario in play at the 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Pickwick Lake. Wherever you live and fish, these go-to baits will produce largemouth in off-colored water. Give them a try to catch more and bigger fish.
<b>Brandon Card <br> Go-to bait:</b> 1/2-ounce Advantage Baits Spinnerbait with tandem Willowleaf and Colorado blades, and a Yamamoto Zako trailer for added strike appeal. Unique to the blades is Extreme Flash technology that adds more flash on a sunny day in muddy water, so the fish can find it easier.
Brandon Card

Go-to bait: 1/2-ounce Advantage Baits Spinnerbait with tandem Willowleaf and Colorado blades, and a Yamamoto Zako trailer for added strike appeal. Unique to the blades is Extreme Flash technology that adds more flash on a sunny day in muddy water, so the fish can find it easier.

<b>Technique:</b> The flash and the red kicker blade stands out, and the double blades of different types move a lot of water and add vibration. Card fishes the bait near the surface, so he can track the bait with the kicker blade. Casting targets are isolated wood in shallow water.
Technique: The flash and the red kicker blade stands out, and the double blades of different types move a lot of water and add vibration. Card fishes the bait near the surface, so he can track the bait with the kicker blade. Casting targets are isolated wood in shallow water.
<b>Cliff Pirch<br> Go-to bait: </b>A black-and-blue 1/2-ounce flipping jig with a Big Bite Baits Tour Toad trailer. “It adds vibration and kick for added water displacement. Bass can home in on it better.”
Cliff Pirch
Go-to bait: A black-and-blue 1/2-ounce flipping jig with a Big Bite Baits Tour Toad trailer. “It adds vibration and kick for added water displacement. Bass can home in on it better.”
<b>Technique:</b> He targets pockets of debris, like floating wood, that gather in calm water, eddy pockets that are away from the current. “The 1/2-ounce weight is ideal for penetrating the surface of the debris, where the bass use it as an ambush point and holding area out of the current.”
Technique: He targets pockets of debris, like floating wood, that gather in calm water, eddy pockets that are away from the current. “The 1/2-ounce weight is ideal for penetrating the surface of the debris, where the bass use it as an ambush point and holding area out of the current.”
<b>Bill Lowen <br> Go-to bait:</b> His signature LOW60 Lowen’s Compact Spin, in 1/44- or 3/8- ounce that is available from LurePartsOnline. He finishes off the bait with a No. 4 T Blade, which stands for thump. “It’s got more thump than any other blade that I’ve ever used. It gets that action from the cup and weight of how the blade is designed.” A Zoom Split Tail Trailer is added for strike appeal.
Bill Lowen

Go-to bait: His signature LOW60 Lowen’s Compact Spin, in 1/44- or 3/8- ounce that is available from LurePartsOnline. He finishes off the bait with a No. 4 T Blade, which stands for thump. “It’s got more thump than any other blade that I’ve ever used. It gets that action from the cup and weight of how the blade is designed.” A Zoom Split Tail Trailer is added for strike appeal.

<b>Technique:</b> “The compact size and weight allows me to float the spinnerbait in place around cover and near the surface, which keeps it longer in the strike zone.”
Technique: “The compact size and weight allows me to float the spinnerbait in place around cover and near the surface, which keeps it longer in the strike zone.”
<b>Matt Herren: <br> Go-to bait:</b> A ½-ounce Dirty Jigs Matt Herren Flippin’ Jig, with a Reaction Innovations Spicy Beaver. “It’s a bulky bait with a lot of throb, and I like something with some thump in it for dirty water.”
Matt Herren:

Go-to bait: A ½-ounce Dirty Jigs Matt Herren Flippin’ Jig, with a Reaction Innovations Spicy Beaver. “It’s a bulky bait with a lot of throb, and I like something with some thump in it for dirty water.”

<b>Technique:</b> “In the mud and rising water, the bass want a big, bulky bait this time of the year.”
Technique: “In the mud and rising water, the bass want a big, bulky bait this time of the year.”
<b>Steve Kennedy <br> Go-to bait:</b> A 5/8-ounce D&L Tackle Advantage Jig, with a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer
Steve Kennedy

Go-to bait: A 5/8-ounce D&L Tackle Advantage Jig, with a Zoom Super Chunk Jr. trailer

<b>Technique:</b> He flips the rig into isolated laydown trees and wood cover along the shoreline. “Largemouth relate to this type of cover in muddy water, and it’s a big bass bait, which is always good to use when the big females move into shallow water.”
Technique: He flips the rig into isolated laydown trees and wood cover along the shoreline. “Largemouth relate to this type of cover in muddy water, and it’s a big bass bait, which is always good to use when the big females move into shallow water.”
<b>Bill Weidler<br> Go-to bait:</b> A Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jackhammer, in the red-hot Fire Craw pattern. Not pictured, but part of the package, is a pearl white BassReaper Bait Co. Sinister Shad that he dips in orange Spike-It lure dye for even more visibility and appeal.
Bill Weidler Go-to bait: A Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jackhammer, in the red-hot Fire Craw pattern. Not pictured, but part of the package, is a pearl white BassReaper Bait Co. Sinister Shad that he dips in orange Spike-It lure dye for even more visibility and appeal.
<b>Technique:</b> “The bass can see the brighter color bait in muddy water, plus it produces that bladed jig vibration that is key for bass feeding on their senses of sight and sound. Any time I’m in a super muddy I like to use fluorescent baits for those reasons.”
Technique: “The bass can see the brighter color bait in muddy water, plus it produces that bladed jig vibration that is key for bass feeding on their senses of sight and sound. Any time I’m in a super muddy I like to use fluorescent baits for those reasons.”
<b>Gerald Swindle <br> Go-to bait:</b> A 13 Fishing Jabber Jaw Hybrid Squarebill that combines the actions of a bladed jig and squarebill into one bait. It’s fitted with an oscillating stainless-steel bill and metal jowls embedded into the body, which emits the clinking noise of a bladed jig. The square-shaped bill creates a super-strong vibration that is a must when fishing in dingy water.
Gerald Swindle

Go-to bait: A 13 Fishing Jabber Jaw Hybrid Squarebill that combines the actions of a bladed jig and squarebill into one bait. It’s fitted with an oscillating stainless-steel bill and metal jowls embedded into the body, which emits the clinking noise of a bladed jig. The square-shaped bill creates a super-strong vibration that is a must when fishing in dingy water.

<b>Technique:</b> “With this combination I get one bait that produces sound when it strikes rock, and that clatter noise of a bladed jig when using a steady retrieve. I can use the same bait, without having to switch back and forth, and the sound is unique and different to the fish.”
Technique: “With this combination I get one bait that produces sound when it strikes rock, and that clatter noise of a bladed jig when using a steady retrieve. I can use the same bait, without having to switch back and forth, and the sound is unique and different to the fish.”
<b>Bob Downey <br> Go-to bait:</b> A Rapala DT06 in the new Chartreuse Rootbeer Crawdad pattern.
Bob Downey

Go-to bait: A Rapala DT06 in the new Chartreuse Rootbeer Crawdad pattern.

<b>Technique:</b> “I like the DT06 size in cooler water for fishing around main river eddy water, and the smallmouth can pick up on it with the brighter color.”
Technique: “I like the DT06 size in cooler water for fishing around main river eddy water, and the smallmouth can pick up on it with the brighter color.”
It’s not a go-to bait, but Chad Pipkens’ choice made sense to him, and for some anglers, it might be the better option.
It’s not a go-to bait, but Chad Pipkens’ choice made sense to him, and for some anglers, it might be the better option. “My go-to is my Suzuki outboard, because it allows me to run away from muddy water, which has never been good for me.”

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