Sarah L.
Sarah is an outdoor writer and photographer with a passion for coastal conservation and angling.
When you arrive at a fishing spot, one of the first and most important things you should do is assess the clarity of the water. This single factor will dictate your lure selection and presentation style more than almost anything else. The ReelTime AI considers this by inferring clarity from recent weather, but knowing how to react to that information is what separates good anglers from great ones.
Clear to Slightly Stained Water (2-4+ ft. visibility)
When the water is very clear, fish rely heavily on their eyesight to hunt. This is when realism and a finesse approach become your best friends. They can see your lure from a long way off, but they can also spot anything that looks unnatural.
- Lure Choice: Use natural-colored lures. Think translucent, silver, white, or anything that accurately mimics the local forage like small shrimp, pinfish, or mullet. The AI often recommends colors like "New Penny" or "Morning Glory" in these conditions for this exact reason.
- Presentation Style: Use lighter line and leaders (a 10-12 lb fluorocarbon leader is a good choice) and more subtle presentations. A slow, steady retrieve or small, gentle twitches are often more effective than aggressive action that can spook fish in clear water.
"Trout Green" or Stained Water (1-2 ft. visibility)
This is often considered the ideal "fishing green" water by many inshore anglers. It's clear enough for fish to see your lure from a reasonable distance, but stained enough to make them feel secure and less wary of their surroundings.
- Lure Choice: This is where you can get a bit more aggressive with your color choices. Brighter colors with some flash work well. Chartreuse tails, gold spoons, and lures with high-contrast patterns like "Salt & Pepper" or "Rootbeer/Chartreuse" excel here.
- Presentation Style: You can use a more erratic retrieve to get noticed. Add more aggressive hops and faster movements to create vibration and trigger a reaction strike from fish that are actively feeding.
Muddy or "Chocolate Milk" Water (Less than 1 ft. visibility)
After a heavy rain or prolonged strong winds, the water can become very muddy. This is the toughest condition to fish, but it's not impossible. In these conditions, fish will rely almost entirely on their other senses—vibration and smell—to find food.
- Lure Choice: Think big, dark, and noisy. Dark colors like black, purple, or junebug create a better silhouette for fish to see from below. Lures that create a lot of vibration, like a rattling crankbait or a thumping spinnerbait, are excellent choices. This is also the best time to use heavily scented lures (like Gulp!) or natural live bait.
- Presentation Style: You must slow down your retrieve. Fish can't see well, so you need to give them time to find your offering. The goal is to keep your lure in the strike zone for as long as possible to give fish a chance to home in on it.