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I love to test new fishing gadgets and share my opinion.
There’s nothing better for an angler to arrive at the fishing spot and see the water is peaceful and clear, but sometimes you find murky water, lessening your chances of a good catch. So you ask: What’s the best lure color for muddy water fishing?
Muddy water can be frustrating for beginners. The conditions are rough, and choosing a fitting lure seems unlikely because of all the options available. Even seasoned anglers find themselves wondering which lure to use.
Rest assured, you can still succeed with minimal visibility if you use the proper tools, methods, and strategy. The largemouth bass is only one example of a predatory fish captured in murky waters.
We’ve put together a list of our favorite lures for muddy water bass fishing to save you a lot of time and hassle.
Comparison Table - The Best Lures for Muddy Water
Editor's Choice
Strike King Square Bill Crankbait
- Creates incredible action
- Realistic design
- Lures in both small and large bass
Best Rated
Strike King Rage Tail Craw
- Super durable
- Great for far-casting
- Excellent for newbies
Best Value
Booyah Blade
- Great for big and small bass alike
- Excellent in muddy water
- Good for both topwater and deeper fishing
Table of Contents
Best Color Lures for Muddy Water
1. Strike King Square Bill Crankbait – Best Rated Lure for Muddy Water
2. Strike King Rage Tail Craw – Editor’s Choice Lure for Muddy Water
3. Booyah Blade – Best Value Lure for Muddy Water
Top Lures for Fishing Muddy Waters
#1 Strike King Square Bill Crankbait - Best Rated
WHY WE LIKE IT: The design of the Strike King Square Bill crankbait allows a swift entrance but a known presence- key factors when dealing with dirty water. Best for deflecting, neither wood nor rocks stand a chance against its unbelievable durability. The lure is the perfect size for catching largemouth bass as it mimics the natural bass forage using the best crankbait rods.
- Item weight: 0.1 pounds
- Material: blend
- Size: one size
Pros
- Super durable
- Good color and size options
- Great for far-casting
- Deep diving crankbait
- Excellent for newbies
Cons
- Lacks detailing
- Hooks aren’t name brand
- Not very attractive to smaller fish
BUYING ADVICE: If you’re a crankbait type of person and come across low-visibility waters, you will want to choose the red color options for this lure. That’s the best lure color for muddy water that this crankbait offers.
Many anglers praise this product as one of the easiest to use, especially for rookies embarking on their first fishing adventure. The Strike King Square Bill is affordable and compact, and most importantly- the bass love it!
FEATURES: The ability of this bait to create wobbles is impeccable. The vibrations it produces make it known to the fish even in the darkest waters. Couple that with the depth it is able to dive to, and you get an incredible lure for muddy water bass fishing.
#2 Strike King Rage Tail Craw - Editor's Choice
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Rage Tail Craw is the ultimate soft plastic lure for dark water fishing. It’s designed to create incredible action in the water, alarming the fish of its presence. Pair that with the claws in the front, and you get a lure that flaps and attracts fish’s attention like no other fishing soft plastic. It works exceptionally well for bass fishing with Texas rigs.
- Realistic pinchers
- Item weighs 0.06 pounds
- Long and slender build, designed to create turbulence
- Material: synthetic
Pros
- Creates incredible action
- Realistic design
- Lures in both small and large bass
- Versatile in jig pairing options
Cons
- It may be too small for some anglers
- Deflecting isn’t the best
- Not ideally durable for very large fish
BUYING ADVICE: Strike King’s Rage Tail introduces a fresh new aesthetic to soft plastics. Each Rage Tail Lure features offers colors that bass can’t get enough of and a one-of-a-kind tail design. If muddy water fishing is what you’re planning to do, choosing the blue options this lure offers is the right thing to do.
The compact yet wide profile creates astounding noise, splash, and overall action, ideal for dirty water. The realistic claw design makes it even more attractive to fish, allowing you to achieve fishing success.
FEATURES: The Rage Tail Craw has the correct proportions needed to make it a long-lasting bait with plenty of motion. The way the lure uses restless water to your advantage is why the Rage Tail Craw belongs in a class of its own. It was true when it initially came out, and it is true to this day.
The product is compact and has the correct style to swim about when you move your jig. Durability is also an important factor in its presence on this list. The lure’s composition is robust enough to prevent ripping but soft enough to allow the hook to break loose and enter the fish.
#3 Booyah Blade - Best Value
WHY WE LIKE IT: The Booyah Blade Spinner-Bait is an impressive lure for its price point. It excels in attracting largemouth bass when the water is murky and not see-through, offering both flash and vibration. It’s smooth to cast, has easily sensible traction, and unimaginable durability. The lure’s snag-resistant is very important when fishing in muddy water.
- Materials include silicone for the skirt, gold and nickel plated skirt, and alloy frames
- Weight: 0.015 – 0.031 pounds
- Hard coat paint, 3D eyes, flared gills
Pros
- Great for big and small bass alike
- Excellent in muddy water
- Best bang for your buck
- Good for both topwater and deeper fishing
Cons
- It may be too bulky for your taste
- The skirt could unravel if not properly cared for
- Paint chips easily
BUYING ADVICE: For its price, the Booyah Blade Spinner-Bait is absolutely everything it needs to be. The qualities offered are incomparable to other lures at that price point. With no prep required from your side, this lure is ready to use straight from the box and holds up pretty well after quite a few uses.
This product comes in many colorways. The all-white bright color option or the black version are superb additions to your tackle box for fishing in muddy water. They are also great if you’re looking for an effortless way to catch bass.
FEATURES: The size of the Booyah Blade Spinner-Bait is carefully balanced, so it easily avoids snagging, but more importantly, it attracts both big and smaller fish.
With a neutral size and snag-resistant, soft-plastic build, this bait is indeed top-of-the-line for muddy waters. It’s also why it’s featured on our best soft-plastic builds for bass article – the skirt is adjustable to your taste; if you find it too bulky, you can just trim it down!
1. Strike King Square Bill Crankbait – Best Rated Lure for Muddy Water
2. Strike King Rage Tail Craw – Editor’s Choice Lure for Muddy Water
3. Booyah Blade – Best Value Lure for Muddy Water
Best Lure Color for Muddy Water
Black
The deeper the lure colors, the better since they will stick out as silhouettes in low-visibility water. Since the water is dark but not pitch black, shadows are still visible, and black lures are a staple for topwater on a sunny day.
The shadows these decoys cast are what make black as a lure color so effective in muddy and stained water. The idea of utilizing really dark colors in gloomy water may go against our logic as clever anglers.
Blue
Like black, blue is an excellent option for reaching good depth while muddy water fishing and actually getting a catch. Blue really draws the attention of the bass eyes considerably more since it creates much more obvious and definite outlines.
Brighter fishing lure colors are effective in shallow waters but fall short of dark hues as depth increases. So, if visibility is minimal, we recommend avoiding bright colors in favor of a black and blue jig.
Red
Red is another popular hue for fishing in low-visibility water. In fact, red lures have recently taken aback anglers who cast in the muddy water because of their effect. If there is enough sunlight to reflect, bass eyes react most to red and yellow wavelengths, which tells us that fishing for bass in shallow stained waters with a red lure is a guaranteed catch!
Red is just more visible than its darker counterparts and, as a bright color, gives a target for bass in murky water. Blade colors, crankbaits and other baits and lures look terrific in red or orange.
Fishing Strategies for Muddy Water
Use Bright or Dark Colors
It may not make sense at first, but these two extremes- dark and bright colors, are the keys to securing a good catch when delving into milky waters.
You’ll have increased chances of a successful fishing trip by using a brighter color like red, orange, or chartreuse in shallow water and black, blue, or violet hues in deeper and stained water.
Make Multiple Casts
Make repeated casts at the same position while fishing in good spots, especially when fishing under heavy cover and structure. Often, you’ll catch fish on the second or third cast.
Fish Shallow
When the water turns muddy, most bass will seek shelter and go to the shallowest portions of the water. More food becomes available when the water level rises, making the bass more battleful. You’ll perform well if you fish shallowly in murky water.
Use a Rattle
Including a rattle in your setup may significantly improve your overall success. The action and presence of your life-like lure will attract fish, and the additional sound and vibration produced will attract more bass and bites.
Fish Thick Cover
In murky water, bass like to remain close for cover. The center of the cover is the best place to pitch or flip your bait. It gets better as it gets murkier.
Upsize Lure Size
Another great tip is to reconsider the size of your lure. Since it’s harder to see in muddy water, using larger bait will surely benefit you. Your chances of landing more fish will rise if your profile is larger since it will be simpler for bass to recognize you. You’ll receive more bites if you enlarge your baits.
Noise and Vibration
The best lures for fishing in muddy water are those that vibrate or emit noises or easily audible sound waves so that the fish can recognize your presence. The best fishing lures for muddy waters are spinnerbaits, wobbling jigs, and crankbaits with rattling chambers that generate a characteristic wobble.
1. Strike King Rage Tail Craw – Editor’s Choice for Muddy Water
2. Strike King Square Bill – Best Rated Muddy Water Lure Color
3. Booyah Blade Spinner-Bait – Best Value for Muddy Water Lure
Frequently asked questions
You can choose from the many different colors of bass fishing lures available. However, you should choose a hue that stands out in murky conditions. Black, white, blue, red, orange, or chartreuse are some tried-and-true hues to employ for bass fishing in dirty water.
Largemouth bass is more likely to be captured in muddy water than any other freshwater species. Shallow areas, sites with overhanging trees or large exposed structures, and areas with better water clarity are the spots most likely to yield the fish.