Fairmont TOO murky

[fishmounter]

The lakes at Fairmont park, especially Evans and Fairmont (Brown's not quite as bad) have become so stained and murky that I don't think I am going to fish here any more. At least not for a while. If it wasn't for the glass rattles in my baits, I'd never catch ANY bass. Right now the visibility is maybe 5-6 inches! You literally have to hit the bass on the head for them to see your lure. I know bass can pick up vibrations and movements with their lateral lines, but they also depend upon their vision a great deal to hunt and capture their food. I'm not really sure what is causing this muddy looking water. I could be the carp, but I've seen other park lakes that have a lot of big carp and those places are fairly clear The year started out good with great looking water and pretty good fishing, but now fishing has really become slow. I really think the lakes need some water plants...Cattails, tules, and Lilly Pads. Water plants act as natural filters and help keep the water clean and oxygenated. People let me know if it clears up...

[JediMindTricks]

the funny thing is i saw a guy the other day pouring some anti-something or other all over the water to help clear it up. guess it didn't work!

[fishmounter]

Hey next time, if you can, ask the guy what that stuff is. Copper Sulphate (bluestone) is used to help reduce algae and moss in lakes, but Fairmont park doesn't really have this problem yet. As it warms up getting on towards summer, the moss will start growing more. Maybe that will help clear the water. But then you get moss on your lures on every cast and bass will turn their noses up to that. But I'd rather have clearer water with moss and algae than the way it is now!

[NICKYMOUSE8]

Don't worry too much on visibility unless you intend to sight fish or that is what makes you most consistent at catching fish Bass have no problem foraging totally blind I should know I fished a lake with one to two inches of visibility and caught a five pound Bass with no eyes probably birth defect but still very healthy!!!

[fishmounter]

Yeah sometimes that will happen, I've seen blind bass before, but a fairly high end predator like Largemouth Bass (with eyes), depend on their vision more than smell or vibrations. I don't sight fish for spawning bass, and I don't even usually see any fish when I catch them. I still catch the occasional bass, but nothing like it used to be.