With water clarity fairly poor at the moment many anglers are turning to bait. This nice Golden perch ate a shrimp worm cocktail.

With the recent rains, anglers fishing our local waters will have noticed that water clarity has become in some cases very dirty. This is especially so in many of our smaller rivers where sudden runoff has a greater impact on water quality.  In these instances the age old debate on bait verses lures comes to play and while both are very effective in their own right, understanding how each works can help put a bend in the rod at the end of the day. Both bait and lures will work in dirty water so long as you, the angler understand a few basic steps on how to best present either method.  Fish use many senses to hone in on prey, these include sight where visibility aids in spotting a target. Sound where vibrations are detected through the lateral line announcing the arrival of a meal before it gets there. And smell where fish detect and are drawn to certain scents that are dispersed throughout the water column.  While it is true that lures work best when water clarity is good, some of our biggest cod have been taken on them in the dirtiest of conditions. With minimal visibility fish now react to a passing lure on a reflex basis. This has a habit of bringing undone those big old reluctant fish that have acquired a masters degree in lure recognition. It’s important to remember when fishing lures in dirty water that you will need to slow everything down, this allows the fish time to detect the vibrations and position themselves to intercept the lure when it arrives. The lateral line on larger fish like Murray cod is very effective at picking up small vibrations and provides the ability for these fish to hunt live prey even under the cover of darkness. Rattling lures are also effective in poor water clarity as are the larger bladed spinnerbaits that create extra pulse and sound as they rotate just above the snags. While fishing lures is harder under conditions of poor water clarity it is still a viable method for those that favour their use.  Bait on the other hand works exceptionally well when the water is dirty. Firstly fish are more inclined to leave the safety of the timber and move about in search of an easy meal. Runoff water or heavy rains help disperse a variety of different food items into the river. Worms, grubs, moths and other insects are all part of the smorgasbord that helps draw hungry fish away from cover.  Most of these items will be found in the shallows or along the dirty water line around the edges of eddies and large submerged tree trunks. All are good locations to soak a few baits under the current conditions.  Larger baits are most effective, several worms and a couple of shrimp cocktailed on the hook exude plenty of scent as does a fat Bardie or wood grub.  As for the bait versus lure debate, I would be inclined to have an each way bet as both will produce the goods when used in the correct manner to best suit the conditions.