Fly Fishing Muddy Water. Any Suggestions?

[DaddyO]

I'm looking for suggestions on fly fishing a muddy tailwater.  What types/colors/size of flies?  What methods?  What works best for you guys, in this situation?

[jtram]

Big egg patterns, big black/white nymphs, a pound of split, monstrous indicator and 4x. 

Or streamer fish

[Norm M]

 when I fish muddy water with gear , I like stuff that really pushes water . I'd try flies that can do that .

[trythisonemv]

Weight is going to be important. Size depends on what you are fishing for. Trout will hit a tiny fly if it's in their feeding lane even in muddy or murky water. But they tend to stick to the bottom. 

[grizzly]

4 hours ago, DaddyO said:

I'm looking for suggestions on fly fishing a muddy tailwater.  What types/colors/size of flies?  What methods?  What works best for you guys, in this situation?

What are you fishing for?  (It might help a little).  Trout?  Something with some shine to it.  I would have an attractor pattern, such as an egg, but the dropper is going to be normal sized(a sz. 14 PT flashback or something with some flash).  Otherwise, big streamers.  A double articulated fly will be my first choice.  Look on Kelly Galloup's website to find some patterns. 

[Al Agnew]

Depends upon what you mean by muddy.  I consider muddy to be when you have less than a foot of visibility, very murky 1-2 feet, murky 2-3 feet.  In water with less than a foot of visibility, fish simply aren't feeding by sight, they are using their other senses.  Therefore, color really isn't all that important, but size, bulkiness, and movement is.  Sure, a trout will still eat something smallish that floats right by their nose, but it really does have to be within inches if it's small and drifting with the current, because it isn't displacing any water that way so they can't "feel" it with their lateral line nor hear it.  And in water with less than a foot of visibility, they aren't going to be able to see it much at all if they are more than a couple feet deep, because light simply doesn't penetrate that far into muddy water.  So, in that case, a big bulky streamer that is being stripped will displace enough water that they can feel it.  A bead head nymph or a lead or cone head streamer ticking along the bottom in the current will be heard.  So that's what I'd use (unless you want to cheat and put some scent on your fly so that they can smell/taste it

Very murky water allows a little sight feeding, in which case bright, shiny stuff might make a difference.  Something with flash as long as you're not fishing more than four feet deep or so.  Something with contrasting colors...black/white, black/yellow, etc. might also be more visible.  Otherwise, the big streamer stripped or big bead head or cone head ticking the bottom is still a likely approach.

Murky water...really anything will work, and you start to think about going a lot more natural, but still the big, bright stuff should be a part of your strategy.

[jfrith]

Definitely big bulky streamers/ articulated streamers.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Mud.   Play cards drink beer. 

 

[laker67]

When a scud or a sowbug or a sculpin swims in muddy water, he sounds exactly the same as he does in clear water. Sound draws the fish and silhouette draws the bite. Muddy water seems to bother the fisherman more than it bothers trout.

[Al Agnew]

It's always a question, though, whether our flies and lures sound like the sculpin or scud.  Probably not.  Yet the fish still take them, even in muddy water (sometimes).  When you really stop to think about it, flies are almost entirely visual attractions, except for big streamers being actively retrieved that do displace water, and the stuff that ticks along the bottom and makes at least a bit of noise.  But the displacement signature or the noise signature still doesn't match the real critters.  We're fortunate that fish aren't extremely discriminating about that stuff.