Water Clarity

The occasional angler tends to over-look the importance of water clarity while the expert generally uses more terminology to describe it than there are Inuit words for snow. The basic classification system for degrees of clarity is: "dirty water," or water with a high degree of turbidity (suspended particles), "stained water" or colored water with a relatively low degree of turbidity, and "clear water."

Muddy water and water with thick green algae are types of "dirty water." A lure lowered into these waters disappears from view less than two feet from the surface. "Stained water" resembles a glass of gingerale or cola. Water may be stained due to minerals leeching from surrounding rock or the decomposition of large quantities of submerged timber. A lure dropped into "stained water" will disappear no more than five to eight feet below the surface. "Clear water" is not necessarily a sign of a healthy aquatic environment. It may be a sign of acidification or low nutrient levels producing few pounds of fish per acre. A lure dropped into "clear water" will be visible more than six feet below the surface.

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