I've heard guys talk about dirty water bass staying shallow all summer. I fish a local lake occassionally that has clarity in the 8" to 14" range. Its very murky. If you get a follower you're only going to see it if it darts off.
So how shallow do these bass stay? I did well there in the spring when there were concentrations of fish in easy to find spots, but as the fish disperse i'm not sure how deep to look. I think the deepest fish i caught was in the 4-6' range. ???
It depends. I'm in Arkansas and there's probably a big difference between our fish in the summer and yours in Michigan. Two reasons our dirty water bass stay shallow - cover and oxygen. In dirty water they feel more safe and can easily hide beside cover regardless of depth. Also - dirty water gets very hot in the summer (90+ degrees) and often the most oxygenated water is at the surface. Not only are the bass there - so are the shad and bream. You can have a blast here in the heat of summer fishing water that's only a foot or so deep. Hit everything that has a shady side - wood, rocks, docks, ect.... It's squarebill and spinnerbait paradise. If there's grass - all the better - shade and oxygen. Frogs or toad baits.
More often though - these are fairly shallow lakes or rivers that don't have the depth for a thermocline. If they can migrate to an area with a cooler thermocline - they'll be down there - dirty or not.
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