What do you consider deep? How does clarity change it?

[spooledup]

I do a lot of fishing on my own and rarely get to fish with others so I am not sure what others consider deep. Most lakes around me are 80-150 feet deep and many have smallies and largemouth. What would you consider deep if there was 4 ft of visibility or 9 inches of visibility? I am considering 30 ft deep for bottom contact baits but I will fish suspended bass over deeper water along bluffs. What depths would you consider normal deep fishing for smallies and largemouth? How does clarity change how deep you will fish?

Cisco

[fishballer06]

I normally consider depth by how hard it is to reach with a crankbait. So I'd say:

10 ft or less - Shallow
10-15 ft - Medium
16 ft or more - Deep
40 ft or more - Extremely Deep

[dhottle]

Deep for me is 35-55 fow (feet of water) when I am fishing lake erie my home water. I consider the relationship between water clarity and depth as how deep I can fish suspended baits & still catch fish. Fish on the bottom will often rise in the water column to hit baits above them. I can successfully fish 20 feet deep water when I have 10 feet of visibility. 40 feet of water works when I have 20 feet of visibility. I like to run baits that will achieve the same depth or deeper as the number of feet of visibility. A bait that runs 15-17 deep will work in 30 fow with 15 feet of visibility. This sytem works for both suspended fish & bottom oriented fish. If all fish are marked hugging the bottom I fish the bottom regardless of water clarity. If predominate bait shows up at 20 fow over 40 fow I'll fish at the bait depth or slightly above. My best fishing days always correspond to better clarity water. There are times when poor clarity will either keep the fish deep near bottom or they will suspend nearer the surface but not in the middle.

[spooledup]

Thank you guys I appreciate the responses. I have much more confidence in clear water also when targeting smallies.

[BigG]

I normally consider depth by how hard it is to reach with a crankbait. So I'd say:

10 ft or less - Shallow
10-15 ft - Medium
16 ft or more - Deep
40 ft or more - Extremely Deep

This.

[BigG]

I normally consider depth by how hard it is to reach with a crankbait. So I'd say:

10 ft or less - Shallow
10-15 ft - Medium
16 ft or more - Deep
40 ft or more - Extremely Deep

This. Sometimes shallow water is dirtier that deep, so depth determines deep.

[socal cranker]

I normally consider depth by how hard it is to reach with a crankbait. So I'd say:

10 ft or less - Shallow
10-15 ft - Medium
16 ft or more - Deep
40 ft or more - Extremely Deep

I like it.

[stalking coyote]

Actually .. to me this a two part question.

For one, I don't consider water clarity to effect what I consider deep .. depth is depth regardless of water clarity .. regardless of the water clarity you will be limited to what lures you can or will use to achieve a certain water depth .. and like wise you will use certain lures to reach whatever water depth the fish are holding in or whatever water depth you desire to fish.

With that said .. I might have a different take on what I consider shallow versus deep or really deep .. but this is because of the type of lures I will have to use in order to achieve those depths.

Shallow - 0'-6'
Medium - 6'-12'
Deep - 12'-24'
Really Deep - 24'+

Second, Now water clarity will however effect what type of lures and what colors I choose to fish those different depth zones .. along with what depth the fish appear to be holding in ..

I can be in a boat .. 2' from the bank or a ledge .. and be in 60'+ of water .. but if I'm fishing a suspending jerkbait that only gets down to about 9' and that is where the fish are holding .. I consider that fishing at a mid-depth perception .. and not fishing very deep just because the boat is over 60'+ of water.

Likewise, I can be 40' from the bank but fishing a flat that is only 4' deep and maybe has a drop that rolls off to 12' or 14' .. but even if the boat is over 18' feet of water .. if I'm fishing that 4' flat .. I consider that shallow fishing .. however .. if I'm slow rolling a spinnerbait off that drop into 12'-14' of water .. I consider that medium depth fishing .. and if I'm throwing a buzz bait or a walking bait on the surface .. again I consider that shallow water fishing regardless of the depth underneath ..

Too me shallow fishing depends on the depth at which the fish are holding or at the depths at which you expect them to hit your lure .. so in other words I'm going by the water column to determine my justification as to whether I'm fishing shallow or deep.

If that makes sense .. LOL.