Sunstone Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Last year I fished at Flamingo in May and the waters on the bay side were a dirty chalk color. Ran out to catch some pin fish to use at the shark river and it looked that way for a few miles. Is this the new normal or what and how far do you need to go to find clear water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clink Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 I have only been going down there for 3 years but each time its been like that in April. Have had some somewhat clear water on the beaches heading up towards the shark river on a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunstone Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 The mouth of the shark looks pretty good but Flamingo you can't see the channels at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dave Posted February 21, 2020 Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 When the winds lay down the water clarity can be pretty good. It's worse on the flats that used to be covered with lush turtle grass but are now mud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunstone Posted February 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2020 So is something killing the grass and is it just the Flamingo area? Haven't been to like the 9 mile bank or say rabbit key in a few years anybody know the conditions there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 12 hours ago, Big Dave said: When the winds lay down the water clarity can be pretty good. It's worse on the flats that used to be covered with lush turtle grass but are now mud. Dave is correct... Flamingo (Inside and out), Chokoloskee, Marco, Goodlands....are mostly affected by wind.......the same location can be dramatically different based upon tides and wind.... If it's been windy for a week...you can't expect clear water, even after a day of calm.... I've been to Chokoloskee one weekend and the water is green / chocolate and next week it's gin clear....mostly attributed to wind and tide....it can sometimes take a few days to clear out the back waters with the tide when it's been blowing.. dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason p Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 Grass started dying 5-6 years ago in the northern part of the bay due to high salinity (not enough fresh water flowing down) which in turn there’s nothing holding and filtering the mud on the floor. Palm lake is probably the cleanest northern bay water, then you’ll have to run south to Man o War basin area to get back in the nice grass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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