Determining water clarity (PPB)

[Robbie1950]

Hi,

I was hoping to possibly get some feed back on the topic of water clarity in the bay.

I'm finding it hard to determine before I got out when the water clarity particularly on the north west side (willy to werribee) will be good or poor.

I'm also finding it sometimes annoying setting up for squid, then going out and getting to the spot where you can't see the bottom in 2m of water.

It hasn't properly rained in months so the poor clarity of late is definitely not from rain.

Is there any rule of thumb for when the water would be generally clearer? One fisho told me that when it's blowing a southerly generally the water down our way is clearer because fresh water is being pushed on shore. The opposite applies to a northerly. Not sure if this is right?

Any info would be helpful.

Cheers :cheers:

[skronkman]

That sounds completely wrong to me. I'm not familiar with your part of the bay though. The northern end of WP is clearest when the wind is low or blowing from the north. You need at least a day or two after a good southerly for it to clear up. An incommining tide is also better than an outgoing one.

[Robbie1950]

That sounds completely wrong to me. I'm not familiar with your part of the bay though. The northern end of WP is clearest when the wind is low or blowing from the north. You need at least a day or two after a good southerly for it to clear up. An incommining tide is also better than an outgoing one.

I went out a couple of weeks ago. It was blowing a light northerly for a few days before hand and I've never seen murkier water before, the clarity was shocking. I'm super confused right about now!

[skronkman]

The bottom of an outgoing tide can make some places murky. Look for half way through the flow tide and up. On shore winds are definitely not the friend of clear water though.