You want to find water that is seven to 10 feet. This will usually hold fish year round. Creeks and sloughs will be at their best in the spring as bass travel all the way to the backs of these areas. Fall can be another peak time for these areas, but fall also usually brings lower water levels and bass don't normally venture too far from the main river. When you run out of depth, you'll run out of fish.
Most sloughs have dingy or tea-colored water.
This factor alone will hold fish shallower throughout the year. A lot of these areas have flooded hardwoods such as oak trees, which cause the water to have that color. Tannic acid is the main reason. As this acid seeps out of the bark and roots of the trees, it will settle to the bottom. If the center of the slough is eight feet deep, most bass can be found above six feet to avoid the tannic acid.