What Now?

[Robert Riley]

Winter has finally hit me. No more fishing here. What do you guys do now...

[lmbfisherman]

Read, youtube, Bass Resource, plan trips, inventory lures/baits, terminal tackle, get ready for Spring Shows and sales and do lots and lots of pretending to fish with my combos. 

[Robert Riley]

I just get too amped and then it's torture. I've spent the last hour flipping into a trash can with my new flippin stick

[Bluebasser86]

Fish the power plant lakes

[corn-on-the-rob]

torture is right...

 

I got 2 new combos and a bunch of new lures/plastics can't wait to try everything. Also eager to better in my club tourneys, lets go!

[aceman387]

Start talking to the wife again,see how she has been.  

[Sam]

There are lots to things to do to improve your bass fishing in the off season.

 

You don't want to be one of the guys who want to run out to the water and start throwing your baits without any regard to the weather, water clarity, water temperature, time of year, time of day, structure, cover and on and on and on.

 

To avoid being the above type of fisherman guys who want to learn more do their homework in the winter. This includes:

Reading books.

Reading magazine articles.

Watching YouTube videos.

Visiting various pro's web sites and read what they are saying.

Watching fishing shows on TV.

Watching both the FLW and B.A.S.S. Classics and reading on the Internet what the guys are throwing.

Reading about various baits that are out there,

Going outside on a pretty day and practice your casting, flipping and pitching and especially the underhand roll cast.

Have you taken your rods into the bathroom shower and wash them off with cold water?

Have you checked your rods' cork handles and decided if they need some work?

When was the last time you took your reels to a professional to have them cleaned, oiled and greased?

Did you think of reorganizing your tackle and checking your baits for knicks and other damage?

Have you run a Q-Tip around each of your rods' guides to check for knicks and other damage?

Have you checked all rod guides to make sure they are still secure?

Have you "searched" the Forum for various topics to read what the guys and gals have posted? Try "searching" your favorite bodies of water or a technique you want to learn more about.

Have you considered Personal Messaging (PM) other Forum members about a specific bait or technique? You will be surprised at the amount of knowledge the guys are willing to share with you.

 

There are so many things you can do when you can't hit the water and I am sure you are doing the vast majority, if not all, of the above suggestions.

 

I find that watching football on TV and at the same time reorganizing all of my baits is very relaxing and productive. I set up a six-foot table in front of the TV and go at it. I found the Shad Rap that was run over by a car that I misplaced. Can't use it but it was funny finding it among my crankbaits.

 

I also reorganize my plastics, starting with the Senkos and then the other thousands of worms, brush hogs, flukes, special run plastics, club baits, etc.

 

So have some fun and attack your tackle, rods and reels and be cocked and loaded when the weather breaks and you can hit the water.

[roadwarrior]

Just have to pick your days in the Mid South. Winter is the VERY BEST time of year

for trophy smallmouth fishing on the Tennessee River. The two in my avatar were

caught the third week of January a few years ago.

 

 

 

[Senko lover]

Fish, get skunked. fish again, get skunked again, and finally realize, okay, they're not biting. So I go fish again just in case I was wrong.

Then, once I'm tired of not catching much at all, I aquire and organize tackle

On the side, ya'll know that guy I told you about who gave me those three boxes of finesse worms and started me off on fishing? Well, he used to fish FLW as a co-angler, and he has a garage full, and I mean full, of baits. If he were to take one single soft plastic bait out of it's bag, but it on a hook, cast it once, and put another on, he couldn't get through his soft plastics in the rest of his lifetime. Anyway, he called me and told me that if I ever want to try out a bait (this year I want to focus on craws, lizards, frogs, flukes, and jigs), tell him at church on Sunday, and he'll grab some of his soft plastics or make me some jigs, and give me the box the next sunday. As a way to help me out, he'll only charge me about 1/3 of what it would be worth used.

So I definitely have a source for tackle for the spring!

[Preytorien]

Usually I end up finishing projects on my honey-do list. The wife and I have a good system worked out, we do our large projects (flooring, painting, carpeting this year) in the winter, that way she can do pool days and I can do fishing in the warm weather and not worry about projects. Seems to be an effective arrangement so far. 

 

That said, I'll probably re-watch all of Glenn's videos on YouTube, consequently getting irritated because "he's fishing" while I'm not. I'll practice my pitching. Re-organize tackle about 74 times. Clean the reels 3 times, rods twice. I'll scout out new waters to fish, then probably watch some more fishing videos.

 

I tried to get permission from a Duke Energy plant about 5 minutes away to fish their ponds, but they don't allow non-employees to access their grounds. Guess I'm outta luck, enjoy those ponds Clayton!

[WIGuide]

It is torture, but just be thankful you don't live up by me. Winter set in about two months ago now and will keep a death hold on us until late March early April. Even then you can only fish for panfish until the season opens in May unless you go fish Ol' Miss

[BaitMonkey1984]

Start learning new knots, techniques, and look for a different lure to present a bait the fish have never seen. Also, I usually use winter to stock up on all terminal tackle, line, and all baits I am going to need for the  next year. I have purchased four new combos already and dialed those in the backyard after the lake froze. I like to get everything clean and ready to go for spring. Spend time watching/reading about fishing online and going to as much sportsman expos as possible, because if you sit idly by in the house you will inevitably end up on TW with close to a 100 lbs of soft plastics. At least thats what happens to me, but after all I am the bait monkey reincarnated.  

[bassguytom]

Turn my living room into a tackle store and just go through things and clean reels. Read watch videos go to the sportsman show do wife projects and such. Ice fish if safe. First week below freezing here also.

[Vrybusy]

Sport shows, organize tackle and create a checklist based off of Sams post above! Good info!

[fisherrw]

Lucky I live in CA!!! I can still fish.

[a1712]

Go to Florida. I'd be there now but the Wife is doing a complete overhaul of the entire bottom floor....lousy Wife. Can't gripe though, she spends a lot of time being a fishing widow, she has never complained once. Brian.

[RSM789]

I tried to get permission from a Duke Energy plant about 5 minutes away to fish their ponds, but they don't allow non-employees to access their grounds. Guess I'm outta luck, enjoy those ponds Clayton!

I'd apply for some menial job there, like picking up trash or washing their vehicles. Tell them in exchange for 8 hours of work a week, you will forgo any payment, you just want access to their waters. Make them a deal that doesn't cost them anything & lets them save having to hire someone else to do.

If that doesn't work, tell them you are a marine biologist from the EPA and you need to do some testing on the fish populations of their ponds to confirm there is no contamination.

[The Wilkin]

Move to Florida and say goodbye to the "off season"

[Brnnoser6983]

I have been out of the fishing season since October.. with all the -0° weather in MN ice fishing is picking up, but this big man refuses to go on the ice.

The first month or so I was okay. I put away my gear, watched fishing videos, and watched unboxing TW videos. (Note that is lure propaganda!)

As the winter drags on though it is getting worse. I now look for reasons to take out the tackle. I can't count how many times the wife tells at me to put it away. I love when my LTB and FH come so I have a reason to take it out.

Come March I will be looking at replacing hooks. Looking at what new technique I want to try for the season, and getting my poles setup. (Oiled, new line, knock off the dust)

Just wish for some time off to go to the sportsman show next weekend

[lmbfisherman]

Fish the power plant lakes

We're moving in for the winter.  Got room for 2 at least? 

[Bankbeater]

Get the reels cleaned, reorganize the tackle bag, buy new stuff, reorganize the tackle bag again after buying new stuff, clean the rods, and finally sharpen hooks.

[cyclops2]

 I fish with a stopwatch every few days. See how fast I can open the can & make a tunafish sandwhich.

[MassBass]

Retie the rigs on the traps and go ICE FISHING, that is if the ice is at least 5".

[Robert Riley]

I've yet to have a good freeze over here, not that there is any good ice anyway. 

 

I'm surprised no one said muskie fishing haha, that's probably what I will do.

 

I ended up cleaning out my garage today and shoveling snow... Guess it's time to buy fishing stuff to celebrate my daily accomplishments! 

[Bluebasser86]

We're moving in for the winter.  Got room for 2 at least? 

If you're looking to move to a good area for fishing, around here would be one of the last places I'd look.