Sub Freezing Flurry

[everythingthatswims]

My fishing partner and I ended up winning the small tournament we were fishing, we had 13lbs and won by a 5 pound margin, fishing was tough for most of the day. We made a good call on our starting spot, a huge school of fish was feeding on the point, there was a 30 minute window where every cast yielded a hookup, and when you netted the fish, the graph lit up with the others that followed it to the boat!

 

Problem was, the air temperature was around 20 degrees, and with a steady breeze, it made things pretty difficult both physically and mechanically. Luckily, I had opted to spool 2 spinning reels with Berkley Nanofil the night before. I'm not a huge fan of the line, BUT it sheds water really well, and doesn't absorb any water like a normal braid would. This means you can fish somewhat unimpaired by ice when air temperatures are below freezing.

 

This is how the morning went; cast, hop the 2.8" keitech back to the boat, hook up halfway back to the boat, attempt to adjust the drag during the fight, probably not succeed due to 2 pairs of gloves and numb fingers. Net the fish, try not to slip on the sheet of ice on the boat carpet from netting previous fish while heading to the livewell. Try to open the livewell, realize you have to put the fish back in the net (which is already frozen solid), use two hands and pry the frozen livewell open, put the fish in the box, then shove your hands in your pockets with hand warmers for a brief moment before you have to grab the net for the other guy! Let me tell you, culling with no cull tags was not a fun experience.

 

Had it been a little warmer, we would have caught many more bass without all the hassle, but it didn't matter in the end. We caught fish throughout the day, but only made one upgrade of about an ounce. I need to learn how to "damiki rig" for smallmouth, there were a lot of them suspended that would only slap at a jigging spoon, and wouldn't eat an a-rig.

 

[A-Jay]

Hard Core ~ but Nicely Done.

Another option for those stubborn suspended fish could be to slide that 2.8" keitech on a small(er) underspin . . . .

Congrats

A-Jay

btw - I really wanted to but I'm all out of 'likes' ~ 

 

[TnRiver46]

Nice work. Brrrrrrrrr. 

[everythingthatswims]

53 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Hard Core ~ but Nicely Done.

Another option for those stubborn suspended fish could be to slide that 2.8" keitech on a small(er) underspin . . . .

Congrats

A-Jay

btw - I really wanted to but I'm all out of 'likes' ~ 

 

I have not gotten the touch of knowing how to retrieve a swimbait through a group of (deep) suspended fish with any consistency. Line size, jighead size, retrieval speed, cast distance, and other factors contribute to where that bait is coming through the water. I can count it down to the depth they are at, but knowing where the bait is during the retrieve is a whole new can of worms

58 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Hard Core ~ but Nicely Done.

Another option for those stubborn suspended fish could be to slide that 2.8" keitech on a small(er) underspin . . . .

Congrats

A-Jay

btw - I really wanted to but I'm all out of 'likes' ~ 

 

If I sold a kidney and bought panoptix I could just watch my bait go through the school

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, everythingthatswims said:

I have not gotten the touch of knowing how to retrieve a swimbait through a group of (deep) suspended fish with any consistency. Line size, jighead size, retrieval speed, cast distance, and other factors contribute to where that bait is coming through the water. I can count it down to the depth they are at, but knowing where the bait is during the retrieve is a whole new can of worms

I hear ya ~ and will readily admit two things;

1. It's far from an exact science. 

2.  I'm no scientist. 

 But I used to totally bail on suspended bass because I had little to no confidence is anything that was'supposed' to trigger them to bite.

Been 'playing with small underspins a bit in this situation and have had better than expected results.  Only was I could gain confidence in 'believing' they were running at the right depth is to put in the time.  Meaning I went to shallower water and fished different baits with an assortment of trailers in known depths; usually places I could see the bottom. figured it out.  I'm fishing clear water with 10 plus feet of vis usually.  Have not had suspended bass eat this presentation deeper than 15 feet - despite being out over 40-50.  10-15 seems to be the 'sweet' spot - mostly brown bass though. Bait usually heeds to be 'above' them - like a jerkbait.  So that's the depth(s) I've concentrated on.  Not whacking them by any means but it has peaked my interest enough to give it more of a chance - really seems like it could work during flat calm mornings when I'm usually just wasting time waiting for the wind to kick up - obviously the opposite of what you guys had going there recently. 

 Just some food for thought. 

Congrats again

A-Jay

[Bluebasser86]

A Ned rig deadsticked in their face will usually get them to bite, at least it works for me. Backreeling is also much more dependable than a drag in extreme cold, one of the reasons I do it. Pliers work real well to pry open frozen livewell and storage hatches too. I get to do that same song and dance so many times each winter

 

[TOXIC]

Good Job!!  We have all been there.  Put this picture of my old guide boat up yesterday.  Getting to the lake was the worst trailer pulling experience I have ever had.  Once on the water all was good.  Remember to spray your guides with Reel Magic, WD40 or Reel Snot to keep the ice to a minimum.  

[Fairtax4me]

Nice job man! Fishing in below freezing temps is definitely a challenge, especially when it’s in that early season cold snap and you’re not used to it! 

[Topwaterdude]

Great job!!!96 yesterday here in Florida....

[everythingthatswims]

17 hours ago, Topwaterdude said:

Great job!!!96 yesterday here in Florida....

When was the last time you caught a smallmouth down there?

[Topwaterdude]

5 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

When was the last time you caught a smallmouth down there?

What's a small mouth??

[Ksam1234]

This is what I get to look forward to the next 4 months ! At least my dog loves the snow .. 

[everythingthatswims]

4 hours ago, Ksam1234 said:

This is what I get to look forward to the next 4 months ! At least my dog loves the snow .. 

Judging from what I've heard about the location you have listed, it is worth putting up with some snow

[Ksam1234]

2 hours ago, everythingthatswims said:

Judging from what I've heard about the location you have listed, it is worth putting up with some snow

I can concure with that , from April to late June is heaven! The smallmouth bite is insane