Winter Fishing Love Thread

[T-Billy]

 

Early December Ohio fish. I'll fight icing guides for this kind of quality. 

[einscodek]

Errr maybe for the southern guys winter fishing gets some love but its a no thank you for alot of us northern guys.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

2 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Early December Ohio fish. I'll fight icing guides for this kind of quality.

It's big fish season once the "T-Billy Hat" comes out 😎

[T-Billy]

I'll be standing on the deck, sporting "The Hat", chucking big double blades and Bama rigs tomorrow morning at first light. Water temps are getting right, and shad are starting to school up in the main lake basins. Muskiepalooza 23 is just around the corner, and I have proper esox gear this year. I also have 17 days to fish in November. YEEEEEEEEEHAAAWWWWWW!!!!!! 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

I'm excited for you brother, can't wait to see that smash fest unfold again!  

 

There's nothing better in fishing than when you've tapped into a secret pattern, honey hole, or technique that feels almost like cheating.     Strike that iron while the fire is red hot.  

[T-Billy]

Backatcha Alex. You put a beat'n on some dandy's last winter. Looking forward to watching you build on that experience this year.

[gim]

And I’ll pass on ice fishing.

[Pat Brown]

48 minutes ago, Woody B said:

I love Winter fishing.  I love fishing year round but really like it when I have the lake to myself.   I struggle when the water is under 50 degrees, and muddy.   I'm looking forward to figuring that out this year.   

 

My PB spotted bass was last Winter.  (4 lbs 15 ounces).  My previous PB spot was the winter before.   

 

Same here on muddy sub 50° water @Woody B 

 

From what my research is telling me, they tend to get higher in the water column when it's muddy.  They will often get super shallow.  And of course they will find less muddy somewhere.

 

I think the key to catching cold muddy water bass is super sunny days with very little wind and clean hard bottom in that 2-7 foot range.

 

Let's hope I'm right 😂😂😂😂

[T-Billy]

Shallow and super tight to wood, especially around creek mouths has been my best bet when it's cold and muddy. Sunshine is a big plus, as are light winds. Jig, spinnerbait, grind away all day.

[Functional]

If you need a good net man next year I'm your huckleberry 😂. I'll drive the boat and fix the breakfast and dinner for ya too for a shot at a musky like any of those! ... just saying I got 3 weeks of vacation to burn this time next year  😂

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Darnold335 said:

@TnRiver46 I’d love to go south 

Bring it on down! We’ve got your favs, SMB and big musky 

[PaulVE64]

Last night it dipped below freezing, so today I was throwing a black marabou jig.

Little jealous of you southern boys 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

We should live in a fishing universe that has the Southern winters with the Northern anytime else conditions......us southern boys be super jealous right about the time the Elites came up north.    

 

Without the pressure of fishing the Elites, what a lifestyle it must be.....hammering monster SMs in the Summer up north, crushing big LGMs during the pre spawn Southern winters.    

 

 

[king fisher]

Winter fishing for me is sunshine,shorts, top water, margaritas, and big bass. 

[WRB]

We had all that, no big bass anymore🥺

Tom

[Susky River Rat]

@TnRiver46 sounds like a blast! Our musky management program in PA Is a joke. It sounds good on paper but, it’s not what is needed. Once I went out of state a few times for musky I won’t even pick up the rods here.

 

@gimruis come on buddy the ice is just fine!

[Woody B]

I just looked at the weather forecast.  It's supposed to be back in the 80's this weekend.  I guess it will be a while before I have the lake to myself again.  

[Functional]

With the nights dipping in the low 40s the past week and this week I'm hoping it keeps people out of the water and then it only leaves pleasure boaters and less wake boats/jetskis. 

[Pat Brown]

I'm going out on Saturday and I'm going to fish like my life depends on it because I got a good feeling this is going to be a day that big fish feed heavily. I found some pretty good schools this past weekend and couldn't get the big ones to bite so I'm going to go back to those locations with Glide Baits and stuff like that and see what happens.

[Mobasser]

I'm in Missouri. Most years I can fish untill December depending on things. Jigs are always good, tailspinners and blade baits also. I've got plenty of warm clothes, and usually take hot coffee and some soup if I go very long.          I like it. I don't get as many bites in the cold, but the bites I get are many times bigger fish.

[A-Jay]

While this thread may not really be applicable to me personally,

I do occasionally participate in one of two kinds of winter fishing.

One of them is pretty good, but hardly local.

The other, not so much . . . . .

 

 

A-Jay

[AlabamaSpothunter]

3 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

I'm going out on Saturday and I'm going to fish like my life depends on it because I got a good feeling this is going to be a day that big fish feed heavily. I found some pretty good schools this past weekend and couldn't get the big ones to bite so I'm going to go back to those locations with Glide Baits and stuff like that and see what happens.

Full moon, you know what that means.......either you're gonna catch a giant, or you're not 🤣

[Buzzbaiter]

Normally, by this time of year I would switch to whitetails and brook trout in MD. Now that I’m in Florida, I’m trying to balance the bass fishing with the saltwater/multispecies fishing. There’s a lot of really cool species I need to get out and catch, but I also want to start catching those massive Florida bass I’ve heard so much about.

 

This week, I’m going to fish for Florida bass and then spend the weekend going for redfish. Next week it’s going to be snook and tarpon. The following week, I’m going try and catch a Choctaw bass. I’m used to spending the fall months fumbling around trying unsuccessfully to pattern fish, then quitting once winter rolls around. I’m still in awe that I’m actually catching fish (and a lot of them) this late in the year. 
 

One thing I have yet to learn is how much I need to slow down once winter comes in full. Do I need to start throwing bladebaits and dropshots or can I keep slinging around buzzbaits and Texas rigs? 
 

Edit: Just checked and this Saturday is a full moon. Redfish can wait, I’ve got bass to massacre 

[Darth-Baiter]

I'm in California.  I fish all winter.  biggest headache is the puffy jacket I wear sometimes gets a treble into it.    I don't think our waters go below 50(?)

 

cool enough to kill me for sure, so I have my entire senses on a swivel...no stupid stuff, and I tend to stay seated in my kayak more.  I have a dry suit when I head out on big lakes.  

 

I LOVE not having to wake up at crack of dark to get to the lake before sunrise.    I have had some good fish, like one day I called. "6lb Saturday" but it has never been lights out.  I work for the fish.

[Skunkmaster-k]

Winter fishing gets tough when the water temp hits 40 degrees. Fishing all day for one bite can be a real test of a person’s metal. I will grind it out though, in hopes of catching that one pale giant.