First time winter fishing

[GoBlue80]

Hey everyone.  I was wondering what lures work the best in winter time.  I have read about downsizing it and fish it slower.  I would just like to know what has worked well with u guys in the winter time.

[Micro]

I live in southeast Virginia and fish a few of our tidal creeks in winter.  I've had a lot of luck with medium size cranks in chartreuse, firetiger and bright craw colors that dive to whereever the fish are holding.  The deepest these creeks get are about 15 feet and I usually catch fish running them on the bottom from about 6 feet down.  Cranks with a tight wobble and with lips big enough to get them to the bottom on a slow retrieve seems to work best for me.  

[roadwarrior]

You might want to try a jig & real pig (Uncle Josh Pork Trailer).

[Munkin]

Hare jigs or 2 1/2" tubes fished slow.

Allen

[basser89]

Primarily 4" tubes here in MD for me, unless I'm fishing the warm water discharge areas near me. Then I can get away with more active baits.

[flippin]

jig n pig shacky head any slow bait here in ohio

[Crestliner2008]

trixo69 - What part of the country do you live in? What are the water temps? How deep are you fishing? Need more info before you can really get the specific help you want.

[BASS fisherman]

First try and find some baitfish.  Chances are the bass will be around them.  If you can't find any baitfish, try fishing the deepest areas with a c-rig, jig-n-pig, a jigging spoon, and 1/8-3/8 oz bucktail hair jigs.  If your fishing from a boat, you could also try any finesse techniques you can think of such as a shakey head or drop shot.

Winter fishing can be tough to say the least so let the odds play in your favor.  Unlike sping, summer, and fall, the fish in winter don't actively feed until later in the day.  I've had better catches between 1pm and 4pm during the cold water period. Try to fish on sunny days where you might have some fish move up shallower to warm up.  Also look for rip-rap areas since supposedly rocks hold heat better than other structure in the lake.  The key is to find a ledge where the fish can easily move shallower or deeper with the most minimum of effort.  Remember the fish are a product of their habitat....being cold blooded, when the water temp is below 50F, their metabolism slows down too.  Alot of times the cold water bite is extremely lite, so get yourself some flourocarbon line and keep your finger on it to feel the light bites.  Concentrating on your line in the water helps alot too.  And when you think your fishing slow enough, fish even slower!

Good luck and tight lines!