question of the month?

When fishing the cold months, what are your favorite techniques?
-Bass magazine

Nightcrawlers for some trout! Or drop shot for bass fished as slooooooooowwwwww as possible

X2
although I`ve been hit on reaction lures fast retrieve as well!

Dropshot and hot coco.

Fishing slower, deeper, and tighter to structure. In thick cover I sometimes burn a bait really close to the cover or maybe even right through the cover with pops & jerks for a reaction bite.

your chances only get better if you put something in the water. but besides that LOLLY summed it up

Hey Guys,
My tactics during the winter?
For freshwater LMB's
1) topwater
2) large plastics (10" worms, Big ugly jigs…)
3) swim baits ( the best time of year to fish BIG swim baits is Winter)
4) vertical jigging ( Rapala Ice Jigs, Hopkins spoons, Roadrunners, etc., etc.,…)
5) slow? Hmmm… yes,.. but that should not be the rule!

For trout?
1) anything, this is their time of year.

Saltwater bay or inshore fishing?
Same as above for freshwater LMB.

The key to success as far as I am concerned is to understand how the fishes daily behavior reacts to the shorter daylight, longer nights, lower ambient temps, light angle, increased lunar affect, clearer, denser, water, (which affects the thermoclines) and perhaps the most important factor, less food availability. Also Winter is the time when a good meter and the knowledge to use it effectively is VERY, VERY, important.

  just a few thoughts,….. bodfish

My technique is to fish and if at first I don't succeed I'll try again... 

I like your style fatboy  

..."and if at first you don't succeed, dust yourself off and try again, try again"...

fatboy531 wrote:My technique is to fish and if at first I don't succeed I'll try again... 

Haha, like!

It's always struck me as funny… that a lot of California anglers, put their stuff away in the winter months and don't even give fishing a try. I lived in Chicago for ten years and ice fished many times. If you can catch fish through the ice… you can catch them anytime. Waters in southern Cal rarely if ever get below 50 degrees. This post is primarily for Bluegill and Shell Cracker fisherman… Having said that I've caught many a Bass using the methods described below.
My Thoughts… It really helps if you have Electronics during this time of the year… or you are beating you head against the wall (Unless you were born lucky)… so have your Garmin… Lowrance or Hummingbird with you. Fish As SLOW as you can and then slow it down some more… and then… Yep… SLOW it down even more… (Keep in mind I'm talking Primarily about Bluegill and Redear here) when you do move your bait… barely move it… I've found that small baits tend to work best… for example I'll fish crickets, Mealworms and Night crawlers during the Spring and Summer months… but will downsize to Wax worms and Maggots if they are available. I've had good success with Maggots… When I can get them, I get them in mixed colors… Red, Green, Blue, Pink, White…  They will move and wriggle for a long time… in even the coldest water. I also fish lighter… I'll use a 2 lb line in the Summer… but I'll add a 1 lb Flurocarbon leader in the Winter… sometimes it really makes a difference, as does the length of the leader. Just a side note for the Bass guys regarding the line… I've landed Catfish and Bass up to 12 lb on 2 lb test line… so it can be done… Just make sure you check your drag before you start fishing… As we all know… Just when you think the day is over…  and you've been Skunked… WHAM...

Robsabloke wrote:It's always struck me as funny… that a lot of California anglers, put their stuff away in the winter months and don't even give fishing a try. I lived in Chicago for ten years and ice fished many times. If you can catch fish through the ice… you can catch them anytime. Waters in southern Cal rarely if ever get below 50 degrees. This post is primarily for Bluegill and Shell Cracker fisherman… Having said that I've caught many a Bass using the methods described below.
My Thoughts… It really helps if you have Electronics during this time of the year… or you are beating you head against the wall (Unless you were born lucky)… so have your Garmin… Lowrance or Hummingbird with you. Fish As SLOW as you can and then slow it down some more… and then… Yep… SLOW out down even more...when you do move your bait… barely move it… I've found that small baits tend to work best… for example I'll fish crickets, Mealworms and Night crawlers during the Spring and Summer months… but will downsize to Wax worms and Maggots if they are available. I've had good success with Maggots… When I can get them, I get them in mixed colors… Red, Green, Blue, Pink, White…  I also fish lighter… I'll use a 2 lb line in the Summer… but I'll add a 1 lb Flurocarbon leader in the Winter… sometimes it really makes a difference, as does the length of the leader. Just a side note regarding the line… I've landed Catfish and Bass up to 12 lb on 2 lb test line… so it can be done… Just make sure you check your drag before you start fishing… As we all know… Just when you think the day is over…  and you've been Skunked… WHAM...

Killer info.