A Love Letter To Winter Fishing

I’ll be honest, I hate winter fishing. Had I been on the Endurance there would have been one person who didn’t survive. Even with all the advances in winter gear like boots, snow pants and my trusty electric hand warmer I’m always cold. Yet the 182.5 challenge must continue despite the cold and I’ll have to keep pace in winter even if it means I haven’t felt my toes in weeks. The wind has been making the trips shorter and not as enjoyable.

Now that “winter is cold” is covered, back to fishing fun. The waves can be blast out on the main lake. Almost….like almost not quite feels like you’re in the ocean. The occasional spray from the starboard side can be invigorating. Besides I’m in 10 layers of water proof material I can handle a little spritzing.

Now most the past few trips have been a bust, but I did have one day where I was able to hook up with two little spots and a nice 27 inch striper on the ultralight reel. We had out two trout and a little shad imitation swimbait. The striper smashed on the swimbait as we trolled over a point at about 1.5 miles an hour or so in around 30 feet of water. We’ve been fishing north of the “Little Spot Truck Stop” around the main channel and some islands so the water depth ranges from 2 ft to over 100 feet in the middle. I’ve seen quite a few Lanier charter fishing looking center consoles in the same place, so I’m at least as wrong as those guides.

The bait is out there, huge clouds of it but not much surface activity. I’d say don’t be fooled by diving birds, they may be near some fish, but I wouldn’t expect to get many hits from the top. The largest concentration of fish we’ve marked in the past week or so have all been deep. Like only a few tops on the surface and those are random.

The glitter boats seem to be coming closer to shore and docks looking for spotted bass but their pattern seems to be run and gun. You can notice a slight increase in boat traffic with some of the recent tournaments on the lake but nothing to worry about. I’d still suggest getting out there once the sun is out. It really isn’t that bad and you will basically have the entire lake to yourself, minus wherever you fish when another boat shows up.

Where we are marking the most fish is anywhere from 35 – 65 feet in places where there’s lots of activity. By activity I mean current, waves, underwater features like ledges, drop offs etc.

Also make sure you’ve read the home page of this site which says under no circumstances to ever listen to my fishing advice. You might read that last paragraph and think it was a tip, it’s not. And fishermen never lie so you know that everything I’ve said is true. Right?

I do keep trying to find creative ways to get out of the wind while at the same time find the fish. A big part of getting better at fishing is being a better boat captain. My biggest focus as a captain is to have fun each trip. Don’t let anything get me upset or grumpy, including 15 mph winds when it’s in the 40’s. It’s so easy to find something to complain about you can forget, you’re in charge of your own happiness. You’re already on a boat, on a lake fishing. Life is good so enjoy it.

The good news is that warmer weather is on the way with the 60’s here soon. My frozen fingers and toes will appreciate not being numb.