Winter Patterns

I live in Western North Carolina, where the weather has been anything But normal. It has been unseasonably warm here, and today I was going to take the boat out, but wouldn't you know, woke up to high winds overcast skies and a bitter cold snap in the air. Was wondering if any of you could tell me what works best in winter. I have never really fished in winter as have had no such luck, I have always thought, winter=Deep, and I hate fishing deep. Is this true? I like boat docks or other structures, but hate deep, although my tackle salesman has told me that verticle jigging was the way to go this time of year, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance, Scooter

Scooter

"RGarri7470" <rgarri7470@aol.com> wrote in message news:20041211191250.06368.00001582@mb-m18.aol.com... > >Was wondering if any of you could tell > >me what works best in winter. > > I consider this weather in the south late fall - I like crankbaits shallow > around rocks and wood cover from November thru March. As long as the water > temps stay above 45 I can catch some bass on that pattern. If it is above 50 it > is even better. > > Last Sunday the water temps here in middle GA were in the upper 50s - 58 most > places I checked. I landed five bass weighing 11.67 pounds in a club > tournament, all on a Fat Free Shad in 7 feet or less. Guy that won had a 6 > pounder and five at 13.42 on crankbaits, too. My partner landed four weighing

I love late fall/winter fishing. By late fall/early winter I mean water temps under 50 but warm enough that I don't have to cut a damned hole in the surface to catch a fish. The bass bunch up in predictable areas now. Some times (most times in many lakes, but much less so in others) those places they bunch up in are deep. But in others they might only be 8 to 12 feet a lot of the time. Whatever combination of conditions offers them the most environmental stability in any particular habitat.

Today where I was fishing, the air temp was in the low 50s and it was cloudy and calm. The water was 39 to 41. I caught 20 bass, all on smoke grubs fished on 1/8 and 1/4 ounce jigheads on light spinning gear. A couple came from less than 20 feet, but most came from 28 to 34 feet. They weren't giants, but it was a fun day. Here's the biggest one...

http://www.richz.com/fishing/images/lillinonah-12-11-04.jpg

Now I wished I had gone out on the water today instead of being lazy, but there is always tomorow or Monday, or Tuesday or... You spoke of predictable areas that bass bunch up, where is a good place to start looking? Points, humps, structures? I have a decent Lowrance X-135 that I am very fond of, but have not learned to use it to it's potential. I am not a very knowledgable bass fisherman, in the summer, I know that I can catch them around boat houses or docks, and do fairly well on occasions, it is more of a hit and miss though, nothin of any consistancy. On the smoke color jigs, did you locate the fish, and then back off of them, and cast over them, and reel through the school or did you verticle jig? I surely would appreciate any information you can provide, and I thank you in advance.

Scooter

"RichZ" <remove_the_obvious_fin-sfish@charter.net> wrote in message news:ylNud.11$e07.4@fe04.lga... > Scott Brown wrote: > > Hi all, > > > > I live in Western North Carolina, where the weather has been anything But > > normal. It has been unseasonably warm here, and today I was going to take > > the boat out, but wouldn't you know, woke up to high winds overcast skies > > and a bitter cold snap in the air. Was wondering if any of you could tell > > me what works best in winter. I have never really fished in winter as have > > had no such luck, I have always thought, winter=Deep, and I hate fishing > > deep. Is this true? I like boat docks or other structures, but hate deep, > > although my tackle salesman has told me that verticle jigging was the way to

The shad have not really moved back yet here, but this cold snap may be what they need. We were catching most of our fish on main lake points to the first point in creeks and coves.

I did an article for Georgia Outdoor News about November bass fishing at Hartwell. That article stressed fishing in the creeks with Shadraps and jig and pig. The bass should be on that pattern at HArtwell now - we fished the little creeks around the bridge in Twenty and Six mile (or Twentysix on some maps) creek. Near Portman Shoals Marina anyway. Ronnie fishing.guide@about.com http://fishing.about.com

I am not sure if I am headed towards Hartwell or a small local lake here in N.C., it was a private lake at one time and just went public, so I amm not sure which one I will be hitting as I have to work at 3pm Monday. But if I go to Hartwell, I will for sure fish the area you have recommended. As for the deaths of the two tourney men, this is all I could muster up. Hope this helps. (I had thought that they were both from N. Augusta, but I guess not.

GREENVILLE -- Speed and lack of visibility are thought to be factors in a boating collision that killed two men on Lake Keowee, Pickens County officials say.

Christopher Lee Wilson, 34, of Central, and Joshua Kaleb Merck, 24, of Six Mile, were killed Saturday at about 2 p.m., Coroner James Mahanes said.

"One boat went over top of the other," the coroner said.

"RGarri7470" <rgarri7470@aol.com> wrote in message news:20041211221941.06368.00001593@mb-m18.aol.com... > >highly stressed crank baits in the backs of creeks for this time of > >year, (following the shad). So sad to hear about the two GA guys who lost > >there life on Lake Keowee last > > Had not heard about the deaths in the tournament on Keowee - have any more > info about it? > > The shad have not really moved back yet here, but this cold snap may be what > they need. We were catching most of our fish on main lake points to the first > point in creeks and coves. > > I did an article for Georgia Outdoor News about November bass fishing at > Hartwell. That article stressed fishing in the creeks with Shadraps and jig and > pig. The bass should be on that pattern at HArtwell now - we fished the little > creeks around the bridge in Twenty and Six mile (or Twentysix on some maps)

If it is a clear, chilly and low wind day, absolutely, fish deep or don't fish at all around here. I look for the thermocline on the LCD and fish ledges that may criss cross that warmer water in the water column. Fishing is usually slow like this, but when you do get bit, it is normally a better quality of fish.

The absloute BEST days to fish in cold weather around here (again, being the Piedmont of NC and not the mountains) is to wait for dreary days, even in light rain. Usually I like to go after a day of rain, if it is still overcast, as it sets up what has been my best pattern to find/figure out. The runoff is usually at or above the lake water temp, which causes warm water pockets in coves (or anywhere runoff is apparent near a bank), and it also stains the water up some. Mix that with overcast, and the fish will usually move up and appear to feed regularly. My largest bass ever caught have been in this pattern, with bright (chrome usually) rat-l-traps, in anywhere from 1' to 10' of water. If the water isn't so stained, go to a quieter crank bait, and one with a baitfish color if you have one (shad, tenn shad, and bleeding shad all work good in clearer water here). I find Rapala's line of crank baits to be good, just enough rattle, good baitfish paint schemes, and their bills can take a beating on submerged rocks and brush without causing them to swim funny (lakes around here have rip-rap rock in areas where this "warm water runoff" occurs, near bridges etc).

That said, the "pros" and "guides" around here will tell you to find dropoffs, and deep flats, and fish dark color jigs/pigs too. I've done "ok" trying that, but you literally have to be on top of the fish to catch them that way so the swimming bait tends to "find" more fish for me to catch. I've caught more fish during Dec-Feb slow rolling small spinnerbaits in deep water than I have jigging for them, but I ain't a pro so my advice is worth exactly what you're paying for it... :-)

Good luck out there. We're going to spend Christmas and New Year's at our cabin up there outside Valle Crucis (near Boone, Foscoe, Linville, etc). Hoping to see some snow on the ground this year for Christmas, figured for us flatlanders, our cabin would be the best bet. So, do you ever do any trout fishing up that way? Our land up there abuts a legal "fishing portion" of one of the local streams and I've toyed with the idea of learning to fly fish sometime for those little trout up there...

I used to fish for trout all the time on the Davidson River before I went in debt and bought the boat. Would never throw a fly though. I would use an ultra lite rod and reel, and either throw a cheese work, or Panther Martin (delayed Harvest) Have caught many trout in the streams around here. The only problem is you find a decent hole where you can pull one or two fish out of, and you have got to practically spend the night there the night before to make sure you have the spot the next morning. There is an art all of it's own to learning how to throw a fly rod, and there are places on the Davidson, where it is restricted to fly fishing only and all catch and release. I know there has got to be some huge fish up in that section. Have fun, and let us know how you do.

"SimRacer" <nOspaM@simracer68@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:Zkovd.6456$xR1.479467@twister.southeast.rr.com... > > "Scott Brown" <Sapbrown213@bellsouth.net> wrote in message > news:vyIud.63664$Dm2.61708@bignews1.bellsouth.net... > > Hi all, > > > > I live in Western North Carolina, where the weather has been anything > But > > normal. It has been unseasonably warm here, and today I was going to take > > the boat out, but wouldn't you know, woke up to high winds overcast skies > > and a bitter cold snap in the air. Was wondering if any of you could tell > > me what works best in winter. I have never really fished in winter as have > > had no such luck, I have always thought, winter=Deep, and I hate fishing > > deep. Is this true? I like boat docks or other structures, but hate deep, > > although my tackle salesman has told me that verticle jigging was the way > to > > go this time of year, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks in > > advance, > > Scooter > > > > Can't comment on Winter out west Scott, but I'm in Raleigh and fish Jordan, > Harris and Falls Lakes with some regularity during the cold months (no > skiers or PWCers to deal with) and some adages hold true sometimes, and > other times, they don't. > > If it is a clear, chilly and low wind day, absolutely, fish deep or don't > fish at all around here. I look for the thermocline on the LCD and fish > ledges that may criss cross that warmer water in the water column. Fishing > is usually slow like this, but when you do get bit, it is normally a better > quality of fish. > > The absloute BEST days to fish in cold weather around here (again, being the > Piedmont of NC and not the mountains) is to wait for dreary days, even in > light rain. Usually I like to go after a day of rain, if it is still > overcast, as it sets up what has been my best pattern to find/figure out. > The runoff is usually at or above the lake water temp, which causes warm > water pockets in coves (or anywhere runoff is apparent near a bank), and it > also stains the water up some. Mix that with overcast, and the fish will > usually move up and appear to feed regularly. My largest bass ever caught > have been in this pattern, with bright (chrome usually) rat-l-traps, in > anywhere from 1' to 10' of water. If the water isn't so stained, go to a > quieter crank bait, and one with a baitfish color if you have one (shad, > tenn shad, and bleeding shad all work good in clearer water here). I find > Rapala's line of crank baits to be good, just enough rattle, good baitfish > paint schemes, and their bills can take a beating on submerged rocks and > brush without causing them to swim funny (lakes around here have rip-rap > rock in areas where this "warm water runoff" occurs, near bridges etc). > > That said, the "pros" and "guides" around here will tell you to find > dropoffs, and deep flats, and fish dark color jigs/pigs too. I've done "ok" > trying that, but you literally have to be on top of the fish to catch them > that way so the swimming bait tends to "find" more fish for me to catch. > I've caught more fish during Dec-Feb slow rolling small spinnerbaits in deep > water than I have jigging for them, but I ain't a pro so my advice is worth > exactly what you're paying for it... :-) > > Good luck out there. We're going to spend Christmas and New Year's at our > cabin up there outside Valle Crucis (near Boone, Foscoe, Linville, etc). > Hoping to see some snow on the ground this year for Christmas, figured for > us flatlanders, our cabin would be the best bet. So, do you ever do any > trout fishing up that way? Our land up there abuts a legal "fishing portion" > of one of the local streams and I've toyed with the idea of learning to fly