Winter Trout Fishing

[ozark trout fisher]

Why would they do that?

Springwater is warmer than other water during the winter... So the species that like warm water tend to migrate to spring branches.

[Buckshotdad1960]

Alright! That might make sense but what about other fish and the food they eat? Does anything stay in the river?

[ozark trout fisher]

Alright! That might make sense but what about other fish and the food they eat? Does anything stay in the river?

I'm sure plenty do. I know smallies tend to move into spring-water during winter as well, or at least they do up here on the Meramec. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but I think the warmer spring-water concentrates bait fish when the water is cold.

[Buckshotdad1960]

Well would you agree that this is true?

90% of the fish are in 10% of the lake?

And if that’s true then would you say that that changes in the winter?

If 90% of the fish are concentrated in the springs then do most fish for them then?

[Buckshotdad1960]

Or does the cold keep most people away? Because frankly, I was born and raised here and I have never fished a spring in the winter or heard of people fishing a spring in the winter but if the springs are loaded with fish then why wouldn’t more people take advantage of that? If people in MN fish through the ice then surly people would fish here where for the most part the water never freezes. In my mind now I’m picturing all the fish in the river migrating to the mouths of springs in the winter. Would this be a true assumption in your opinion? Do crappies do this to? LOL I bet you knew where I was going with this.

[eric1978]

Or does the cold keep most people away? Because frankly, I was born and raised here and I have never fished a spring in the winter or heard of people fishing a spring in the winter but if the springs are loaded with fish then why wouldn’t more people take advantage of that? If people in MN fish through the ice then surly people would fish here where for the most part the water never freezes. In my mind now I’m picturing all the fish in the river migrating to the mouths of springs in the winter. Would this be a true assumption in your opinion? Do crappies do this to? LOL I bet you knew where I was going with this.

The springs are not "loaded" with smallies during the winter. It's an unproven (as far as I know) theory of some, including myself, that smallmouth that live in heavily spring-fed rivers, might possibly move closer to a spring during the coldest part of the winter, since the water coming from the springs is somewhat warmer than sections above and far below them. But springs don't regulate temperature only where they well out of the ground. That water is warmer for miles down the river. So, no, fish aren't stacked up right at the head of a spring like stocked trout in a park, but it makes sense logically that smallmouth will seek out milder temps in winter, so maybe they move closer to it. It's also possible that many fish live in the same hole their entire lives, not leaving, say, 100 yard stretch of river where their deep hole is. They bury themselves under a big rock or root wad and only move if a shiner limps past their face. I don't think anyone really knows for sure.

The reason you don't hear of more people taking advantage of winter river fishing, is because most people don't. The vast majority of people fishing on some of the more popular rivers, including and especially the Meramec, are passive, seasonal anglers who are floating down the river with their families or college buddies on a warm summer weekend and are casting a Rebel Craw between slugs of beer. Many other more serious anglers simply close up shop when cold weather gets here. And for good reason.

The fishing will be very tough most days in the dead of winter. You have to fish dreadfully slow and it can get very tedious. You have to keep working that one little spot where you just know there's a fish. You have to drop the lure right on their noses. And they still might not eat it. At the same time, you're freezing your butt off. But fish do still eat in the winter, and they can be and are caught all year round. If we get a stretch of just a few unseasonably warm winter days, that can be enough to get the fish out and moving and eating more. Some days you'll expect to catch nothing but catch lots of fish. One of my best days was in late November, overcast, low 30s, cold front about to blow through, and the fish were going nuts. I caught them all day like it was early summer.

So yes, you can catch them during winter, but it is a challenge. However, a day paddling down a clear Ozark river is a better day than most, with or without fish. Just stay home when the temps are below freezing. I don't do much fishing in January or February.

[ozark trout fisher]

The springs are not "loaded" with smallies during the winter. It's an unproven (as far as I know) theory of some, including myself, that smallmouth that live in heavily spring-fed rivers, might possibly move closer to a spring during the coldest part of the winter, since the water coming from the springs is somewhat warmer than sections above and far below them. But springs don't regulate temperature only where they well out of the ground. That water is warmer for miles down the river. So, no, fish aren't stacked up right at the head of a spring like stocked trout in a park, but it makes sense logically that smallmouth will seek out milder temps in winter, so maybe they move closer to it. It's also possible that many fish live in the same hole their entire lives, not leaving, say, 100 yard stretch of river where their deep hole is. They bury themselves under a big rock or root wad and only move if a shiner limps past their face. I don't think anyone really knows for sure.

The reason you don't hear of more people taking advantage of winter river fishing, is because most people don't. The vast majority of people fishing on some of the more popular rivers, including and especially the Meramec, are passive, seasonal anglers who are floating down the river with their families or college buddies on a warm summer weekend and are casting a Rebel Craw between slugs of beer. Many other more serious anglers simply close up shop when cold weather gets here. And for good reason.

The fishing will be very tough most days in the dead of winter. You have to fish dreadfully slow and it can get very tedious. You have to keep working that one little spot where you just know there's a fish. You have to drop the lure right on their noses. And they still might not eat it. At the same time, you're freezing your butt off. But fish do still eat in the winter, and they can be and are caught all year round. If we get a stretch of just a few unseasonably warm winter days, that can be enough to get the fish out and moving and eating more. Some days you'll expect to catch nothing but catch lots of fish. One of my best days was in late November, overcast, low 30s, cold front about to blow through, and the fish were going nuts. I caught them all day like it was early summer.

So yes, you can catch them during winter, but it is a challenge. However, a day paddling down a clear Ozark river is a better day than most, with or without fish. Just stay home when the temps are below freezing. I don't do much fishing in January or February.

I don't really think it's anything like a mass migration or anything like that. It does seem to me though, from the few times I have fished ozark streams during winter, that the bass near the springs (usually caught while I'm trout fishing) are a little more active. Maybe this is just a coincidence, but maybe the slightly warmer water makes them a bit more eager. But I've always been under the impression winter bass fishing is kinda like sticking a square peg into a round hole. That's why generally, the four or five times each year I make it to an Ozark stream in winter, I'm going after trout. I do catch smallies though sometimes on accident. I may have to try for winter bass this year, although it sounds pretty difficult. I always enjoy a good challenge.

[Buckshotdad1960]

Thank you eric1978,

My thoughts exactly and that’s why I do other things in the winter and wait on spring before contemplating my return to the water. In MN before dead winter sets in or in milder winters where the water doesn’t freeze on the rivers, when people fish, most don’t use artificial lures but natural bait instead. Even on the lakes ice fishermen who might use a spoon or jig still tip it with a minnow, wax worm or leach. Fishing it dead still seems to be the ticket. Power plants that draw their water from the river to cool their generators return the warmed water to the river which provides open water down stream of the plant for a distance all winter long. In that open warm water it is possible to use and catch fish on artificial lures. Also, here is an interesting fact. The DNR in MN has done studies with tagged river smallies and found that when it come to spawning time, fish may travel up wards to 20 miles up stream to spawn just to return home again to the same stretch of river they use in the summer. Oddly enough they also can live up to about twenty years in the wild according to the MCD here in MO. They don’t die off every 3-5 years like crappie.

[FishinCricket]

I only spill all my C&R beans while fishing, so you boys will just have to come on down on one of those funky cold days and find out for yourselves just what smallies act like in Bennett..

cheers! Lol

[eric1978]

I only spill all my C&R beans while fishing, so you boys will just have to come on down on one of those funky cold days and find out for yourselves just what smallies act like in Bennett..

cheers! Lol

You name the day buddy, and if you put me on a smallie that goes 17" or better, you get a case of beer on me. Oh, that's in January or February by the way.