winter smallmouth fishing, 12-14

[Al Agnew]

Current below Powdermill, sunny, little or no wind, fairly warm. Water temp 50 degrees.

I thought it would be a good day for fishing. It was. It was gorgeous. It just wasn't a real good day for catching. I caught 7 smallmouths, including a 15 incher, a 16 incher, and a 16.5 incher. Most were caught on tubes, the biggest on a jerkbait. 5 largemouths in a spring-fed backwater. 5 chain pickerel.

On the other hand...I guess that ain't all that bad for December.

Somebody else had caught several pickerel and cleaned them on the gravel bar at the access. Some of them couldn't have been much bigger around than a broom handle. They musta been hungry for fish!

I'm still learning this winter fishing thing.

[Kicknbass]

Thats a pretty good day for winter bass fishing.

Did you see any other wildlife worth mentioning? Eagles or Osprey? The current is a beautiful river, and the winter can be the best time to be on the river. You will typically have the river to yourself.

Thanks for the report.

[Al Agnew]

Several eagles. One crashed into the river about 100 yards away and came up with a fish of some kind. No ospreys. A couple of deer.

You're right. I've grown to love winter on the rivers. I had the river completely to myself this trip. Only bad thing about winter is the shortness of the days. This day wasn't nearly long enough!

[hank franklin]

Al, my cousin and I have tried winter smallmouthing but with very little success. Fish slow and deep? We've tried, to no avail. Any general pointers you can throw out there? I generally go for trout in the winter because the one or two times I tried smallmouthing I was shut out, basically.

[Kicknbass]

Seeing an eagle fishing would make the day. Catching several fish was icing on the cake.

How was the bite? any specific pattern? Deep v.s shallow, current v.s eddies, fast v.s. slow, structure?

I have done well in the late fall in the deep holes. It seems if you can find the fish, you catch several. Finding the fish can be a challange.

[MTM]

Sounds to me like you had a dandy day. Good on Ya. Ron

[Al Agnew]

Finding the fish seems to be the toughest thing to do in the winter, but I suspect it's also a fact that finding fish that are active enough to bite is the real limiting factor. In the summer, most days there are plenty of active fish. In the winter, you might be fishing in the right place, have a whole bunch of fish that can see your lure, but few if any of them feel like biting.

As for the location of the fish, my theory is that smallmouths instinctively know they are slower and more vulnerable to predators in the winter, so they tend to stay in places where they can't be seen. That doesn't necessarily mean the deepest holes in the river, it means water that is either deep enough that you can't see the bottom, or places where they can hide under rocks or logs. The other factor is current. They tend to stay out of fast current, but they seldom are in completely slack water.

Current River the other day was up a bit and had strong current in most places. It was also clear enough to see the bottom in 8 feet or so of water. The places where I found fish were in eddies along rocky banks where a rocky point or cliff stuck out far enough to make an eddy downstream, out of the main current. The water in those places wasn't slack, but was slower. Those places also weren't deep enough to completely obscure the bottom, but had enough rocks in them to furnish hiding places.

I suspect that smallies in the winter are often lying in the deepest parts of deep pools, but those fish are probably not going to be active enough to take a lure. So I think that active smallies in the winter are going to be near those deep sanctuaries, but not in them.

Slow is usually best when it comes to lure selection and action. But keep in mind that some of our more spring-fed streams, like Current River, just don't get all that cold except in long stretches of very cold weather. So you don't have to fish at a glacial pace most days.

My main winter lures are hair jigs I make myself, small to medium size tubes, jerkbaits, and deep diving crankbaits.

[Kicknbass]

Thanks for the info. Makes me crave the river.

[Fishin Maniac]

Another sweet post, thanks Al! I've got cabin fever and now its worse!!! Been on JF latley?

[polock]

hey al do you get much action on the plastic jerks in winter?? i always put mine up in cold weather and break them out in spring and summer.. sounds as if i may have to break em back out in the winder time. i love fishing a good plastic jerk bait.