Help im struggling bad.

[1099gl]

I just bought a new yak my first one ever. Its an Old Town trip 10 dlx. Its a great sit in fishing kayak in my opinion and I got it for $250. Basically a $600 kayak that was used twice. Anyways ive used it a handful of times at palisades and route 66. I can't seem to catch a break I know fishing in the winter is a grind for any fish but I figured by now I would have hooked into one. Been trying the deep holes and throwing all different types of baits, float and fly, jerkbait, jig, tubes, regular hair jigs just jigging them still nothing. Brush piles and deep rip rap. I just wanna hook something I don't even care if its a smallie at this point (smallie would be preferable.) Any tips on where I can go thats not frozen. Not asking for anyone's honey holes just somewhere I have a decent chance in hooking one. 

Thanks,

Gabriel

[timinmo]

Wish I had some wisdom to pass on.  My limited winter fishing experiences have not been very successful.  What I have learned is to be very careful and always carry an extra set of dry clothes with you, not in the car but with you. Also wear your PFD.  The dry clothes part comes from personal experience.

[Guest]

Deleted.

[Mitch f]

 The waters have been so low and clear that it's flat out tough to catch them under these conditions. Wait until a warm spell, or a warm rain and go to the river. Make sure the river is either slowly rising from a rain, or wait until the river has settled down a few days after a rain. Rapid falling water is never too good, but a little murky water helps. Fish spots with little or no current when water temps are very cold. Fish slowly as SIUSaluki says....also downsize your baits a little.

[Al Agnew]

Saluki is right...but the problem is that not all deep water is equal.  And deep water is a relative term.  Some holes that look great don't seem to hold fish, other spots that look a little marginal have a pod of fish in them.  

Get yourself a water thermometer if you don't already have one.  Water temp is important.  Ideally, wait until there's enough of a warm spell that the water temp gets up into at least the low 40s.  At that point, jerkbaits should begin to work.  With jerkbaits you can prospect a little bit quicker than you can with jigs and tubes.  Look for SLOW current for smallies.  Not zero current.  And my winter fishing guru doesn't like back eddies.  Just slow current along a rocky bank, preferably a south or west facing bank, dropping off into water that's too deep to see the bottom (or, if it's as clear as it has been in a lot of places this winter, water at least 7 or 8 feet deep).  Ideally, too, big rocks, not cobble size rocks, and if there are a few big sunken  logs close to the bottom, even better.  If you find a place like that, it SHOULD hold some fish.  Fish it thoroughly with the jerkbait.  Smaller jerkbaits are more consistent than bigger ones.  And I like a light colored jerkbait that you can see under the right conditions, so you kinda know what it's doing and can also see if any fish comes up to investigate.  Sometimes with jerkbaits the fish will study it for a long time and turn away, but at least you then know the fish are there.  Once you find some fish, you can then experiment with jigs, tubes, or any other kind of bottom dragging bait to see if you can interest them a bit more.

Mitch is exactly right, it's been tough this winter due to the low, clear water, and his downsizing advice is important under these conditions.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Ned

[Hog Wally]

If I was limited to a kayak at rte 66 park, I would paddle upstream 2 miles to the first riffle( not really a riffle but it's the first shallow gravel hump up there) then I would fish the deep dead log side   I can't catch a fish on the boulder side and I have fished it 10 times   I would throw a jerkbait downsized as aforementioned if you get bit start throwing hidef craws.  They will be available anyday now.  And they work   They did today.   ?

[Norm M]

 when looking for water that is a bit warmer than the surrounding water take the sun's influence into account . northerly shores get more sun than southerly this time of year . darker bottoms hold the heat better than lighter. woody cover and rocks hold heat as well . all three can help raise the water temps .

 

 look for places that combine those with the type of secure waters that bass need the others have mentioned .

 

 next up is boat control in the kayak . do you use any kind of anchoring system to hold in place so you can concentrate on fishing those spots. most of the times the hits can be very light to just a mushy, not quite right feeling when you move your lure . if you are trying to hold the kayak in place and fish at the same time you could be missing those subtle takes . it might be better to anchor and fish until you get more experience .  get the best casting angle you can that allows the least amount of bow or slack in your line, that also helps .

 if you do drift down the seams you might want to consider vertical jigging or drop shotting  , can't get much more direct contact than that .

 you could also try Carolina rigging to go low and slow . if snags present a problem go to a slinky or sand bag type weight or a lindy no snag sinker . using Carolina stops instead of a swivel to stop the weight eliminates two knots . the only knot you need tie is to the hook . the fewer knots you have to tie in cold weather the happier your hands will be . cold hands also reduce feel for those subtle takes .  gloves and chemical hand warmers from the get go keeps the hands warm. much better than warming up cold hands .

[Tom Ryan]

As Norm mentioned I wonder if a drop shot would help in the low clear water.  I attended Brandon Palaniuk's drop shotting seminar at the fishing show last weekend and realized that I need to use it more often.