Kim City - Dec 31 - Deep bite on Damiki

[Dock-in-it]

I fished this morning for a few hours and the deep bite was very steady on the Damiki rig. Both the horizontal and vertical presentations were effective. Swimming the Damiki produced the best quality and was just as effective as the vertical bite.

Tried the ice jig and they did not like it very much. I did not try a Keitech because the Damiki is so effective as a swimbait.

As normal for resident fish, the good bite lasted from 7:15 to 8:45, then the wolfpacks fizzled and the small groups were much tougher to catch, then at 9:30 it was done. 

Stayed in 37-45 FOW.

WT 50-51.5

[David Goddard]

Fished up the white and found the same thing between Baxter to big bay. Is there any way that you've found to determine which creeks are good? Seems like bait helps but isn't necessary. All size of creeks hold em too. I did catch 4 today on a crankbait. Seems like there's a bit of a crankbait bite if you get wind

[Dock-in-it]

Regarding how to determine which creeks are good for winter time. Every creek is unique and will hold winter time fish at different intervals throughout the winter.

Since I fish deep 95% of the time I know which creeks are good for grouping up pre-spawn and/or post-spawn fish (at certain offshore locations). A creeks 'spawn phase grouping ability' seems to correlate to having winter time grouping of fish at certain locations. 

These groups of fish come and go multiple times during the spawn phases and during the winter months. So you can not write off a good looking creek/location after one visit. 

Prior to FFS, deep winter time fishing was more suited for guys on the water multiple days per week. Since FFS, several weekend fishermen have cut their learning curve time frame by a few decades. 

 

[Mitch f]

What bait and what weight head? I’m thinking I could use more of a hover strolling technique with my Shark tail worm. The tail has great action and twitching would be minimal. 

[Dock-in-it]

Mitch, I mostly use a 3/8 VMC moon eye jig with a 3" Damiki brand armor shad. 

Regarding the shark tail worm, I would recommend cutting the 5.25" version down to 4" and put that on a 5/8 oz jig head. Then use it vertical for the deep fish and fish for the guys closest to the bottom and work the bait aggressively by jigging it up several feet. These winter fish love a fast rate of fall. Then try the same setup as a swimbait. 

Regarding hover strolling, I have not tried it in the winter because of the slow rate of fall to reach the fish and the fish high in the water column are very tough to catch vs the bottom guys. I would love to hear feedback that it works.

I think the best scenario to try hover strolling is in the first 30 minutes of daylight (with no wind) and you know your around plenty of fish.

A low pressure mild wind day before a cold front is the best time to find winter fish feeding high in the water column. 

 

[Quillback]

i second what Dock says about cutting it down to 4" or maybe less, at least for winter fishing.  I would probably throw it on a 3/16th or 1/8 oz head and swim/drag it through cover.

 

[Mitch f]

The Shark Tail wasn’t designed for this technique but I was just wondering. The bait in the 5.25 has a very small diameter and is basically a super finesse worm. I wonder if I need to make newer version that is shorter with a thicker body that can be doubled as a fluke type bait. I actually use it like a fluke with great success last year with the bigger model. 

[Quillback]

A shorter, thicker version would be interesting for sure.

[Champ188]

Generous of you Dock to share a pic of your best lure. Thanks, brother. Helps us river rats/bank beaters at least understand a little about what you're doing. 

[Mitch f]

Thanks for this post! The best I’ve seen in a while!