| What's
with all of this cold weather
You would have thought with such a mild December and January, we would have continued
with a mild February. But NO, IT HAS BEEN DARN COLD in February, and so cold
in the mornings that you almost don't want to get out from under the covers of
my warm bed. But, even with this cold, I have been out there trying to catch
a fish.
As of this writing the backwater temperature is right at 50 degrees, and when
the water is this cold, you can expect one thing, the fish are almost in suspended
animation. For the backwater fisher persons trying to catch red fish, try to
plan your trip after the sun is up for a while, so you can benefit from it's
warming rays to heat up the shallow water a degree or two. This will make a difference
in your ability to catch fish. Fish a small bait like the Sea Striker three inch
curly tail grub on a light jig head and fish it very slow. I have had real good
success with the white body and chartreuse tail. You have got to keep in mind
the fish are the same temperature as the water and when it gets this cold, they
DO NOT and will not eat like the summertime bite. Don't get frustrated because
of the sloe bite, just work your baits slow.
If you can find a few schooled up reds in shallow water, they will probably be
all huddled up and not on the prowl but just hanging out, almost as if they were
trying to cuddle to share any warmth they might have. I like to go to an area
that I am pretty sure holds fish, ease my Minn Kota 3X over and move slow down
the bank looking for fish that will move away from the boat. If you are working
your trolling motor slow and not making any noise, these fish will get up in
front of the boat and move away a few feet. When you see this, back off of the
motor and wait for them to sit back down. If the winds a light or you are in
an area where it is calm, you will be able to see the wakes pushed up from the
fish. Keep an eye on where they stop, back off a little and try making cast past
or in front of these fish. Work the bait in and around where you think they stopped.
When you get it the area where they are, make slight jerks on the rod to make
the bait look as if it confused or wounded. Try to keep the bait in the area
as long as you can. DO NOT throw on top of where you think the fish stopped as
you will only spook them and then you can forget catching them as they will probably
take off. See these fish already know you are there from when you got close enough
to make them move, so any other commotion on your part will only hinder your
chances of getting one to eat.
See when these guys are in say, a foot or so of water they are extremely spooky
and when they know you are there they are even more reluctant to eat your best
presentation. So stay back, be quite, use a small bait and light line. I like
a 1/8 ounce jig head, 8 pound Power Pro line and a 7 foot All Star light action
rod with a small Pflueger President spinning reel. This outfit allows you to
make long cast with very light baits and the tackle is plenty enough to get even
the biggest backwater red to the boat.
How about a trout or two.
Cold water spells bunched up trout. Here is what I have been able to do when
the water is very cold.
Find a spot where you have moving water, a deep area as along the ICW or a deep
bend in a creek. Slow the boat down to an idle, turn on your HUMMINBIRD recorder
and drive slowly over the deep areas. If you see big schools of bait, you will
probably see bigger marks (fish) on the screen around the outer edges of the
bait. The bait is usually identified on the screen as what looks like fuzz or
a big bunch of very small marks close together.
Look at the picture below and you will see the bottom, just off the bottom, bait
fish and on the outer edges of the bait fish, you will see the trout.
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