BE PREPARED… IT’S COMING

Falling temperatures mean cold water and granted ours is not what the neighbors to the north experience nevertheless things do change and fishing is one of them. Cold north winds, cold fronts and cold water should force changes in our thinking when it comes to catching wintertime fish. Winter also gives us other things to consider like staying warm. Nevertheless, do not let it keep you indoors, be prepared, get out there and fish.

As water temperatures drop, metabolisms weaken followed by generally slow sluggish behavior patterns. Since this change equates to less movement, less food is required. What does all this mean to you as an angler… as temperatures fall, metabolisms slow and fish become content to remain relatively immobile, preserving heat, energy, and eating only when necessary? Therefore, you must slow down you fishing techniques especially with artificial lures.

Cooling waters serve as preparation for migration. It triggers survival instincts sending them looking for refuge in deep bays, estuaries, marinas, harbors, canals, and rivers. Structure, not to be confused with cover, is any natural change in the bottom that might hold warmer water temperatures. Examples include creeks, humps, depressions, holes, springs, washouts, submerged riverbeds, sandbars, oyster beds, channels, and drop-offs. Cover, on the other hand is best described as anything natural or manmade. It’s interpreted as anything a fish or bait can use to conceal itself and consist of stick-ups, stumps, rocks, bridges, pilings, docks, weeds, fallen trees or limbs, boats, and boathouses. Now we know where they go – catching them is another story.

For generations, anglers where intrigued with the idea of outsmarting fish using artificial lures. During the winter and especially with the scarceness of natural baits, is a great time to use artificial’s. With artificial’s you get a different perspective and you can expect endless hours of fishing pleasu

Tossing artificial lures requires anglers to develop competence and it does not come overnight but involves practice and patience. Since it means developing the ability to deceive fish into eating unfamiliar shapes, sizes and colors it also involves learning where and when to look for certain species as temperatures begin falling.

Presentation is often construed to mean accurate casting. However, older lure anglers agree that while it plays a vital role there is more to it than pitching a lure into the water. It entails numerous things unrelated to casting, like types of lures, colors, sizes, shapes, noise, hard bodied or soft. Some float while others dive, sink or suspend at various depths. Most are designed to emulate a natural food source depending on how you work it.

In today’s world of high-tech fishing, there are hundreds of situations involving fish behavior that exist and learning them all could take a lifetime. For that reason, just start with some basics then figure out the rest by doing what we love…Fishing.