<h1>Winter Fishing Tips to give you an Edge</h1>
Author: Jason
Brown
Don't put your tackle away when winter hits. Use thse winter fishing tips to help enjoy fishing the year round. First, it should be said that tips and tricks like these
that I have put together can only take you so far. It is important to hone your
skills and practice observing the conditions while you are out fishing. These
tips are a few that I have put together over many years of guiding but are by no
means the only way to catch fish. Make sure that you are familiar with the
places that you are fishing so that you can key in on certain conditions and
look for your "target".
Grass lines are the first to come to mind. I see
many areas on the south shoreline of Baffin Bay, the Meadows and 9 Mile Hole
where the grass just runs out or stops growing in very shallow water. Most of
these areas transition from dense shoalgrass to white sand bottom. The contrast
is very visible especially on clear sunny days.
In addition to the
shallow water transition, you can also look for grass lines that coincide with a
depth change. When fishing in the Laguna Madre this change in water depth may
only be a few inches, not the usual three to four foot channel drops that we
often look for in Bass fishing. Even these subtle changes can impact fish
behavior. Instead of transitioning from the shoal grass to sand, what we are
looking for here is a change from long dense grass to very sparse short grass in
shallow water. Redfish are very attracted to these places because of all the
baitfish and crabs that hide out in these areas without a lot of cover.
I like to start out with a fast-steady retrieve looking for a reaction
strike. If you get fish that follow your lure in but just won't hit, you may
need to vary your retrieve. A very fast retrieve with occasional pauses or a
"wave" retrieve which involves a steady rate with raising and lowering of the
rod tip can be effective. There is no single right way to work your lure so
experiment and vary your retrieve. Just make sure you remember what it was you
did that triggered the strike.
Yet another grass line feature is the
edges of potholes. Potholes can be as small as a trashcan lid or cover several
yards. The irregular edges afford hiding places for ambush feeders to scan the
openings for smaller prey. By blending in with the grasses, they can better
execute a surprise attack. There are rock edges and dropoffs like many in Baffin
Bay where the rocks reach close to the surface and then quickly drop to depths
reaching eight or nine feet. The old Bass fisherman comes out in me again when I
see structure and edges like these. In fact many tactics used in modern Bass
fishing will work well on these areas.
I've always been an advocate of
slower to moderate retrieves on soft plastic fishing lures like Devil Eyes by
Brown Lures. Short, quick hops in varying combinations with pauses in between
have been my bread and butter ever since I started seriously fishing saltwater.
It's one of the things I brought with me from Bass fishing. A Texas rigged worm
on a 1/4 oz. or less bullet sinker was definitely a go to lure for me. That
style of slow bouncing has carried over and worked very well for me. I use this
tactic when fishing potholes and rocky dropoffs. It seems to give the fish
plenty of time to focus on the target and hopefully, with just the right twitch
or jerk, you can trigger an aggressive strike. Again, vary your retrieve and
REMEMBER what it was you did that triggered it.
Winter fishing is looking
promising this year based on how the weather looks so far. The dove and ducks
are already moving around down here in South Texas so come on down and we'll
hook up for a great outdoor adventure.