Cold Weather Fishing at Lake Martin

Now picking a day to go fishing may be tough with the cold weather but if you can brave the cold days you can have some great fishing. The colder it gets the more the fish tend to group up in deeper water. Of course there will also be some fish shallow even with the cold weather but the groups of fish in deep water offer some excellent time on the water. There are several ways to go about catching fish from deep water. The most common is the jigging spoon. Not too much to look at but this bait really works. A piece of lead painted silver or some with a gold finish with a treble hook attached is all you have to have to catch winter time fish.

Sure you have the bait but you will need a good fish locator to find the schools of fish. Once found you can drop the spoons straight down either to the bottom or near the bottom where you see the fish located. Spoon fishing at first seems simple you only drop it down and jerk it back up and then let it down again. Simple maybe but there is a little more to it than that. You have to have a feel of the bait as it falls so you have to follow the bait down with your rod tip not on a slack line. Sure at time your line will be a little slack so you need to watch the line at all times. If your line jerks or moves to one side set the hook quickly. In very cold winters I have seen the time when you had to only lift the spoon two inches and let it lay back down on the bottom to catch fish.

Winter time deep water fishing can be done also with small deer hair jigs or a small jig head with a piece of curly worm tail attached. In order to get your smaller jigs down in deep water six to eight pound test line should be used and even down to four pound test under certain situations. Again keeping contact with your bait as it falls and when you are working it on the bottom is of utmost importance. Bites can be very light with either the spoons or jigs so keep alert.

In the winter time watching the birds as you look for deep fish is also important. Feeding birds will indicate fish below but even when you spot active birds feeding the way you approach the area will determine if you catch fish or just spook them away. We will look at trolling and fishing for fish under feeding birds next week. Remember safety is of utmost importance during the winter time so always wear you life jacket at all times. Never stand up if you feel the least bit off balance which can happen as you age some and the cold air works on your ears and sinus areas. If you use extreme care you can use a small propane heater more on that next week also. Till next week I’ve gone fishing.

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