Winter Fishing

[Elton]

Posted on behalf of Richard:

 

quote:

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Although the winter is coming is there any advice you can give me to help me catch? I

fish on lakes. And is there a dropping off time?

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[Peter M]

More skilled anglers than me will post here but to start off with here is some general advice. on a lake try to fish on a mild day in the winter espec when there is a south west wind, unlike summer early morning is not always productive as it is too cold, afternoon is best when the temperature rises, use smaller baits like fluro pinkies they are great winter bait, cut down on ground bait and loose feed lightly, liquidised bread is a good bet, dot the float down so only the tip is visable as bites can be shy. Good luck I have done well in the past sticking to the above principles.

 

hope this helps

[Fordy]

Fish with cold wind at your back - warm South Westerley in your face. Feeder fishing is a good option using crumb in the feeder. Make sure you;ve got a few options for hook bait but don't mix and match too much. Traditionally lots of anglers (myself included) will use smaller baits and cut down on loose feed. But I've found using a big (occasionally STUPIDLY big like a large chunk of luncheon meat) hook bait will get you bites. The theory is that in winter, fish conserve their energy and have to have a good reason to move onto a bait - it has to be worth their while so they don't use up more calories than they are getting. Also, buy a camping stove and make loads of cups of tea and stew!! (have just done this myself....luverleeeeeee!!!)

[Peter M]

With regards to the big bait in the winter theory it works well, espec for bigh perch using a lob worm in lakes and rivers.

[Steve Burke]

The first article I ever had published was in the Chub Study Group magazine almost 25 years ago. It was entitled "Big Baits in Cold Weather" and very much went against the accepted thinking of the time. Since then I've found that the principle applies to many other species, both on rivers and stillwaters.

 

I've dealt with the same subject in an article here on Angler's Net called "Fishing Frozen Rivers". You can see it at http://anglers-net.co.uk/authors/steve05.htm

 

As I explain, whilst I use big baits in cold weather, I do cut right back on the amount of feed.

 

Feeding is one of the key issues in determining how well you catch, especially at relatively featureless venues like commercial day ticket waters. Top match anglers like Bob Nudd have it down to a fine art, but mere mortals like me have to work to an easy system!

 

What I do on a commercial water is loose feed as I set my tackle up. Hopefully, some fish will be confidently eating this by the time I'm ready to cast out.

 

The amount I put in depends on the species I'm after, how many fish the water holds and how well I expect the fish to be feeding. For instance, in cold conditions the fish are likely to eat a lot less and therefore I cut right back on the amount I feed.

 

Almost always feeding little and often is the right tactic to employ. Again how much I feed each time is dependent on the above factors.

 

How often I feed is a lot easier. This is simply whenever I get a bite, whether I catch the fish or not. This way I automatically minimise the risk of overfeeding the fish, which can completely kill the swim. On the other hand it gives the fish more food if they want it.

 

Granted, this is a very simplified description of the system I use as I do vary it slightly in the light of what happens on the day. However, it's a very good starting point and hopefully others will find it of use.

 

[ 20. October 2004, 03:27 PM: Message edited by: Steve Burke ]

[*Ant*]

Ant's fuzzy logic theory (NO scientific basis )

 

Lets take a small commercial fishery as an example:

 

As the end of the year approaches and winter settles in, there becomes less and less bountyful natural food for the fish to feed upon. This along with fewer and fewer anglers piling in the bait, due to many stashing away the fishing gear for the winter, and the fish will "turn-off" to conserve energy.

 

This is the fuzzy bit:

 

If anglers continued to fish the commercial, with plenty of bait regulary going into the wet stuff, the fish would stay active throughout the winter and we wouldn't see a distinctive "drop-off" of catches.

 

[ 20. October 2004, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: *Anthony* ]

[Fordy]

I've found there are still days in the winter when all waters (still/commercial and rivers) will fish their heads off and you will wish you had more loose feed to keep the little blighters in your swim......