Outdoors: Warm winter weather means good fishing

You know we’re going to pay for all this nice weather, don’t you? No snow to speak of in December or January and February afternoons flirting with 70 degrees? I expect it’ll snow two feet on Mother’s Day, but in the meantime, let’s enjoy it. All this global warming is a good thing, as far as fishing is concerned.

Fishing is way ahead of schedule. In fact, fishing in farm ponds and small lakes has been sensational for some anglers. I heard of a 9-pounder caught last week.

Now is the time to catch the biggest bass of the year. But to catch them, you actually have to go fishing.

In winter, the fish bite best during the most pleasant time of day, usually in mid-afternoons. By this time, the water has had a chance to warm a little and when it comes to winter fishing, water temperature is everything.

If you go, take a stream thermometer with you. If you can find water temperatures just a single degree warmer than the rest, that’s where the fish will be. Note that shallow water warms quicker than deep water, but bass like to stay near deep water, so look for those situations.

Concentrate your efforts on the sunny side of the pond or lake, and if the wind is blowing, fish the wind-blown bank, especially if it’s sunny. If there are any rocks or rip rap, fish that area heavily. Rocks retain heat and the water near them will be warmer, which attracts baitfish, which attracts middle size fish and ultimately draws interest from those 8- and 9-pounders.

In February, most of the bites you get will come from big fish. Bass spawn in April and they need fuel to nourish their egg sacs, so they have to feed. But being cold natured, bass will be a little sluggish and look for the easiest prey. Crawfish and vulnerable minnows or bluegills are prime targets.

Plastics bumped along the bottom, deep diving crank baits — also bumping the bottom — and spinner baits are all great winter lures for bass.

The crappie action is just beginning in ponds and small lakes. Small shiners beneath a bobber and small jigs are most effective. Slow, slower and slowest is the best presentation.

Trout streams are still cold, probably in the upper 30’s, lower 40’s, but trout will still bite in cold water. My son Jimmie caught a 24-inch brown trout in February when he was just 12 years old. We were fishing Swift Run in a big swimming hole when the big one gobbled Jimmie’s worm. An ordinary earthworm, a natural bait in all the trout streams, is one of the best producers in the winter months.

When I fly fish in the winter, I like big, buggy looking flies that will attract the larger trout. A black or olive Woolly Bugger with a little Flashaboo in the tail is my bread and butter fly. Many trout — and some of the larger fish — hold over from year to year, even in the put and take streams. This time to year, there is practically no pressure and the big trout will be where they are supposed to be — in the best pools. So concentrate there and don’t worry that the stocking trucks have yet to make a visit.

Let’s take advantage of this warming trend. Let’s get outdoors and go fishing.

Fishing tips

What if you only had one lure you could use, what would you choose? A basic Rapala is hard to beat and so is a spinner or spinner bait. Some would live or die with a spoon. If I had to choose, I’d fish a jig, one of the most consistently effective lures of all — and for all fish. Trout bite jigs, crappie bite jigs, largemouth and smallmouth bass eat jigs and small jigs work great for bluegills. Jigs are equally effective in fresh and salt water. They can be tipped with pork rinds, plastics or even bait — like minnows or squid. You can fish jigs fast or slow, you can work them up and down like a jigging spoon and you can swim them like a crank bait. For lots of anglers, a jig is the lure of choice out of the tackle box — a good bait to start the day.

Make sure you have plenty of jigs in all colors and sizes in your tackle box.

Contact Jim Brewer at j44brewer@gmail.com