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The Winter Smallie Addict


Mike Clifford

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The weather outside is frightful.....

What now?

 

Are you packing it in, or changing tactics?

 

Inquiring minds want to know!

I'm reluctantly packing it in and puttering with my fishing vessels and tying jigs and flies in anticipation of next season. Up here in Ontario, Canada the water is about to get hard and bass season ends at the end of the month. Right now I'm working every day or I would be out checking out the cold water bite in my favourite river.

Don

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I've carefully tracked fish back to their winter homes all year. If I catch a decent fish, I ask myself where she survives during cold high water. Then come spring, I'll know where to start too. I'll get out and catch some nice ones at some point this year and winter.

 

So many leaves in the water column right now makes it tough.

 

Going maybe Mon and Tues depending on temps.

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The weather outside is frightful.....

What now?

 

Are you packing it in, or changing tactics?

 

Inquiring minds want to know!

 

 

Probably packing it in. Fishing show season is coming up so that basically shuts down any free time for us.

BUT..that being said, 11-17-07 was one hell of a day to close out the season. And quite unbelievable. Finishing the year out with another 20" smallie (or 2, as it was. Go Ken!) was icing on the cake. :)

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Guess I did not answer the first prompt. When it comes to winter fishing, I carry very few lure types. Usually start with a suspending jerkbait (pointer 65 is my favorite). If that doesn't work I will usually go to a small tube or hair jig/trailer fished slowly along the bottom. And lastly, my ace in the hole is the float n fly. If none of those options work, I am either fishing in the wrong place or at the wrong time of day.

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In the coldwater periods of Spring and Fall it makes sense to pursue fish that are happiest in cold water. I belong to a club near Braidwood that stocks Rainbows in a couple of strip pits. Although stockers, they're as beautiful and as hard fighting as their wild bretheren often cartwheeling out of the water repeatedly. I fish 'em from a floatube with a 4wt flyrod and forget all about smallmouths for awhile.

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If my flow is completely froze over , I'll start working south until I find some open water .

 

 

It's nice having the flow to yourself unless of course you hook up with someone who is just as nuts as you are .

 

 

Big , fat , dumb , slow , eat me .

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I don't stop till the water get Hard to penetrate.

 

My spinning go to presentations include, tubebaits, jigs with fuzzy grubs, jigs with curly tailed grubs, hair jigs, jerk bait, senkos and smaller suspending crankbaits.

 

 

I find nymphing on the flyrod or slow streamers acn be very effective of sluggish smallies.

 

 

 

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I don't know how to stop fishing for smallmouths!

 

 

Cold water Smallmouth can learn you alot about Smallmouth behaviour. .

 

I think persuing cold water SMB puts me in better touch with how SMB react to water temps, seasonal changes, and food movement. I'm learning and loving it.

 

I'm with Jonn, I can't stop

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