Are you still fishing or have you quit for winter?

[Skipper]

This has been a horrible year for me.  First the boat wreck that put me behind in points early, then a broke arm in the summer that sealed my 22 nd place points finish, the worst I've done in 6 years.  I got side tracked after the broke hand and haven't been fishing since July.  Since I couldn't hold a rod till mid August, I resigned myself to hunt deer this year and have managed to not do such a good job at that either, but it's time for me to get back serious again.

Here, the water will need to cool for another month or so, and then it will be time for float and fly trips and I need to get ready.  The first thing I'll need to do is buy some new spinning gear.  That's what I lost in the boat wreck.  I lost my two spinning rods and float and fly rig.  

Anyhow, now that modern gun is over, I'm going to dig in and start getting my gear ready to fish should we have some nice weekends in January or Febuary.  Hopefully 2005 will be a more successful tournament year and find me back in the top 10 at least.

Skipper

[rockbilly]

Skipper, Do you actually mean some folks quit for the winter?  While I was still tournament fishing we fished year round.  I'm close to several good lakes, and usually fished 300 days a year (gotta take a few days for spring Turkey, and for deer season).  Most active fishermen here fish year round, the weather is not that bad if you can avoid the winds.  They kill you on these big open lakes (you know how it is on the Big O, it just as bad here when the wind come up.

My largest bass ever was caught on 12 Dec, my wife fished with me that day, it was 15 degrees when we launched the boat.  I guess I was lucky, my big motor wouldn't start, I dropped the trolling motor and started working a big jig off a steep rock wall, caugnt a two pounder. a while later I caught one a little over four.  I fished for two-three hours and never got another hit.  I was about ready to call it a day, when I picked up the rod and thought I was hung up.  I hit the trolling motor to move in and shake it loose when it started swimming off.  I set the hook and it felt like I had an old truck tire on the end of the line.  When I finally got it up next to the boat I could see it was BIG.  She weighed 11.88.  I moved from sixth place in the club to first, and had the largest fish caught in a Texas Association of Bass Clubs tournament for that year.

After that I was convinced, winter is the best time to fish in Texas........

[Lawdog]

Skipper,

Up here in Northern California the Bass fishing stinks until say March.  I am fishing but concentrating on Catfish for the smoker.  Got about 190 lbs. smoked and packed away for munching on later.  Along with Salmon we’re keeping the smoker busy.  Lawdog
 

[arky65]

i'm not a pro but i agree with rockbilly, i have always caught more big fish november through march any other time of year.
i fish mostly for smallmouth in the mtn streams here in west arkansas. usually have the river to my self this time of year.

arky65

[Skipper]

The thing that gets to me sometimes about winter is the vast changes in what we do.  Normally we take a trip to Okeechobee in January and that requires doing a lot of retooling.  I mount the control box in the boat for the shiner tank, put 30 lb line on my reels, dig out my Big O tackle, baits, etc.  It takes a couple weeks to get everything ready for that trip.  Then when we get back home, it's convert back to winter in Kentucky getting the float and fly stuff back out, strip the 30 lb line and swap over to 8 and 12 pound line.  Remove the bait tank and it's control box, and dig out the heavy duty clothes.  The first thing you know, it's March, and it's time to start tournament fishing again..    

Skipper

[rockbilly]

Come on Skipper, Shiner tank?  Live bait?  You fish for carp too?

You of all people know us die-hard basses fishermens only uses dem artificial baits likes jigs, worms, spinnerbaits and such..

Course I must confess, I did lower myself a time or two and put a crawdad, water dog or a shiner on, but I ain't gonna tell nobody.

I have fished the Big O a few times, I have never caught what I'd consider a monster bass.  The last time I was there, (1999) we caught 6-8 fish in the 8-10 pound range, but nothing larger.  Heck I can do that on Lake Fork and don't have to drive as far, and I can fish out of my tackle boxes.  As for shiner tank, it's mostly catch and release, so I use one of my live wells for the shiners.  Add a little chemical, and keep the water circulating, they stay alive and ready to jump in a grab a big bass.  

Oh, and fishing for carp is a blast when done Texas style.  FIrst you need a case of colbeer (Thats cold beer, and they gotta be glass longnecks), Ya need a good comfortable chair, a box of Wheaties, a couple of cans of Big Red and an old coffee can.  Open a beer, take a sip, open the Wheaties and dump them in the coffee can, take a nother sip of beer, open a can of Big Red and pour it in.  Mix until you get a stiff dough.  Tear off a ball and mold it around your hook, make the cast, take a sip of beer and wait.  A big Carp puts up a good fight, that, with the companionship and time spent with friend and family makes for an enjoyable afternoon or evening on the dock.

Please don't tell anyone eyes is a carp fishermen.....

[Skipper]

To me, that Big O trip is relaxation fishing.   :wink:   To be honest, I would not want to fish shiners any other time, it's just too boring to suit me.  However, that one trip a year, we just sort of kick back and watch them work.  By the end of the 4 or 5 day trip, I'm ready to go back to fishing.  

I have put them in the livewell before, but nearly learned a lesson on why not to do that on Stick Marsh.  A dead one got in the overflow drain hole and we like to have sunk a boat to the bottom.  I was sitting on the back deck, and my feet suddenly started getting wet.

 :-)

We have been doing this shiner thing since the 70's down there, and have got pretty proficient with it.  I build a shiner tank out of a 20 or 30 gallon commercial garbage can, and install aerators in them, drains and pump ins.  The one I have now has a toilet seat for the lid door.  The round cans are best to keep them in.  If you have corners like a livewell does, the shiners will beat their noses off into them.  I have a project box with a switch, cig plug and livewell timer on it.  I thread the wire through the floor drain to the bilge and hook it to the batteries, then the livewell iteslf sits in the flipping deck on my boat.  Take the box lid off the flipping deck and it will sit right in there.  Keeps it from turning over if you hit big water.

Skipper