Try these techniques for catching variety of winter fish

By Bobby Peoples

From strictly a water temperature standpoint, we are in the winter season of fishing. However, the muddy to severely stained water has hampered the winter bite so far this winter. For Lakes Oconee and Sinclair the winter bite occurs when the temperature is in the 40-55 range, and it is there right now.

Generally, the crappie don’t mind the muddy and badly stained water but the largemouth, striped and hybrid bass are hard to catch because they can’t readily see the jigging spoon, which is one of the better lures for catching them in deep water. Last winter, the water was much clearer, but it took time for the temperatures to move the fish to deeper water, and then it warmed up quickly and the winter spoon bite never got really good.

To have real good jigging spoon success, the shad need to be over deep water (17-30 feet) around underwater humps, river/creek channels or deep points but you also need a little clearer water. We have had one week of little to no rain and this week has been dry so far, so that has allowed a little clearing of the water.

For good spoon fishing, the water temperature needs to drop below 50 degrees, and that has definitely happened on area lakes. Right now both Lakes Oconee and Sinclair have water temperatures ranging from 40-47 degrees.

The single most important ingredient for catching largemouth on a jigging spoon is the presence of shad. Find shad near deep drop-offs, old creek/river channels/ledges and underwater humps/islands and largemouth bass will not be far away. Due to the recent cold water, a die-off of the shad is occurring, which greatly improves the jig bite.

Hybrid and striped bass frequent those same locations, and it is not unusual to catch hybrid bass, striped bass, largemouth bass and even crappie from the same area. The fish will be located under big schools of shad feeding on the shad. In cold water, some shad will die and other shad will become lethargic and make an easy meal for the bass and crappie.

This situation is where the jigging spoon will consistently produce fish. There are different sizes and shapes of jigging spoons. My first experience with spoons in deep water occurred many years ago in Virginia. I was using a Little George, a lure that I would not quite equate to today’s vertical jigging spoon. It was a metal lure shaped somewhat like a small shad baitfish with a spinner attached.

The Little George was a deadly lure for deep water bass, but you had to fish it horizontally rather than vertically like today’s jigging spoons. The lure was cast out and worked back to the boat by hopping the lure along the bottom. Hang ups occurred quite frequently. The Little George is still available and popular today and will catch winter fish in area lakes.

Good vertical jigging spoons for Lakes Oconee and Sinclair are the Hopkins spoon and the Flex-It spoon. Place those two spoons in the fish’s face with a slight twitch and a likely strike will occur.

When you find a good spot and shad are present, just drop the jigging spoon all the way through the school of shad to the bottom and then bring the spoon up depending on depth of the shad. Quite often strikes will occur before the lure reaches bottom, so watch your line for light strikes. I prefer to locate fish that are close to the bottom since suspended fish can be harder to catch.

Other good techniques include a Carolina rigged small worm fished in the same areas where the jigging spoon is used, a jig and pig combo for those big bass that stay shallow around boat docks and the shaky-head jig with a large trick worm. The shaky-head jig and worm combo will work both shallow and deep.

The lure choices for crappie anglers is much more limited. The primary lure for winter crappie fishing is a standard crappie jig with or without a minnow attached. The lure choice for winter crappie fishing may be easier but locating the ever moving crappie can be a problem when winter fishing. Additionally, the crappie can be awful finicky with winter’s weather changes.

Trolling for crappie in winter is much like trolling during the early spring with the only difference being the water depth and location. The fish will tend to be deeper but will move up and down the water column and often be suspended depending on the weather. With a little warm up and a little clearer water look for the winter fishing to pick up. Good fishing and see you next week.

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