We have about two weeks before the calendar says that winter has arrived; however, the calendar does not determine when the winter fishing season begins. The temperature of the water determines when the winter fishing season arrives on area lakes.

We have had unusually warm weather for the last few weeks, and that warm weather has delayed the arrival of the winter fishing season. When the water temperature drops to 55 degrees or below, I then say that the winter fishing season has arrived.

Lake Sinclair’s water temperature is in the low 60s right now and Lake Oconee is a few degrees colder in the upper 50s. Some of the water in Lake Sinclair tends to be a little warmer this time of year due to the warm water discharge from Plant Branch. Near Beaverdam Creek the temperature is around 65 degrees, but near the Sinclair Dam or up near Twin Bridges the water temperature is in the upper 50s to near 60.

Thus the water temperatures in Lake Sinclair or Lake Oconee are not in the wintertime range yet. However, the fish have already begun to react to the colder temperatures, and some of the fish have moved to deeper locations where they are normally found during the wintertime. Other fish have remained shallow and are waiting for the temperature to drop further before moving from shallow water.

A good case in point is the hybrid/striped bass in Lake Oconee. They are already grouped into large schools from the Highway 44 Bridge to the big river bend toward the Wallace Dam. Those fish will bite live shad and minnows but will also attack a jigging spoon. That is behavior that you normally find during the wintertime fishing period.

Trolling for crappie in Lake Oconee has been excellent of late for large fish, and that normally is a situation you see when the water is colder. In Lake Sinclair, the largemouth bass, striped bass and white bass are already in deeper water areas and hitting jigging spoons.

The fall season that is about to end has seen fish of several species in shallow water feeding on shad as they prepared for the long winter season by gorging and fattening up. Throughout the winter season, some fish will remain shallow and others will visit shallow water during warm winter days, but for the most part, anglers will need to venture into deeper water if they want to catch winter fish consistently.

Normally, when water temperatures drop below 55 degrees, the crappie, largemouth bass and hybrid/striped bass will group together in large schools and move to deep water. The early shot of cold weather got the fish moving to their wintertime locations and then mild weather returned. But fishing success has remained good with fish being caught in both shallow and deep locations.

Deep water in winter could be anywhere from 10 to 45 feet depending on the conditions during any specific day. Wind, sunlight, cold fronts (barometric pressure), air temperatures, and most importantly, location of baitfish will all have an impact on the location of all the game fish species.

Even though the metabolism of all fish will be slowed down by the cold water temperatures, game fish will continue feeding throughout the winter. The key is being able to find the fish and present a lure that looks appetizing enough for the fish to use some of their stored energy. They may not chase a lure very far, but an angler who can properly place a lure close to their mouths will catch fish.

Locating shad is very important in winter. Anglers who find a large school of shad at a good winter depth can be sure that some type of game fish will be close by and possibly ready to feed. The metabolism of baitfish like shad is also slowed during the winter and that sluggishness can add up to an easy tasty meal for the game fish. Shad will also die off during the coldest part of winter and that also makes them easy pickings for game fish.

Shad will even move to relatively shallow water during the winter months after a couple of relatively mild or warm days. Always check shallow water around lake points on warm winter days. That is a favorite location for shad, and the game fish look there for an easy meal.

Some recent mild winters resulted in poor winter fishing because the fish never settled into a winter pattern that could be easily determined by anglers. You might not like cold winter weather, but that is exactly what it takes to create a good winter fishing pattern. The fact that both baitfish and game fish stack up or group up in large schools is what makes wintertime fishing so good.

However, wintertime fishing can also be boom or bust. Winter weather can create great fishing, but it can also create lousy fishing, and both good and bad fishing can occur on consecutive days. I have caught winter fish on lousy weather days but I have had better success on good weather days. I like to fish for winter fish after two to three days of stable weather. It does not have to be a warm day, but a warm winter day sure makes the body feel better.

I like relatively sunny days with little wind when looking for deep wintertime fish. That is just a personal preference because the fish will also bite on a cloudy windy day. Wintertime fishing can be great for those anglers with a little patience and who do not mind a little cold weather. Try it, and I think you might like the results.

Good fishing and see you next week.    

Outdoor columnist Bobby Peoples can be reached via e-mail at

brpeoples@windstream.net.