# Winter Fishing SW OH



## Collin02 (Oct 2, 2020)

Started another thread earlier about CC this time of year just to see if I would be able to get my boat out for a test run. Sounds like a yes to me and I even got some responses about fishing this time of year. Needless to say I had no idea it was even worth trying for fish this time of year, and I am interested. I have a boat and am mainly on CC, eastwood lake in dayton, the GMR, and the occasional trip to CJ Brown.

Who has advice for a new winter fisherman. I am interested in targeting anything - white bass, crappie, saugeye, perch, and gills mainly.

What do you fish and how do you present it?

Thanks!


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

Winter is one of my favorite times to fish in SW Ohio. Not many pleasure boats or jet skis disturbing the peace and quiet this time of year. I mainly target crappie but I've been known to go after eyes of some sort on occasion. I mostly use jigs but on occasion do bring minnows.

The #1 advice I can offer is to use (or should I say, learn to use) and trust your electronics. For some reason all these lakes in SW Ohio seem to fish a little different. Some lakes require a deeper presentation, some seem to fish shallower.
In a given day you may find fish 6' deep in 1 spot and 25' deep in another.

Don't fall in love with a spot. If you are marking a lot of fish on your electronics and they aren't hitting, move. Crappie are usually fairly aggressive hitters but there are times they are just inactive. Just last week I was fishing a spot and not doing any good. My electronics were lit up but I wasn't catching anything. My friend pulled in with his Livescope and he was remarking how many fish were down there but they just wouldn't hit. We moved to another spot and tore them up.

Fish slow and deliberate. If fish are stacked at 25' deep, you have to slow your presentation down to keep your bait in the strike zone. I have a friend who always remarks that I catch way more fish than he does. I keep telling him to slow his presentation down. The water is cold this time of year, even aggressive fish move slow.

The fish didn't read "the book". By that I mean everything you read isn't necessarily fact. Most stuff you read says to fish deep in winter & summer and fish shallow in spring and fall. If you aren't catching fish where they should be, check where they shouldn't be. Some our best crappie we catch every year during the spawn are 20'-30' deep. These are usually the biggest crappie of the year. We've also caught crappie 2' deep in 25 fow in the winter.

Don't give up...time on the water pays big dividends. Most successful winter fisherman I know learned their craft over years. Use every trip as a learning experience.

Dress for success. Learn to dress for winter activities in layers. I see so many people dress for what I call "driveway temperatures" by that I mean they get dressed at home, step out on their driveway for 10 seconds and think I have plenty of clothes on. When they get to the lake, the wind is blowing, the sun tucks back in the clouds, you're surrounded by cold water and all of a sudden you're cold and miserable. Bring extra clothes, add your last layers at the lake and keep some chemical handwarmers with you "just in case". Once you find the right combo, you never get unbearably cold.

Last but most important...safety, safety, safety, the water is cold and unforgiving. I added an insulated float suit this year just in case I should have a mishap and fall in. At a minimum wear a live jacket at all times.

Good luck and have fun


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## Southernsaug (May 23, 2019)

Good advice crappie dude. Back when I was working and on the lakes in early to mid March running spawning nets we always told newbys to dress to the point your starting to sweet on land and you'll be just right on the water. I will wear my life jacket all the time in cold weather, they are good warmers. The last thing that goes on over the life jacket is my raincoat, it's a good wind breaker. I'm usually 5-6 layers deep in cold weather. 

I don't do as much cold weather fishing on the water anymore (too old and soft) but I fish some deep winter stream holes. I had a time teaching my buddy to jig Saugeyes in cold weather. I like lead head jigs/twistertail tipped with a minnow (2" inch ) and drag them along bottom and even stopping them for a while. Lift and drop and let sit....the bite will be almost undetectable so keep tension on your line. Either that or vetricle jig and subtle movements and stopping it suspended. It I get 2-3 days of 45-50 degrees I check out shallow mud flats, if they are there it game on big time. Good thing about that, if you don't have a hit in 6-8 cast, move on they aren't on the flat.


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## HappySnag (Dec 20, 2007)

Collin02 said:


> Started another thread earlier about CC this time of year just to see if I would be able to get my boat out for a test run. Sounds like a yes to me and I even got some responses about fishing this time of year. Needless to say I had no idea it was even worth trying for fish this time of year, and I am interested. I have a boat and am mainly on CC, eastwood lake in dayton, the GMR, and the occasional trip to CJ Brown.
> 
> Who has advice for a new winter fisherman. I am interested in targeting anything - white bass, crappie, saugeye, perch, and gills mainly.
> 
> ...


go to hard water discusion and reed how they fish.you can do the same think from boat if water is open ,or from ice.


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## zaraspook (Jun 16, 2009)

crappiedude said:


> Winter is one of my favorite times to fish in SW Ohio. Not many pleasure boats or jet skis disturbing the peace and quiet this time of year. I mainly target crappie but I've been known to go after eyes of some sort on occasion. I mostly use jigs but on occasion do bring minnows.
> 
> The #1 advice I can offer is to use (or should I say, learn to use) and trust your electronics. For some reason all these lakes in SW Ohio seem to fish a little different. Some lakes require a deeper presentation, some seem to fish shallower.
> In a given day you may find fish 6' deep in 1 spot and 25' deep in another.
> ...


C-dude........fine post! One of best I've read in weeks and chocked full fishing nuggets!


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## Collin02 (Oct 2, 2020)

Thank you all for the replies! Going down to survey the lake today and hoping to get out and catch a fish before the end of the month. Lol


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## Collin02 (Oct 2, 2020)

looking at the 73 bridge from the marina








North pool ramp








Wellman ramp looking North








Driving across the dam


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## Collin02 (Oct 2, 2020)

Looks pretty clear for the most part. Weather for tuesday is looking decent might have to go give this a try


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

So after my long winded post, a friend called me on his way to the lake. He had an open seat and I accepted.
I got to say it was a slow, slow day. Fish were in a pretty lethargic mood but we managed to boat probably 30 total with about half being keepers. My friend caught most of them but I caught enough to stay interested. 
Luckily he has Livescope and it paid dividends today being able to see your target. Jigs did all the damage.
Even though the fishing was slow we had a great time just being out on the lake for an afternoon.


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## Collin02 (Oct 2, 2020)

crappiedude said:


> So after my long winded post, a friend called me on his way to the lake. He had an open seat and I accepted.
> I got to say it was a slow, slow day. Fish were in a pretty lethargic mood but we managed to boat probably 30 total with about half being keepers. My friend caught most of them but I caught enough to stay interested.
> Luckily he has Livescope and it paid dividends today being able to see your target. Jigs did all the damage.
> Even though the fishing was slow we had a great time just being out on the lake for an afternoon.
> ...


Nice! All crappie? Were you at caesars?


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

All crappies and not CC.


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## Collin02 (Oct 2, 2020)

Went out on caesars for about 4 hours today. Didnt catch anything but I really did more exploring and marking summer spots to try out than I did fishing. Had a good time hope to get back out soon and bring home some saugeye!


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## sliprig (Apr 6, 2004)

"Crappiedude" pretty much covered it. Took me some time to target cats in the winter months. Very predicable. Can't catchem from the couch!


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