# Winter Smallie Help



## sevenx (Apr 21, 2005)

I have been doing some reading and research on winter smallies. Besides my own time on the river I would appreciate some practicle knowledge. I am a flyfisherman but we all fish the same type of water. So even knowledge about spin/baitcasting would be helpful. I will galdly share what I know and what I discover with my time on the water. Thanks for cutting some time from the learning curve with two kids under three time is short on the water. But I have to be ready to take them with me. My two year has allready landed his first bluegill and he's hooked. S


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## spinfisher (Sep 23, 2005)

Ditto. I was doing very well with the river smallies until the water temps dropped. I've been adjusting the location (deeper water) and the presentation (smaller, much slower). Three trips in a row with one small fish to show for it.

It's my first winter on the river, so I have zero confidence in what I'm doing in these temps. I'm thinking my biggest problem might not be in my presentation but in finding where the fish are. At least you have a kayak, sevenx. Pretty hard fishing from the bank. I'll have my waders in a couple days. Working on getting a yak or pontoon to float the river so I can see what's going on and cover some water.
I could use all the help I can get.


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## LittleMiamiJeff (Oct 1, 2005)

Spin, sevenx,
The tiny craw thread covers some of this, I'm just learning smallies, let alone winter smallies.
I think we're all in for a great winter.
This learning curve, with all the skunks and frustrations, will become a great experience as the winter goes on. I'm not just trying to be positive.
River Rat has been extremely helpful w/his experience, as have others.
Practical application is going to be the key. Time on the water, practicing what these posts and other research gives us, is the key.
Get your waders, but be prepared for COLD water. I have to agree w/another poster, waders in cold water are to get you from here to there, stay out of the water as much as possible, even your thighs and/or lower torso being exposed to cold through waders could possibly lead to hypothermia sneaking up on you. 
Getting your yak, canoe or pontoon will be a big help. 
I'm going to try to schedule a smallie "expert" to the yak seminar in January, as an additional highlight, I'll know more later this month.
I'm planning on getting some time on the EFLMR or LMR Sat. and/or Sun.
I picked up some Yum tubes, and soft craws, have never rigged, but bought bullet wieghts and #1 hookes for craws, 1/0 for tubes.
Time will tell. I'm hopeing snow Sat. and Sun. is good, not a hindrance.
TTYL
Jeff


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Sorry guys, been working a lot...

Ok, the best thing i can tell you is this, in winter the biggest thing that determines success is weather...you need atleast 5 days of consistant temps. Now i dont care if the day-time temps. are 38 degrees and night-time temps. are 28 degrees, as long as its consistant from day to day. If the temps. are up and down, the bass dont have a chance to get used to them. 
What i like is atleast 5 days of consistant temps. , I'll be out after them on the 4th & 5th day. I also only fish the "heat" of the day, meaning mostly 11a - 5pm.
Locations in streams/rivers, well as we all know most fish tend to migrate to wintering holes, if the creek your fishing dumps into a bigger river..the last few miles of that stream will not hold many big numbers of smallies, they will drop out of the creek into the bigger river. If that is not the case, then they will seak out the deepest holes they can find..if a nice hole contains rock, wood or any structure, that is the hole they will most likely choose. Even better is if that hole is on a bend when the inside of the bend is a shallow flat, the outside is deep with some kind of cover..prime wintering hole. Structure to hold behind to break any strong currents and a nice shallow flat to move up on during warm spells, sunny days..so they can feed.

How to catch them, well many lures will work like a jig/grub combo, hairjig(bucktail), suspending minnow baits(like husky jerks), plastic baits in the smaller sizes(id say 3" and under). You can tip some of these with parts of crawlers, whole leaches or minnows.
You want to start off fishing the upstream side of the hole, this is where active fish will be, work the shallow flats first, if no action there, go into the hole working the upstream side first, then work any cover in it, then work the tail out of the hole.

You will have to down size lures, work them ultra slow...if using a husky jerk, pause for as much as 20 secs. between twitches if needed..the fish will dictate how they want it. If using jigs, plastic, ect. crawl it very slow and pause many times again letting it set for as long as you can......best tip i can tell you is to use natural colors in clear water, bright in staind and if you want a good secret....use some form of SCENT on the lure....lots of them out there, YUM is one of my choices....craw flavor on the bottom baits, shad flavor on the minnow baits.

If you can access the hole by fishing from the bank, by all means do so...if you have to wade out a bit, get you a good pair of neoprene waders...i use Rocky Swamp stalkers in 4.5mm Sometime i wear wader liners under them for real cold water conditions.


Ive caught loads of smallies in winter and its my favorite time to hunt them, can be lots of numbers if you find the right spot, also some very large ones if you find the prime baits.....be careful and take your time, dont push your luck in the winter...ive taken many "dunks" by pushing my luck trying to get to prime areas and trust me, you will never forget 38 degree or lower water running down into your waders. Also i do highly recommend not fishing alone if you do indeed have to get in the water to fish..be safe, not sorry like i almost was a handful of times.

Also before i forget, be STEALTHY...dont make loads of noise, dont dress in bright colors(specially in very clear winter water)...be patient and have fun...it sure beats seating at home on the couch wishing you were fishing.....if you only catch ONE fish, its one more than 95% of the smallie hunters are catching during winter. If you dont catch, dont give up, enjoy the stream in its winter colors, take lots of pictures and breath in the fresh cool air..remember they can be caught, you just got to find the key to unlock what they want in your stream.

Well enough for now...
Scott


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Oh and Jeff....i love fishing in the snow, caught MANY big ones in the middle of snow storms or the day after....great feeling out there on the stream bank, snow flakes falling and you catching smallies..AWESOME.

Only thing i fear is very cold temps and the streams freeze up..only the riffles will be open..then its time to sit at home and wait for a slight warm spell or some good sunny days to thaw the ice.

And dont over look when the waters up and stained..but i'll save that one for later.


Scott


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## oufisherman (Apr 10, 2004)

Thanks for the info RiverRat, I'll be looking to try it out pretty soon. I have a couple of holes in mind here on the Hocking to try out. One hole is located on the outside bend with decent size rocks all over the bottom and a shallower flat immediately next to it. I caught a few sauger out of there this fall also. I have some small suspending type minnows, small tubes, and ultralight cranks to try. I want to catch at least one smallie or spot each summer.
That last sentence brings up a question. Will spotted bass be as active in the winter as the smallies? I caught more spotted bass this fall than smallies in a few holes on the Hocking. Just curious if that would still be the case through winter. Again, thanks for the info.


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Not really sure about the Spots, as ive only caught a few out of the Ohio river, there are none around me to speak of.
I know Spots are inbetween the LM and SM so ya never know?
I know LM's prefer the warmer temps. hold more to weeds and vegitation...as SM's like more of a hard structure like Wood, rock, ect.

Ive never caught a LM in the middle of winter, but then again they are rare in the stretches i fish..its ALL smallies in my waters.
Also, i will warn ya, smallies even out of 38 degree water temps will still fight very well..no jumping action(maybe a roll on the surface) but they will stay down and dig deep....i dont NOT use under 6 lb. test and am leaning more towards 8 lb tests this season.

Good luck, keep us updated..and dont for get to take PICTURES of your first winter smallie.

Scott


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Hey i sent you guys a PM with a good info. source for smallies..check out thier FORUM and check out the whole site, tackle reviews, lures, ect...... ..loads of info.

Scott


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## oufisherman (Apr 10, 2004)

Will the heavier 8 pound line make a difference this time of year if using smaller lures? My summer set-up is 4 pound test on a 6.5 foot light action rod. I really like the lighter action for throwing smaller crankbaits, which were awesome this year. Also, the majority of streches I fish is shallower and doesn't contain alot of wood. I do have a Mitchell rod and reel combo that I have set-up with 8 pound test that I will use for throwing tubes during the year. 
Are the lures you're throwing in winter, like Husky Jerks and jigs, smaller also? It seems like that would be the choice if action is not as fast. I do have a 6.5 foot medium rod that I have spooled with 8 pound test that would probably be a good winter time set-up with the heavier line. I'll probably go with that if I have on a smaller tube.


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## spinfisher (Sep 23, 2005)

Great post RiverRat. Thanks. And thanks for the riversmallie link. Just got my neoprene waders from Shortdrift and a good wading jacket and boots off eBay. I really had a ball catching river smallies in the Fall. I'm ready for the cold water. Keep the info coming.


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Your welcome spinfisher.

OU, well you certainly can use 4 lb test, but like i said fishing near structure for big fish is not wise, but can be done for sure.
YES, i scale down my lures...in fall i will use big #9 & #11 rapalas and they love big baits then, but i winter they normally wont take a big bait for a lot of reasons, most because a bigger bait takes longer to digest in the very cold temps. as you know fish are cold blodded and thier body temps. will be close to the surrounding water temps.
Takes less energy to digest small baits, plus they dont have a big hungar for food, just enought to keep them going and healthy.

If you are useing small jigs in the 1/16th-1/8th oz range, yes i use 6 lb test Co-poltmier lines(thinner dia. than regular mono) and when i know im going to fish heavy cover i'll step up to the 8 lb. test for heavier jig or throwing "jerks"..but my 8 lb test is probably close to most normal 6 lb lines dia.

For huskys, i throw the smallest ones they make..i like the natural patterns like the silver/black and i like the new goast(white) pattern. In stained i prefer the firetiger patterns. 
For plastics i use the lightest weight i can get away with..mostly 1.16th oz up to 1/8th oz bullet weights or jig heads...for tubes i prefer 2 3/4"-3" with either #1 - 1/0 wide gap tube hooks....plus Senko's are a great finesse bait for fishing ultra slow too...i prefer these in 4", these are normally the biggest baits i use.
Lizzards will also work along with different styles of rubber worms..again in 4" sizes.

Sure wished we all lived closer and we could get out on the water and have at it and do a fishing/learing day...would be fun.

Scott


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## oufisherman (Apr 10, 2004)

Scott, thanks for the info. I do have some small suspending, or sinking Husky Jerk type Rapalas. I also have some 4 inch lizards in watermellon seed, the only color that has worked for me. I will probably concentrate on using the rod rigged with 6# and sometimes the 8# test rod,depends on where and what I'm using. I really appreciate the info and I'm looking forward to getting out and trying my luck this winter. I'll keep you posted of my results.


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Hey my pleasure, you guys have got me going again for smallies....cant wait to get out on some soon.

Winter fishing can certainly be tough for anyone fishing smallies, even verterans trust me. Ive had the many days of hitting the water to only draw a big zero...but ive had many days were ive landed a dozen plus smallies 15"-18" and had a blast...where as most smallie anglers were siting at home wishing for summer.
Like everything else, its all about time on the water and learing the smallies in your area, trust me i didnt just one day decied to go catch them and did..it took about 2 season to start figuring them out.....so i fugure you guys are already up on many that have never done it but want to...the basic stuff can be taught, but getting out and trying new stuff this winter will teach you lots more than what i can tell ya on the computer.

Post your pictures if you can...i'll post mine as soon as i can get out...got a 16 day vacation off at x-mas, should be prime time then.

Scott


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