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Fishing the dead of winter
Published 6:20pm Wednesday, February 13, 2013Warming trends can put fish in the boat though. Warming trends, a period of four or more days, can cause baitfish to move shallower, and fish will many times follow. This usually happens in the afternoon after the sun has taken full effect or, in lakes that have blueback herring, the bait may be in the backs of coves if it has been a warm windy night, and these baitfish will head out toward deeper open water as the sun comes up.
Some top baits to fish this pattern would be a suspending jerk bait, fish with long pauses or a spinner bait fished slow. Fish these baits in coves, pockets of the main channel and creeks.
On blueback lakes you need to try this first thing, on lakes with gizzard or threadfins, the afternoon bite should be best.
This warming trend pattern can be very hit or miss, so I prefer to fish for deeper fish.
I remember long-time professional bass fisherman Larry Nixon saying many years ago, “there are always some fish shallow.” and I’ve also heard and believe to some extent that shallower fish are easier to catch. That said though deeper fish are usually more stable, less affected by fronts, and more consistent in their behavior.
