So You CAN Catch River Smallmouth In The Winter! Another Story on Persistence
I began fishing for river smallies during the cold water period 12 years ago. I was one who would stowe the fishing tackle around Thanksgiving each year. Except for winter trout fishing equipment, my bass tackle was gathering dust through the winter months.
Herbert Spencer has a theory of contempt prior to investigation. Never had I experienced winter bass fishing, however I surmized that bass could not be caught on the Delaware River when water temps dropped below 40 degrees. When I began guiding, I began broadening my horizons. Lack of income during the winter months will force that upon a person quickly!
I frequently visited bass fishing forums, read articles and watched shows about winter bass fishing. "Oh, they don't go dormant in the cold water!" This excited me enough to get on the water and try my hand at some winter smallmouth "action".
There was none.........action that is. I was putting everything I had learned into practice. Nothing but one 13-inch smallie to show for my efforts in my first several trips. I was frustrated and again concluded that smallies will not eat on the Delaware River during the cold water period. WRONG!
Income still avoided me as I held on to this negative mental attitude, so I had to persist through my own stubborness. One February.day it all changed for me. I was sitting on a classic wintering area, eighteen feet of water, good cover, and off the main current of the channel. "They have to be here", I thought. Two hours and nothing....again. While daydreaming, I glanced across the river to a west facing bank. During the fall, shad fry were laid up in the grass off that bank, and bass were holding there.
"It's February.", I thought to myself. "They won't be on that bank now."
My mentor told me dozens of times to do the opposite of what any negative or self-defeating thought would tell me to do. So I motored over to that bank. In 40 minutes, I boated 6 beautiful smallmouth, 5 of them in the 18-20-inch range, on hair jigs.....Millenium Jigs. I was estatic! Water had warmed faster on this west facing bank and bass were holding there since the water chilled in the fall. Depth was 10-12 feet, there was enough cover. and presto, another winter bass junkie was born. Below my partner, Chris, and I pose with 2 hefty cold water bronze beauties.
Stay tuned as my next entry will include my top characteristics that make a productive wintering hole for river smallies.
Good fishin!
Blaine
Herbert Spencer has a theory of contempt prior to investigation. Never had I experienced winter bass fishing, however I surmized that bass could not be caught on the Delaware River when water temps dropped below 40 degrees. When I began guiding, I began broadening my horizons. Lack of income during the winter months will force that upon a person quickly!
I frequently visited bass fishing forums, read articles and watched shows about winter bass fishing. "Oh, they don't go dormant in the cold water!" This excited me enough to get on the water and try my hand at some winter smallmouth "action".
There was none.........action that is. I was putting everything I had learned into practice. Nothing but one 13-inch smallie to show for my efforts in my first several trips. I was frustrated and again concluded that smallies will not eat on the Delaware River during the cold water period. WRONG!
Income still avoided me as I held on to this negative mental attitude, so I had to persist through my own stubborness. One February.day it all changed for me. I was sitting on a classic wintering area, eighteen feet of water, good cover, and off the main current of the channel. "They have to be here", I thought. Two hours and nothing....again. While daydreaming, I glanced across the river to a west facing bank. During the fall, shad fry were laid up in the grass off that bank, and bass were holding there.
"It's February.", I thought to myself. "They won't be on that bank now."
My mentor told me dozens of times to do the opposite of what any negative or self-defeating thought would tell me to do. So I motored over to that bank. In 40 minutes, I boated 6 beautiful smallmouth, 5 of them in the 18-20-inch range, on hair jigs.....Millenium Jigs. I was estatic! Water had warmed faster on this west facing bank and bass were holding there since the water chilled in the fall. Depth was 10-12 feet, there was enough cover. and presto, another winter bass junkie was born. Below my partner, Chris, and I pose with 2 hefty cold water bronze beauties.
Stay tuned as my next entry will include my top characteristics that make a productive wintering hole for river smallies.
Good fishin!
Blaine
Posted by Blaine Mengel at 11/27/2011 11:21 AM 
Categories: Bass Fishing
Tags: Delaware River PA smallmoth bass Backwoods Angler TV Hair jigs WInter bass fishing Cold water bass fishing
Categories: Bass Fishing
Tags: Delaware River PA smallmoth bass Backwoods Angler TV Hair jigs WInter bass fishing Cold water bass fishing
Comments