Winter Fishing Thread.....

[finchaser]

from master-baiter to condom fisherman and he advertises it^^^^^^

[jigfreak]

^^^^^^Maybe he has a rubber fetish.
He can't get away from the masterbaiter title thats for sure.
Fished last night, picked up 4 to 26". They are not as concentrated as they used to be, but still around. Rubber biscuits did it again.

[finchaser]

^^^^^^Maybe he has a rubber fetish.
He can't get away from the masterbaiter title thats for sure.

Yeah now that you mention a rubber fetish lets not forget West Wind Wally and Ralph

[cowherder]

Yeah now that you mention a rubber fetish lets not forget West Wind Wally and Ralph

Maybe dark in his private life is one of those freaky dudes like in pulp fiction!
(Just kidding dark!)
I think it's awesome that you guys are catching bass in February! Im will try to get out sometime this weekend. Save some for me!

[DarkSkies]

^^ You guys have waaaaaay too much time on your hands, imagining me dressed in rubber.....don't I smell bad enough as it is?

[DarkSkies]

There was no one around, they were all gone by then...

I knew it could be tough, but I didn't care, would rather struggle looking for fish (that could be comatose in those night water temps) than stand next to 15 guys like it was opening day of trout season.....

The night bite was real tough, some GROUCHY BASSTARDS would say it's not worth it.

The bite continues to get tougher....

Had to make it down to a shore area tackle shop to get some more rubber, so I tried to look for a place to fish for the sunset bite....
It was tough --What had been a nice sunny day suddenly turned to crap as the S/SE wind kicked up with the afternoon tide change. Things went downhill quickly in terms of available areas to fish.

First stop had been a great producer of fish for a few days in a row...
As soon as I got there I knew it wouldn't work. Proper presentation was almost impossible in the big swell and waves...there were no sets of waves, it was a constant SE swell with duration of 3 secs, virtually impossible to fish.

I thought about where I could fish that would protect me from that a bit, and set out to that location. I arrived in the dark at the end of the ebb....



I started catching fish on rubber almost immediately,,,,had 3 short bass landed within the first 10 minutes...




Kept at it for the next 1 1/2 hours for a total of 7 bass to 27".
The water was cold, SE didn't help it any...but they were slamming the rubber like it was their last meal.....





There aren't too many times when the fish are that aggressive...I always tell people when you have action like that, you should fish it out till it dies...You never know if it will repeat itself tomorrow,,,,and so far, 2 days later, it hasn't.







For the log, and the new guys...
Water temps - 44
Air temps beginning- end: 65-48
Surf, SE swell with constant 3' waves, 3 sec duration...some of the absolute worst conditions for presenting correctly....

Fish - 7 bass to 27"
(I know some people will get mad at the next sentence,. but I'm so confident it could have been a good night, I'm kind of mad at myself for leaving.,...at the rate I was going, double digits were easily within my grasp, with bigger fish at the end of that lottery)...
Family committments forced me to leave...
Hey that's the way it is sometimes...but I still regret leaving that bite....

Bait - the forage mix has shifted, now it's sandeels, mackerel, and herring. This shift has caused the fish to be more scattered. There is no real strong pattern to this bite, other than some subtle ones a few guys and I have discovered....the key to success is determination, stamina, and the ability to keep presenting, over and over again....

[DarkSkies]

Thu AM....

After Tuesday's great action I was eager to get down there again while things lasted.
Overslept, missed the tide I wanted....I knew going down there I would have limited opportunity as it was almost sunrise....I decided to make the run anyway....

I arrived, grey skies and rough water, colder, still churned up...
The sun didnt really show itself, that was good...
but where I was the fish didn't show (for me) either.
Hey, that's fishing....

For the log: water temps 44, air 48, breezy from the NW






************
Thu PM, Fri AM....

Fished 4 hours in the dark...2 short fish on swimmers.
Missed a quality fish on a big swimmer.
Went to sleep in the car,,,,wearing my stinkin clothes and gear...is it any wonder I and the car smell so bad??
Got up to fish one hour of the pre-sunrise bite, managed one short bass on rubber....
Water had been cloudy the previous night from the NW, was now starting to clean up a bit....

For the log:
Water temps 43....I think these are some of the coldest temps I've ever gotten a bass on artificials.

Fish: 3 fish total to 25".

Air temps- 45-35
Winds- Steady 15mph made it a little uncomfortable to fish all those hours...had to take a few breaks to thaw my fingers....I've fished nights as low as 23 degrees so far, but with no wind...this night was one of the more painful ones to endure with those constant winds....










It would have been more bearable if there was more fish action, but as mentioned, with no real forage to concentrate the fish, they are random...if you want em you have to work hard...


A friend of mine was out there for the end of day bite which never developed for him...he went to a popular area, which was like a ghost town...he said, "Rich if this place was so hot what happened to all the fishermen that were coming here and posting on the internet?"
My answer....that's what internet fishermen do...they stay home till guys report they are crushing them, then come out in droves.....meanwhile the fish don't know if the air is cold or not...it's all about the water temps....







As Fin, I, and some others have pointed out, below 43 the fish will be there, but (usually) shut down for the artificial bite....and we're at that critical junction.....IMO it could go either way...but I'm not ready to give up, just yet....

[baitstealer]

Wow dark skies you are a fishing machine! That's 10 bass and february just started! Thank you so much for these reports. I am really enjoying them.

[DarkSkies]

Thank you Baitstealer,. but I want to clarify any fish out there now require lots of work and effort....
(Still worth it to me....)

And the report for the 7 fish was the last day of Jan, so for the month of Feb I'm only up by 3 so far....

Glad ya enoyed reading. I have been getting some nice PMs and E-mails as well. Look forward to bringing these reports to you guys as long as my fingers can stand the cold,,,

[xtreme_visions]

Im ready for war this weekend dark! plan to hit a few spots sat afternoon/night and sun morning. Heres a photo to show you the size of those crap fish ive been catching. But atleast im catching finally!

[storminsteve]

Dark, the reports are great, it's obvious you are a madman. Will you be barking at the full moon next week?
I hit it tonight from 5-7:30.I was one of 2 guys when I got out there. 1/2 hour later there were 12 other guys lined up like opening day of trout season. None of us caught a thing. Moved to another spot and still caught nothing. I used bombers and the daiwa. Dark would you mind PMing me about your swimmers and the rubber you were using? Thanks and good luck out there.
Nice fish extreme, any fish in January or February is nice.

[xtreme_visions]

Oh boy! 12 guys! i might wait until the games on to fish now

[finchaser]

Wow dark skies you are a fishing machine! That's 10 bass and february just started! Thank you so much for these reports. I am really enjoying them.

21 hours 3 nights in the cold for 10 shortsgoogan ego trip

[DarkSkies]

There were some nice fish caught until around 7pm....knowing that, I really wasn't looking forward to any crowds I might find on a Sat night...so I procrastinated and made sure I got down there after 12am....

There was no one around, they were all gone by then...

I knew it could be tough, but I didn't care, would rather struggle looking for fish (that could be comatose in those night water temps) than stand next to 15 guys like it was opening day of trout season.....


The night bite was real tough, some GROUCHY BASSTARDS would say it's not worth it.
.

21 hours 3 nights in the cold for 10 shortsgoogan ego trip

Man, you are such a grouchy basstard!
The fish weren't too small to prompt your friend to make a trip to areas he usually doesn't fish, the other morning, was it?

And you know, these small fish, aren't the ones we're targeting...because we've talked about it....


I am sorry, ya know if you were 20 years younger I would be at your house every night, howling at the moon till ya came out fishing...I really miss fishing with ya.....but ouch! please don't dismiss the action as not worth it.....as quoted above, one of the reasons I'm out there at night is to get away from the crowds,....I know you can understand that, and you clearly know the other reason....

Love ya anyway, ya basstid!
We'll be fishin in March, no matter what happens in your life.,...you won't be able to get rid of me till ya come out at least once and show these young punks just how fast a pro like you can accumulate double digits..


See ya then....

[finchaser]

Glad you ^^^^caught fish. If I were 30 years younger I would not spend a whole night in 25 degree weather to catch 3 shorts. You make fun at us old timers most of which can put up the numbers fishing patterns in a matter of hours. Learn to fish smart not long. Guy's as in my friends are still catching more from 3:30 to 6:30 and eating a hot meal, showering and sleeping in a warm bed. The bigger fish are gone there are very few teens around granted and will be less now that the water is so cold. Your going to burn yourself out on 15" to 20" fish for a possible look at me INTERNET report I caught a keeper .Also give up with the pictures your sending these poor little fish into shock while you play Walt Disney. It would be a scary thought but it would be like me pulling you out of your house naked throwing you on a frozen rocks, having you lie there as I took off gloves and fiddle around to get my out camera to take your picture. We all know what a short bass looks like. Want to impress people and prove your theory of being our all night on your quest for a big fish. Catch one take a picture for proof put it in your black bag and take it home to eat. There now thats GROUCHY.

[Monty]

It would be a scary thought but it would be like me pulling you out of your house naked throwing you on a frozen rocks, having you lie there as I took off gloves and fiddle around to get my out camera to take your picture.

Now that's crazy talk..........need a different example, this one is not right..... in a few ways

[vpass]

Now that's crazy talk..........need a different example, this one is not right..... in a few ways

Ya that one is not right.

[hookset]

Glad you ^^^^caught fish. If I were 30 years younger I would not spend a whole night in 25 degree weather to catch 3 shorts. There now thats GROUCHY.

Wow! Player hater don't you think thats a little harsh? We have not had much chances to catch bass in January, so why be a hater, finchaser (hey that rhymes!)

[dogfish]

Wow! Player hater don't you think thats a little harsh? We :

Forget about the fishing do you really want to see a pic of ds naked on the rocks?
As for the player, don't hate the player hate the game.

[skinner]

Got a few bass tonight, 4-6:15 pm, bombers. Biggest was 23".