One Bite... One Bass




Fly Fishing in the wintertime for Black Bass

It’s wintertime, the weather is freaky and so are the bass. Deep, lethargic, and not very interested in eating. Black bass cop a bad attitude when the surface water reaches the low 50’s. So, after all the reels are cleaned, the fly line is treated, new flies tied and boat washed, the urge to get on the water begins to set in in a bad way. Yes, its trophy bass time, when one bite in considered a good day and one fish in the boat is a victory. Believe it or not, this starts in mid-January for most bass fishers.

Winter bass fishing in Texas can be extraordinary and often extraordinarily frustrating, so it’s a good idea to be realistic with a good plan and lots of patience. This is the time of year where a fisherman’s commitment is truly tested, especially fly fishermen.

Where to fish in winter is always important and understanding how to make the best guess includes what stage the fish are in.

Bass spend their lives in various stages of activity; pre-spawn (late winter), spawn(spring), post spawn (late spring-early summer), summer feeding patterns, and finally the fall/winter feed for pre-hibernation.

The one constant with wintertime is depth and speed, fish deep (at least 15’) and slow and when you think you’re fishing slow enough go slower, if you don’t see or feel structure it’s time to move.

Often, multiple fish species will suspend in deep pockets, creek bends, channels, and under old bridges.

Breaking down a reservoir into areas can be very helpful when you’re locating suspended fish. Treat each cove as a separate body of water. Have you ever caught the same fish over and over in the same area? Those fish live most of their lives in the same cove from birth to death. Check the most likely spots in each cove, if you have success, you can establish a pattern.

I will start by looking for 2 things, weather, and temperature. A warming trend (5 days) that includes sunny days will often bring deep fish shallower in search of food, prefrontal days can bring intense feeding regardless of depth, driven mostly by barometric pressure. The shallower fish will require you cover more area and keep moving.

My rig set-up will include an 8wt rod loaded with Type III Sink fly line with a 2.5-4 ips sink rate, and a 3’-5’ 20lb leader.  We’ll start by targeting treetops 12’-15’ below the surface, we’ll throw a weedless shad pattern stripped slowly through the trees. If you think you’re snagged, set the hook.

If we get lucky and have a few warm days, I’ll go to the northern reaches of the reservoir where the water is warmer and shallower, and search for bass feeding in the creek channels and cruising the shoreline. Again, I’ll focus on creek turns, pools, and ledges since the fish will most likely be using these as staging and traveling routes. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to switch over to a floating line and a longer leader. A lighter leader will be fine but remember that silence is golden during this time of year.

So don’t give up fishing in winter but remember 1 bite is a good day and 1 fish in the boat is a bonus and never ever forget what a blessing it is to be there in the 1st place. 




Tell us what you think!

Lake Fork Vacation Rentals

Lake Fork Email Updates


 

Visit our Lake Fork Sponsors!

Lake Fork on Social Media

 
       

Lake Fork Current Weather Alerts

There are no active watches, warnings or advisories.

 

Lake Fork Weather Forecast

Wednesday

Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 93

Wednesday Night

Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 73

Thursday

Slight Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 95

Thursday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 75

Friday

Mostly Sunny

Hi: 93

Friday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 73

Saturday

Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 95

Saturday Night

Mostly Cloudy

Lo: 75


Lake Fork Water Level (last 30 days)


Water Level on 7/9: 403.25 (+0.25)



Lake Fork

Fishing Report from TPWD (Jul. 9)

GOOD. Water Stained; 82 degrees; 0.23 feet above pool. Fork : Top waters early around pond weed and grass with frogs and poppers still working . Mid morning chatter baits on the outside edge of grass in 3-5 ft is good as well as shaky heads . Best bite is Carolina rigs off shore on points , road beds and humps in 12-25 ft . Big worms and flukes are good . Deep Cranks are good over the same area when the fish are suspending 19-23 ft . Report by Marc Mitchell, Lake Fork Guide Service. Lily fields are filling in, hydrilla and milfoil are reaching for the surface. Fish this type of cover at mid day when bass are seeking cover. Frog patterns are working in the shallow vegetation early and late. Small fish patterns like a dock knocker are producing bass and crappie shallow near grass. Large bream have moved shallow, wooly buggers are producing good fish. Channel catfish are cruising 2-4 feet biting clousers. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing has been super up and down this past week. The fish are stacked up on brush piles, lay downs, tire reefs and some trees. The bite is the tricky part. Some days the bite is good and the bigger fish show up. Some days the bite is just off and the short fish show up. Seems like the bite may be better on days we have a little breeze. If the winds are calm the bite is very slow. Minnows will get some bites but small 1/32nd ounce hand tied jigs with small bodies and tails are working well on fish that don’t want to bite. Best depths have been 18-13ft with most fish suspended on trees and loaded in the brush. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

More Fishing Reports