Tips and Advice

Cold Weather means Cold Water

If you're getting cold so are the fish and sometimes that's all the information needed to get'em on the hook

Timothy Kusherets

What is this photo telling us? That it’s either late fall or early winter. The fisherman is bundled up, wearing gloves, and is fishing at dawn so the weather must be cold since he’s wearing a scarf around the neck too. It’s threatening to either rain or snow because of the hat. That the rising temperatures of the morning will put fish on the bite as attested with this bright looking fish about to be released.
Almost all the information about the fishermen clearly identifies what tackle to fish with, offerings to use, and how short the leader should be since colder months of the year produce lethargic fish. When fishing, remember, when we get cold so do fish and when they get cold they go off the bite and have to be motivated to strike with specific techniques for the dropping barometer.

Did you know that when fish go off the bite you do too? That is, in a manner of speaking. Historically, there are two things that put fish off the bite: pressure from fishermen and a drop in barometric pressure.
When the barometer dips fish will stop biting and you’ll feel a chill. Ironically, when the bite goes off due to a drop in pressure most anglers will reach for a jacket or stop fishing for a while. So, whenever cloud cover is exposed with a spot of sun, it has been said by many authors and fishermen, that the bite goes on for however long the sun is out, and it’s true. If you’re brave enough to fish the cold fronts be sure to fish hard the second the sun peeks out through the clouds. If the fish are in the water they’ll let you know about it.

© Timothy Kusherets 2006/08