Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Help catching LMB in winter

Hi everyone.

I didn't have time to cull green carp this past fall and the pond is still bass heavy. I have nearly a week's worth of time over Christmas this year to do some serious fishing. I know this is a tall order given the time of year, but I'm confident that with the combined expertise of this forum I can land some LMB. Please give me some tips!

From the looks of the long-term forecast it's likely we will have open but cold water at our place with daytime highs in the mid-40s. I have a good idea of where the fish are likely to stack up for the winter as there are only a couple of places with more than 6' of water.

What should I use for bait? Worms? FHM? BG? I have a minnow trap -- how can I bait this for BG?

3 to 4 inch BG.

If it is bass heavy they can be caught easy enough on artificial lures, but like Dave said 3-4" BG will do it.

If you have a buddy that is a serious tournament angler, he could get a good number of them out for you.

What forage fish are in the pond the LMB are used to eating?

I'm concerned that the fish will want to eat that big of a meal when the water's so cold...the water will be in the mid 30s. I will certainly try this. How should I bait my minnow trap?


It's a BG/LMB only pond.

Any tips from further north? I think conditions will be similar to ice-fishing as far as water temperature is concerned.

I'd see if bass minnows are available in bait shops near you. Up here, that usually means golden shiners in the 3"-4" range, and a fusiform fish without sharp spines is more attractive to a LMB than a fatter, sharper meal. Also, they might think "Hmmmmmmmm...... That looks different, I wonder what it tastes like?"

I agree with Esshup. I'd try minnows, but BG are also worth a try if you have a source. Can you catch little BG in your pond?

Only other advice I can give you is remember these fish have slowed way down if the water is cold. IMO, slow fish aren't interested in agressively chasing a fast moving bait, so what ever bait you use be patient and fish it slow.

[quote=Bocomo How should I bait my minnow trap?

[/quote]

I missed this question. Now nobody laugh! I take a piece of dry mostacholi noodle right out of the box and stuff it with cheap canned catfood. The noodle gets soft in the water and takes on the smell and taste of the catfood so even after the catfood disipates the noodle is still there.

I use bread in my perch trap works everytime, more importantly place your trap where you know there are some BG.. Maybe around your dock?

I 100% agree on the bread. I only use the noodle thing in cold water when a little extra incentive might come in handy.

Slip bobber and LARGE minnows.

I'd spray some YUM or other attractant on whatever bait you end up using.

Under the ice they prefer either a big minnow or a small minnow. They will come unusually shallow but have found them deep too. But have never done good on bass with artificial in the winter.

Trout fingerlings. Here in N GA cold water slows LMB strike activity. But I have found LMB almost can't resist trout. When LMB stop picking off minnows and shiners in Nov/Dec, I find they still hit trout fingerlings.

Huddleston swim baits in trout pattern also work well if live fingerlings aren't available in your area or cost prohibitive. If live fingerlings are available, nostril hookup allows for trout to swim most free, but just before dorsal fin allows for greatest success of setting the hook.

And especially since you don't have trout in your pond, wow, I expect if you grab a dozen fingerlings you will get strikes straight away. My LMB never saw trout, until I introduced them in our pond. First strike was within 3 minutes. And then all day long. Long slender body, super slick, lacking BG spines equals LMB love 'em!

Just thought I'd update this.

Well, I couldn't get any live bait with fins on it -- none offered for miles around our place.

But man, do Senkos catch fish! Even on Christmas Day in mid-Missouri.

Yes they do! Congrats. Slow sinking senkos and rip baits are deadly in winter.

Is that LMB a Northern strain?

Yes, we only have Northerns in our pond. I don't think they'd like how cold it gets and I seriously doubt they would have survived last year's record lows.

What's a rip bait?

Just wanted to add that this was a 14.5", 1.6# fish. The first I've caught in its class with 100%RW!! Thanks, PondBoss

Bocomo,

To me, a "rip bait" is pretty much any long skinny crank bait. The rip part is how you retrieve it. You "rip" it forward and then real in the slack and repeat the process. Not sure if that is what Al means though.

Bill D.

Edit: And then you have yer "jerk baits." To me, similar to a rip but the difference is the distance is much shorter on each retrieve portion of the cycle. But again, these are what I call these things. Maybe not what the pros call them.

Bill D. U nailed it on the baits. Here in my area, I prefer the Jig and Pig method for winter lmb fishing. Resembles the crawfish in the movement of the bait. Black and blue works best in good colored water and brown and orange in the muddy waters. There is not a better big bass bait in my opinion. Fished with a tight line while bouncing on the bottom or in and around structure. Remember, Slow in the winter and fished faster in the spring.

Even a plum or electric blue texas rig worm will work on the coldest days. Crawl it on bottom. When you think you are fishing slow, slow down about twice that much more!! Depending on water temp, not air temp.They will be very,very,lethargic. But lmb are oportunists and still have to eat. Placing that slow worm in front of them they won't have to use any energy for a happy meal.When you catch one, chances are there are many hanging in that area. Make sure and try to duplicate exactly what you did and where you casted. If technique works and they quit biting, use same technique and just change the color. It might amaze you. Just a few tips from a pro.

I've never caught a fish in this pond with a jig. I can't explain it. I've used probably a dozen different skirt and trailer combinations and nothing has worked. I mean nothing, zero bites regardless of time of year or weather conditions. There isn't any rocky substrate so I assume crayfish are scarce and my only explanation is that these fish just aren't keyed into them at all.

Bocomo, don't give up on the jig-n-pig, try fishing it with braided line and make sure that you keep it in contact with the bottom. Braided line is a lot more sensitive than mono and will help you learn how to fish a jig off the bottom easier.

Suspending crankbaits also work well in cold water using a stop and go technique.

Another thing to try is slow rolling a spinner bait a few feet off the bottom. Throw it out and let it sink all the way to the bottom, keep your rod tip down and reel slowly.

Coldwater big shiner on a slip bobber rig! We catch them on tip ups with shiners through the ice.

I've been catching crappie and LMB on crappie jigs under a cork just last week, 45 degree water temp


Pat W