i just read an article on line about largemout bass fishing in the winter.
a field biologist tagged numerous 3 and 4 pound largemouths in the lake of the woods for several years. even when the lake was covered with ice. they found that bass didnt go deep. they stayed reletivly shallow. they found them in 2 to 3 feet of water under the ice.
the mystery of bass behaviour continues.
in about 4 hours ill be on the water with a bucket of shiners. very excited to hit the water
a field biologist tagged numerous 3 and 4 pound largemouths in the lake of the woods for several years. even when the lake was covered with ice. they found that bass didnt go deep. they stayed reletivly shallow. they found them in 2 to 3 feet of water under the ice.
the mystery of bass behaviour continues.
in about 4 hours ill be on the water with a bucket of shiners. very excited to hit the water
It depends on how deep the lake is. If there is deep water available to a bass they will use it because thats what the bait will use. In winter, water near the bottom in deeper water is actually a couple/ few degrees warmer then water that is shallow and near the surface. The weight/ pressure of all the water above itself does not allow the water to drop much below 34-35* whereas in the shallows and near the surface water approaches 32* and falls below it as ice forms.
Right now you can catch smallies in 60-70'..... thats right FEET of water on the cape. Having said that there will always be a few fish shallow because they will move up and feed in weedy areas that the bait has moved into to feed as well.
Its been said a bunch of times here correctly, find a shallow bog pond with a max depth of 5-7'. Bass can't go deep because it doesn't exists. With time on the water you will find the areas the bass winter in, and when you do its like taking candy from a baby....... Reaction baits like traps, cranks, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. The great thing is that once you find them in winter, they don't go very far from day to day , week to week AND they use those areas year after year.
Right now you can catch smallies in 60-70'..... thats right FEET of water on the cape. Having said that there will always be a few fish shallow because they will move up and feed in weedy areas that the bait has moved into to feed as well.
Its been said a bunch of times here correctly, find a shallow bog pond with a max depth of 5-7'. Bass can't go deep because it doesn't exists. With time on the water you will find the areas the bass winter in, and when you do its like taking candy from a baby....... Reaction baits like traps, cranks, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits. The great thing is that once you find them in winter, they don't go very far from day to day , week to week AND they use those areas year after year.
Where the bass will be anytime of year definately has to do with where the bait fish are. The depth is important but it's all relative to the total depth and average depth of the pond/lake as well as where the structure and weed beds are. I don't fish many lakes deeper than 25 feet except for when I go to NH. When I go ice fishing I check out maps of the lake and look for weed lines and underwater stump areas- this is usually where you find quantity and quality. Like Rich said, when you find them this time of year you can usually bank on that spot for a period of time. The reason I love fishing is because you sometimes find your best fish of the day in the place you'd least expect it...that's why it's fishing!!!
I think you need to remember one thing here for the most part only the first 6-8 feet of water in most cases is determined by the air temperature, once you get deeper than that the water temp is determined by the ground temp which in New England is somewhere around a constant 50 degrees below the frost line so deeper water essentially will be warmer, I dont know if that helps, like rich said I caught my deepest smallie this weekend in 62 feet, I was in 90 feet and the graph was still lighting up Im sure they were that deep as well
