Hi guys. I read this forum a lot but finally found a reason to post. I need some help!

Been fishing a local creek in the Sacramento valley, really good fishing over summer and fall. I expected it to fall off when the weather cooled down but I am getting skunked.

The water has cleared up quite a bit and the vegetation has died back. I've tried an array of things from crawling finesse worms and jigs to jerk baits and topwaters/wakebaits. The only fish i have produced in the last couple weeks have been on a gunfish, which is really counterintuitive to me.

Truth is I haven't done much winter creek fishing and the general tips I have picked up don't seem to work on this water.

Any ideas? I have been avoiding bright days and fishing at dawn/night mostly.

Thanks!

Phil

Smallmouth bass?

Storms moving in the week with to more follow hopefully, the creeks will be flooding.

Tom

Mostly biggies, some smallies in the more narrow stretches with more current. I fish in a wide flat area with a good mix of shallows and a deeper channel. Problem is vegetation was most of their cover and there is very little remaining at the depths they are staging in.

Hammered a submerged tree yesterday and only got a dinker from what would normally produce 2-3 nice fish.

I have worked the deeper water also and nothing. I don't fully understand the hydrothermal dynamics (is that a word? Lol) of this creek. Maybe I'll take a thermometer down there and wade around.

The storms are also shaking the creek up a bit, lower Putah Creek BTW, but I welcome some turbidity because it was crystal clear.

Would wakebaits be considered a winter bait by anybody? Like a mellowed out gunfish or Sammy.

Thanks