I live in ice country as well and I never shut it down. I'm not a hunter but I'm a huge outdoor guy so I can't stand being inside all winter. I ice fish but I transition to targeting bluegill, crappie and perch. As soon as the ice is off ...usually march or early April..I'm back at it with a jerk bait and a lip less. Side note I caught a few bass last year in mid to late November..literally days before ice cover.

I didn't stop fishing last winter but I stopped catching between late Novemeber and late March, as in zero fish. Not sure if that counts  

I don't, I can't, I'll find a way.

4 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I don't, I can't, I'll find a way.

Sometimes I go through the motions of casting and retrieving in my mind when I'm working, waiting in a doctor's office, etc. This will probably be the winter we haven't had in a while with long cold stretches. You're fortunate to have power plant lakes.

When the nighttime temps are in the 30s and the daytime highs are in the 50's, with no wind, although I have to think about going out for a long, long, time.

12 hours ago, NHBull said:

Done.

Hard water is Around the corner and don't have a free day until Thanksgiving 

My heart goes out to you during this long offseason...

I am now blessed with a 1600sq ft garage with a 93% efficiency furnace.  The boat does not get winterized anymore.  I have great luck and fish as much as I can when the water temps go from 55 down to 45.  I hang it up when the roads get icy, but I also am blessed to live 54 miles away from a nuke cooling lake (and 90 minutes from a Bassmaster top 25  lake that's also a cooling lake).  Those weird, nearly 50 degree days that pop up once a while in Dec/Jan/Feb will find me off work and fishing 85 degree water in the warm arm of one of those lakes.  

I love fishing too much to ever stop for the winter or any other season. I have fished during tropical depressions, right after hurricanes, thunderstorms, strong cold fronts, and other less than favorable weather conditions. If I lived up north I would ice fish and fish any river with open water for anything that bites. 

I fish all year.  I actually put more time in the winter then I do from July to the end of August, I hate the heat and humidity.  Just because the water is in the in 30s doesn't mean the fish stop eating.  The fish don't spend as much time in shallow water feeding in the winter so your window of opportunity to catch fish when they are actively feeding is smaller  There are benefits to the colder water.  Ive found that the bigger fish can be less finicky then they are in warmer water. The lakes in my area are small and consist mostly of shallow water with the deepest parts being around bridges, spillways and old creek channels.  The bass don't have a lot of options as far as deep structure goes.  If you catch a fish or 2 on a crankbait or swimbait go to a smaller jig or ned rig and spend some time picking that spot apart.  Look for any clue that may tell you what the fish are doing.  If all the fish you've caught have lots of mud on there belly use bottom contact baits.   

9 hours ago, soflabasser said:

If I lived up north I would ice fish and fish any river with open water for anything that bites. 

If you lived up north you would have the good sense to move!

 

Just now, roadwarrior said:

If you lived up north you would have the good sense to move!

 

I'd love to - you paying for it, Kent? (only way I could afford to move)

The cost of living down here is probably less than half of what it costs in the Minneapolis area.

 

6 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

The cost of living down here is probably less than half of what it costs in the Minneapolis area.

 

It's not the cost of living that's the issue - it's selling a house that's underwater (owe more than it's currently worth), and moving a disabled wife down with me - need special transport.

Okay, just a thought.  Maybe something to look into down the road.

I bass fish less in the winter, because that is when I have to salt water fish for work.  This year I will be doing less work because of Covid.  Tough way to live but some one has to do it.

On 10/19/2020 at 2:37 PM, DaubsNU1 said:

I love fishing...but this...yes...

 

Awsome picture

On 10/19/2020 at 2:37 PM, DaubsNU1 said:

I love fishing...but this...yes...

 

Awsome picture

I’ve caught a fish in every month of the year since July 2015.

 

Here in Nebraska, November and February are the toughest months to land one.

I'll fish the  bathtub if that's the only open water I have access to, I love hunting as much as anybody, doves, waterfowl, deer, pigs, turkeys, all make a fabulous and worthy quarry, but bass fishing is a thing I can do all year, virtually anywhere in the country (Yes, there are some places that have things that prevent it being an all year thing, ice, regulations, etc) if you look hard enough, and because it's not limited I tend to pursue it as a primary passion, and hunting takes a back seat, at least after freezers start filling up and holiday meals are accounted for. 

I quit fishing December 31 and start back January 1, ?.

I generally switch to the furry brown fish with antlers starting October 1st.

4 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

If you lived up north you would have the good sense to move!

I rather stay in Florida since the weather most of the year is good but I do feel there are a couple nice places you can live north of Florida. Dealing with the snow and hard water would be worse than the occasional hurricane but you can still make it work by going ice fishing and fishing rivers with flowing water. Power plant lakes are another place you can find open water during Winter.

On 10/20/2020 at 6:12 AM, Sam said:

When the nighttime temps are in the 30s and the daytime highs are in the 50's, with no wind, although I have to think about going out for a long, long, time.

Is this the weather when you shut it down? If so that eliminates half the year for me...couple that with winter which is worse and I'd be screwed.

Some of my best fishing has been from Oct. into Dec. when we had nice weather. Don't really have any good places to hunt so this year I'm not going to bother. One of my goals is to learn to catch fish in cold open water. I've caught LMB and all sorts of other fish through the ice but haven't done well in cold open water. It's time to learn how.

On 10/19/2020 at 10:56 AM, NYWayfarer said:

I usually shut down in early to mid-November. We usually have hard water by then.

 

It really boils down to comfort. When I am freezing even with gloves and handwarmers and getting skunked 2 out of 3 trips its time to pack it in for me. December, January and February are 3 of the longest months of my life. March is almost as bad.

 

 

Same here in Jersey, My last fishing trip of 2019 was actually in the middle of December when we had a mild day in the upper 50s. I hate this time of year to be honest, everyone hypes up mid and late fall because they live down south but it's never the case for us Northern guys, it's already starting, my last bass was caught almost a week and a half ago now. 

I never shut it down completely.  I fish lake trout in the winter and am going to start northern pike fishing from my kayak in a small river.  Obviously, a deep freeze and ice will stop me but if there is open water and the weather is tolerable, I'm fishing.  Besides, I have an excellent cooling lake that open on March 1st so if you fish late into November and can sneak out once or twice over the winter then cabin fever is greatly reduced.  

Never, it's just going to get better as winter comes and water levels drop.  It's Florida!!!!!