I’m loving the big ones that are still hungry

I fish all winter long and rarely catch one deeper than 5-7 feet of water. Last Saturday it was 34 fish and none deeper than 5’.

 

Living in south Louisiana, I don't have much choice but to fish shallow water year round. About the deepest I ever fish is 8-9 feet and that's only when I'm fishing in one of the few Mississippi River oxbow lakes I frequent.

 

 

 

How do you keep the line/guides from freezing in 30 degree air temperature?

14 minutes ago, gim said:

How do you keep the line/guides from freezing in 30 degree air temperature?

Chapstick

So you're saying that you lube up every guide on every rod you intend to use with chapstick?

22 minutes ago, gim said:

So you're saying that you lube up every guide on every rod you intend to use with chapstick?

Mostly any rod with braid and more importantly, the braid. Easy to do in the garage before the trip. Pull out a long cast of line and then coat the line with a thin layer of chapstick while reeling it back in. I don’t worry about it as much with flouro or mono, just dip the rod in the water as needed.

2 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Pull out a long cast of line and then coat the line with a thin layer of chapstick while reeling it back in.

 

So you don't do it on the guides.  You do it on the line.  That makes a lot more sense than going through every single guide on a dozen rods.

 

I thought maybe you had a way to defy the laws of physics here.

Don’t use braid mostly

As someone that hasn't given up on braid, 34 and windy is worse than 30 and calm.

 

scott

21 minutes ago, TyphonMike said:

Don’t use braid mostly

I use braid quite a bit in the cold. Coating it with chapstick makes it a lot more manageable.

 

27 minutes ago, gim said:

 

So you don't do it on the guides.  You do it on the line.  That makes a lot more sense than going through every single guide on a dozen rods.

 

I thought maybe you had a way to defy the laws of physics here.

I will rub it on the bigger guides and kind of let the line carry it through the smaller guides, but putting it on the braid helps the most because it sticks to it well and keeps the water from sticking to the braid and carrying back through the guides as much.

In winter I like to fish around dead lilypads.  Most of the time I'll be using a spinnerbait, swim jig, or Texas rigged plastic.