I am going to try to explain this one more time.  LMBs do in fact go dormant during the colder winter months, that does not mean that they do not feed.  It means that they will not feed as much or as often and they will not use as much energy as they would at other times of the year to feed.   This explains the drop off in catches at this time of year, that is all I was trying to say.  I know there are people out there with more knowledge from their years of fishing but the facts are the facts.  Pick up some books and read and you will find similar statements in them about the colder winter months.  SMBs still feed actively in the colder months and that is all I was trying to state.  

           I think my posts are being read as if I'm being an arrogant pr1ck! I'm not trying to out do or down play anyone. Just shedding a little light, I'm saying "don't quit because the bite slowed!".

                According to a park official, the local public lakes have been stocked with northern strain largemouth. Which in turn make them alot more active than the southern strain during the winter months. It's not even the first day of winter. The water is not as cold as it needs to be for the bite to shut down.  We still have warming trends happening, It's when it is real cold for along time that the bass will get lockjaw. Then I will break out the slip bobber set up and that produces alot in the winter. Just got to find a hole in the ice.

I am not quitting, I am just disappointed in how much the bite has slowed in the last week. I am not seeing nearly as many strikes as I was a couple of weks ago.  I have slowed down my bait, tried jerkbaits, crankbaits and even jigs and I am not getting the bites any more.   Maybe I am just in a slump because November was my best month of the year (landed two LMBs over 5lbs)all the way up to December 1st.  Since then I have been skunked multiple times back to back at different locations which is not normal for me, I usually catch at least one LMB no matter how bad the fishing goes.  

I stayed local today due to the wife not feeling well and I fished Mercer and could not even get a strike and this is where I have had my best luck.  I have now been skunked at Lake Royal, Huntsman and Mercer all in the last week.  I may go out to Lake Thompson tomorrow but that depends on how the wife feels.

On another note I do not think badly of you at all Rob so please don't think that.  I was just trying to make a point and I guess I did not do a good job at it originally.  Hopefully people understand the point I was trying to make about the slowdown.

I would suggest trying power worms with a shaky head or tex rigged with bass and glass.  

I would suggest trying power worms with a shaky head or tex rigged with bass and glass.  

Good suggestions, however, nobody seems to have mentioned one of the deadliest tactics for this time of year...The drop-shot.

I have caught more and bigger fish on the drop-shot than I have on anything else this time of year, I just tie it up with a 2/0 Owner offset worm hook, about a 7-inch leader, a 1/4-3/8oz weight depending on the current, and either a ZOOM finesse worm or a Reaction Innovations Flirt worm.

I mainly fish tidal rivers so I target steep banks with heavy wood cover on high tide, and then on low tide I back off and target the first drop-off into slightly deeper water. Once I find the right cover I throw it out there and lightly shake it in place for about 30 seconds, then I hop it and shake it for another 30 seconds, then I reel it up and throw it right back to the same spot 3 or 4 more times. They key here is not only to fish slow, but to make multiple casts to the same area...My biggest smallmouth out of the Pamunkey river was a 3-3 (which is huge for the pamunkey) and it came on my sixth cast to a ledge with my drop-shot rig...

Winter fishing can pay off big time, you just have t be willing to fish very slow but cover water at the same time.

is it just me or is the drop shot technique more of a boater thing? In my head the drop shot doesn't really seem to work well from a bank angler stand point. I haven't actually tried it because my previous notions but please ocrrect me if i'm wrong.

Short-time lurker, first time poster-

Nah , It works from the bank too, but it does help to have deep water close to the bank.  It takes some time to learn how to do it effectively (I'm still working on it).

  Went down to the Bull Run this morning, only one out there. Fishing was cut short due to a triple lutz into a creek . Got wet from the knees down.

      Was able to catch 2 lil ones and had something large get off right after the hook set. I was fishing a trick worm and Fat Ika on a split shot rig.  

Any NOVA folks catch any LMBs this weekend?  I got skunked.

  Went down to the Bull Run this morning, only one out there. Fishing was cut short due to a triple lutz into a creek . Got wet from the knees down.

      Was able to catch 2 lil ones and had something large get off right after the hook set. I was fishing a trick worm and Fat Ika on a split shot rig.  

Hahahhah... I almost did the same a couple of weeks ago if it wasn't for a branch that I grabbed onto.   Which side of the bridge did you fish?

I fell there one time too in some mud. Didn't get wet but I had mud all down my back and legs...

Is it just me or does that area never seem to dry out? Seems to me like there's always mud.