Hello everyone.  I have been fishing for about a year now, and i need some advice on winter fishing.  I dont have a boat so the only body of water that is near my home is a canal.  Its not very deep and i will obviously be fishing from the shore.  I wanted to know what i need to do to catch some bass?  Is it worth trying?  Can you catch bass in the winter in shallow water?  Any advice you guys can give me would be great.  I need to get out of my house, im starting to go stir crazy.  Thanks guys

Tony

Welcome aboard!

Spend some time in the BassResource.com Library, "Fishing Articles"

and "Tacklebox" at the top of the page. Here's "Winter Fishing" to get

you started:

http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/seasonal-fishing-articles.html#winter

8-)

Sure you can catch fish in the winter Always remember that the water is cold and so are the fish so they are not going to chase a lure that fly by them. You gotta slow down take your time. I catch a lot of fish on swimming a jig in the winter. Fish it like a curl tail grub and just swim it back to shore. Reel it just fast enough to keep it off the bottom. Crankbaits can be killers in the winter. You need to pay close attention because the bite is not bone jarring. Jig and trailer, spinnerbaits both work well in the winter. The one time of the year that I feel that scent does help out on moving baits is winter because you are slowing down the lure.

It would help to know what region you are located. Saying you live on a canal makes me think South Florida. If so, you can absolutely catch bass through the winter (and then get to brag about it to the Northern guys ).

Fishing in the winter is normally a lot more difficult because the cold weather make the fish slow down and move less. So it's all about your location. Try fishing near the remains of weeds that you can see just below the surface or close to dying reed beds.

From one Tony to another, welcome  ;D

Actually, my real name is not Tony, but you're the first other member I've seen here with that name. And if 84 means you were born in 84, well, me too.

If you have a canal that has bass in it, they'll eat. What's the temperature where you are?

Well, I don't believe I have ever canal fished in freshwater. But, I can tell you this, the only thing that works for me in my local ponds in the winter are small suspending jerkbaits fished as slow as I can possibly make myself go. Were talking long 8-9sec pauses in between each 1-3 jerks.

I recommend the rapala husky jerk in 2 1/2inches. For colors, in sunny weather and clear water use silver w/black back, Sunny or overcast in slightly stained/stained water use gold w/black back, and in muddy water use firetiger.