Winter yakin'

[Yak Fish]

Suppose we could get out, where would you guys go? Aren't a lot of the edges and rivers frozen over? What would you fish for in winter and how would you go about it?

[DOGFISH]

If I was to go fishing at this time or year, the best bet would probably in waters where you could catch pickerel, pike, musky or walleye. These fish tend to be more active in cold water. Some perch, yellow and white, may be staged in deeper holes in traditional spawning rivers. Crappie may also be a choice, if you know of a body of water that is good for crappie fishing. The perch and crappie fishing would probably be bait fishing. The pike and walleye fishing may also be best with live shinners. This is a subject that may require some research. I have fished along time in Maryland, and no matter what type of fishing you do, it is going to be slower than what you are used to in spring, summer or fall. You are going to have to research winter tactics, slow down and be patient. That is a difficult thing to do in the cold, at least for me.

The upper Potomac may be an option, if it is not running to fast, which it probably is fast at this time. --Just took a time out to check the river conditions. It is running slightly higher that what I like, but the river in the area above Harpers Ferry is below the 72 year average. It is running about 1.5' or 2' above what I like.-- Again, you would probably have to work live shinners in the deeper holes. Jigs worked slow may also do the job. The water will probably be stained but may be workable.

Trout fishing may also be an option, but that is mostly stream side fishing. I left that out, because I thought you were speaking of yak fishing. However, with that said, fly fishing at stream side could be fun on a better weather day. Ahh yes, the caveat, it would be best to have clear running water, which is not a torrent. We now have snow run off, which most streams may be cloudy and fast. Just something to think about.

As some of the others have talked about in some of the other threads, power plant fishing may be an option. That is mostly an access situation.

In any event Good luck.

[wiljack78]

Any tricks to prevent icing in rod eyelets? That is an ongoing issue for me. Would Mono work better than braid with icing? For now, I'm using braid and every few casts I stop and clear the top eyelet. There must be a better way.

[ictalurus]

I think you can spray your rod and line with Reel Magic. I haven't tried it, though.

http://www.basspro.com/Blakemore%C2%.../16524/-640948

[Redfish12]

Pam also works pretty well.

I'm planning on trying to do some trout fishing at some point soon. If the weather continues to warm I may make a trip to a warmwater discharge, we'll see though. Hard to want to get out there in the cold.

[Memory Maker]

I would fish mainly the warm water discharges or the Eastern shore/ Southern Md dark water ponds .......... these seem to stay warmer in the winter and the fish are more active and they have a bunch of pickerel. For Walleyes, Susky below the dam. Pike and Musky ........ not much in MD. Crappie ........ Susky above the dam all winter ...... Broad Creek, Conowingo creek ........ both good for Yakin if the ice is out ......

Warm Water discharges ......... jig spoons and BA's for Rock. PEach Bottom ........ shiners. Crappie ........ 1/8 - 1/64 oz jigs w/minnow and float or just jig. Pickerel/bass ...... eastern shore ponds...... large bladed slinner baits slow rolled ........ large plastic worms w/fish bites or piece of gulp ......