Winter fishing help
 

That time of year ladies and gents, I don't run offshore but I don't ice fish either.

Anyone here fish brackish water during the winter time or even freshwater fish?

Brackish water, what gear should I use? Been reading that white perch are the ticket in brackish but also trout show their faces. Yet a resident striper can be lurking (that's a lot of different line weights and lures to go through).

Brackish always intrigued me, but unsure how to approach it.

For schoolies and shad, approach with very small jigs and plastics.

Same stuff, just smaller ; )

Winter schoolie fishing for me always involved a 3/8oz kalin ultimate jig head and one of my 4" split tails in a smoke/silver glitter color. Depends on the system on depth, at the Thames River it could be 25 feet in the middle of the channel, on a southeastern mass holdover spot, right up in the shallows on a sunny day was the ticket, as the muddy flats warmed up quicker. No clue on white perch, the only time I targeted them was when fishing inland ME lakes.

Gave a good go at it couple winters ago...
Several locations On several days, mostly brackish, small white jig with one of those white rubber grubs....
Had one good tap ! :-)

No matter, drifting around in a 12’ tinny in February with moderate temps and the sun out is hard to beat....

I’ve got a spot all picked out for turn of the year.... :fishin:

I,ve been known to fish a little of that ...But NY .I,d rather chase women ><><
:wave:

Use to fish the back of the ponds in SoCo with small storm shad and teasers.

But now they run much faster than you... :wave:

Smelt are a good go to this time of year, although not as abundant as the once were, small Swedish pimple or kastmaters tipped with sea worm or grass shrimp fished off docks, and bridges over tidal creeks can provide enough for a lmeal , while providing some fresh air and exercise.
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Guppy .I got a electric stun gun ………. it does the job .

I have a friend that use to brink grass shrimp to the Boston bait shops & then bring back a mess of smelt ………….that was many, many years ago ><>

But I do have some live mummies right now <><
:lasso:

Is there a good way to get grass shrimp to use as bait? I have a seine net and umbrella net lying around. Do you just bottom rig them?

Back in my freshwater days, there was a guy near my home that sold grass shrimp out of his garage and man were they killer on the cape for smallmouth and perch. I'd anchor up in a spot that used to produce every year, put a handful in a paper bag with a rock, twist the top just enough to slow the release of the live chum once on the bottom. It was a fun way to kill a cold winter day and the cape usually only iced up briefly on the larger bodies, like long pond in Harwich my go to.

ZEAL , here in RI its much more difficult to catch than years ago ………………….. when in my early years many bait shops sold them none do anymore . same with mummies ……. not many if any carry them anymore .
I work real had to get what I do catch & honestly I can get enough shrimp to freshwater fish .but not enough to get the saltwater going . I could probably get enough for Boston smelt fishing .
like a lot of species in the backwaters . they have seriously decline to the point most people don,t even know a few still exist..

My winter fishing sometimes involved friends willing to break a sweat to bust ice, but the rewards sometimes were large, I certainly miss those days of plenty. Back then a slow day at the Thames was 75 fish, with a keeper or two likely thrown in for good measure, then a certain friend GB turned me on to a lesser known and almost as productive spot in southeastern mass, meaning an hour less drive time and no CT license involved. Sadly those days of plenty are long gone and my friend tells me no boating access any longer to that old spot, unless you want a ticket. I miss my old fishing buddy Drew, he fell in love with a girl from Alabama and lives south now, we had some very productive winter outings. Clammer and his sidekick joined in several times and you know Mike, always good for a laugh.

yep Bob we had some times

But we had just about quit the south ……….it had gotten to the point were we got zero on a couple of trips & Denis went a couple more times after I said history & he fiannly gave it up/
even Providence has been on a steady decline in the winter .
last winter I didn,t see any peanut or aduly pogies & even the seals moved out .
did get some nice white perch But it was short lived for us ><>

Couple winters back
Tried for the shrimp in a couple spots that use to be good for them and drew a blank.....
Ran the net up a creek dumping into brackish and through the grass, what little there is left... narda

Made great flounder and white perch bait....

I miss chubs.... :-(

I trout fish in the winter for large browns and salmon in Ct . Still going strong .

Sounds like I'm better off going for the freshwater and just using that gear for brackish (and hope to not get spooled by a striper when going for sea run trout or perch)!

I remember the huge decline in the mummies/killie population here from brown and red tides killing them off back in the 90s (man those prices skyrocketed in bait shops).

Grass shrimp I never saw in a shop (usually were bycatch with spearing).

I have to say, I am curious about one thing: do winter stripers fight like the winter largemouth where they feel more like a wet rag on the end of your line rather than the other seasons where you gotta hang on? Got fooled on a cold lake early spring thinking I had weed on the end of my line and it was me dragging a 2 lb LM with no fight in it save a head shake right when I went to grab it at my yak!

I can answer that question on fight, that 42 lber in the picture was caught on 10# fluorocarbon and the fight wasn't all that spectacular, but early fall or early spring with some warming water, they can put up a nice fight for sure.

Nice looking fish....anytime of the year.