by Steve Welch
I bet most of you by now are
just plain sick and tired of cold weather. I know my wife who isn’t used to me
being home has heard enough of my Honey I’m Bored speech and can’t wait for me
to get going in the spring.
Here are a few things to
tide you over. First why not take in a fishing show. I know there is one every
weekend somewhere and that puts limitations on who can be where and what tackle
companies can be there as well.
The Bloomington show January
25th through 27th will be a good one and that is my first show of the upcoming
year. I will be speaking on Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th. I always
speak a lot about crappie but I also fish for white bass and walleye and dabble
for muskie. I throw in rigging tackle for all these species and a ton of
knowledge about fishing deep-water structure and electronics probably my best
strong point. Then it is off to the East Peoria show in February. I am speaking
February 16th and 17th on these same topics again just incase you missed the
Bloomington show. I am also speaking at the Midwest Marine open house in March.
They haven’t released a date yet but will sometime this week. It is very
informal and people like the fact that they can talk to me all day long and Shane
and John are good people and will help you in any way they can. I can attest to
that.
If fishing is what you are
into then here is what I do during the three winter months. I used to ice fish
a ton but the last three winters I have fallen in love with huge muskie and
while they are dropping the lake at Shelbyville to winter pool this has got to
be the best muskie fishery in the world. We catch a ton of them. I will most
likely get forty or so in my six or eight trips that I get to go on. Guys that
go every day during this draw down period will double that. The draw down takes
anywhere from three to six weeks. After that fishing slows as does tackle.
During draw down I use jigs
and shad bodies or twisters. Five to six-inch seam to work the best. White,
chartreuse or tennessee shad are your best colors. A good solid hook on a three-quarter to one-ounce jig. We use
about ten-inches of Tyger thirty-pound leader. You can tie it directly to your
jig with a simple clinch knot. I use seventeen-pound mono on my bait caster and
I am throwing the lighter jigs I use twelve-pound on my spinning gear.
A big net is a plus and a
boga grip to hold the fish for a photo. If you do not have these someone down
there will and we all share. The fish range anywhere from 39-46 inches and the
current state record came from down there so I know bigger fish exist. A
46-inch 28-pound fish isn’t shabby though.
Here is my second getaway
during the three winter months. Paris Landing down at Kentucky Lake is close
enough for me to do on a long weekend. I know the fish are bigger down in
Mississippi but I can go to Paris Landing and drive it once I get off work on
Friday and come home on Monday afternoon and get in a ton of fishing. Nice
thing about where I work is that my boss is a fisherman and early on the whole
company went to ten-hour days so we can have three-day weekends. This really
helps me with guide trips as well.
Most think of crappie
fishing as a spring spawn getaway but not me. I want to go when the fish are on
the deep ledges. Like I said deep water fishing is one of my strong points. My
boat is set up for it and with all my GPS waypoints to run to I can fill the
boat with big crappie. Winter fishing down there is where it is at. No crowd’s
at all six boats is a busy day. The fish are schooled up in the 18-22ft. range
so search time is at a minimum and you get bigger fish in the winter as well.
Wind is your biggest enemy
so I try and plan for a stretch of weather that gives me a slight warming trend
but not too much or the south wind will get up. I want full sun and wind under
ten. The Paris Landing web-site has weather predictions so you can’t plan your
trip too far in advance. Just have your bags packed and out the door on Friday.
We are fishing deep so you
need some weight above your jig to get a better feel. Most use a quarter-ounce
split-shot above an eighth ounce jig. I use a Bighead jig that comes in
quarter-ounce and a short shank hook that is light enough to bend if you get it
hung up. We use either red and chartreuse, emerald blue shiner or white with
silver speckles tubes. I also use Slater’s tensile jigs or Bob Folder’s tensile
jigs. Water is very clear and the tensile jigs catch a ton of fish in gin clear
water. I tip them with a crappie nibble or a small shiner.
I take my medium-heavy
spinning rod and ultra-light spinning reel spooled with eight-three Fireline
Crystal. I like the braid it gives you better feel and you can give the rod a
quick snap and free your jig. We can’t clean the catch down there in winter so
I bring my biggest cooler and clean them when we get home. We stay at Fishtale
Lodge just about the only place to stay during winter. Sharon is great and the
place is very clean.
Come on out to the fishing
shows and see me and we can talk shop and swap fishing stories. I am always
willing to listen and I might pick up a pattern or two from you as well.