'bout ready

[Shaun Solomon]

I am just about ready to get after it. Didn't get to do a lot of fishing the last several months as a result of some family stuff, but I am looking forward to the coming year. Should be a little easier this year, though I still have a lot of scouting to do before I settle into anything resembling a comfort zone.

I have bass on the brain. :hi:

 

[bass]

I am just about ready to get after it. Didn't get to do a lot of fishing the last several months as a result of some family stuff, but I am looking forward to the coming year. Should be a little easier this year, though I still have a lot of scouting to do before I settle into anything resembling a comfort zone.

I have bass on the brain. :hi:

I am excited to get to the bass fishing as well. I got a new rod for Carolina rig fishing for Christmas (Cabela's brand jig and worm rod) that I am anxious to get all slimed up. I have never done well in the winter when the water is muddy, but I am psyched to get out to Hagg for mixed bag trout and bass once the water starts to drop again.

Seems like we need about a week with little to no rain to make the switch from chocolate milk back to water My rain gauge says we got about 2.34" of rain this week so I will be stuck in sturgeon mode for a while.

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

I'll make a trip out soon to my favorite little pond that produces bass this time of year. The first winter bite I get really gets me into the cold water bassin. The water in this particular pond never clears, so don't let the dirty water deter you Bass.

Sent from my RCT6773W22B using Tapatalk

 

[bass]

When I lived in PA I fished for bass until the lakes iced up. Muddy water always made for a slow bite. It is hard to go and fish all day for a few bites when I can catch a bunch of big sturgeon under the same conditions. I always look for the easiest fishing

 

[Choptech]

I also have been getting gear rigged up (and stock-piled) ready to do some hog slayin!!! Can't wait to get out on the water!

 

[Shaun Solomon]

Cold muddy water sucks. You basically have to hit the bass in the face in those conditions. They still feed, but their success ratio is way down.

I have no idea where to look for clear water, all the places I have fished so far are either backwaters of rivers or reservoirs.

 

[Willerman]

I was just thinking about this today. Very excited for the water to warm up and the bass fishing to kick into gear again. I have been out a few times this winter but with very little success, it's tough!

 

[bass]

Cold muddy water sucks. You basically have to hit the bass in the face in those conditions. They still feed, but their success ratio is way down.

I have no idea where to look for clear water, all the places I have fished so far are either backwaters of rivers or reservoirs.

Totally agree. Catching a bass in cold, muddy water is a gift from the fishing gods. I don't know of any clear water anywhere near the Portland area. The turbidity on the Willamette is high and rising. It is a waiting game for me right now. Glad that sturgeon like muddy water and don't mind the cold. It will be a little while until I throw a bass rod into the kayak with me.

I would guess that non-stream fed farm ponds are the only candidates for any type of clarity and I don't have access to any around here.

 

[Shaun Solomon]

Bass respond to different environmental conditions with remarkable physical adaptations. As water temperature decreases, their ability to sense their environment with the lateral line is diminished, so as a way to offset that loss, their visual acuity is somewhat improved. So in colder water, they rely a bit more on their eyes than in warmer water. (Anecdotally, this makes sense, as we can all relate to the diminishment of sensation in a limb exposed to the cold.)

What it boils down to is cold muddy water works against the bass by reducing their ability to utilize their lateral line OR their eyes to hunt. The "magic number" of 54º is about where the lateral line starts to be more effective again.

So... still waiting...

 

[bass]

Bass respond to different environmental conditions with remarkable physical adaptations. As water temperature decreases, their ability to sense their environment with the lateral line is diminished, so as a way to offset that loss, their visual acuity is somewhat improved. So in colder water, they rely a bit more on their eyes than in warmer water. (Anecdotally, this makes sense, as we can all relate to the diminishment of sensation in a limb exposed to the cold.)

What it boils down to is cold muddy water works against the bass by reducing their ability to utilize their lateral line OR their eyes to hunt. The "magic number" of 54º is about where the lateral line starts to be more effective again.

So... still waiting...

I never really thought of it that way but it makes a ton of sense. While we are warm blooded and fish are cold blooded our senses do not degrade evenly in the cold. Certainly our sense of touch goes to zero with numb hands while our vision is still fine. I never had the reasoning that you provided but I knew that the strike zone of the fish goes to almost zero in cold muddy water. Now I know why!

Water temp on the Willie is up to 46 with all the warm rain, but the turbidity is in the 30s (probably need high single digits for any chance of fishing). That is the problem with the Willamette in the winter. If the water has decent visibility the water temp will be around 40. Just have to wait it out for a bit longer. I am tempted to bring a bass rod out next time just to get a little casting practice.

 

[Shaun Solomon]

Yeah, it is really early yet. I just have ants in my pants. For years I would have been cooling my heels, literally, ice fishing this time of year. Seeing the open water has re-set the clock in my brain. All I want to do since I have moved out here is bass fish, I have not picked up the fly rod at all.

There are so many farm ponds around here, I need to grow a pair and start knocking on doors. I just hate to bother people. "Oh, look, what a surprise, another random stranger wants to have a go at my fish..."

 

[bass]

Yeah, it is really early yet. I just have ants in my pants. For years I would have been cooling my heels, literally, ice fishing this time of year. Seeing the open water has re-set the clock in my brain. All I want to do since I have moved out here is bass fish, I have not picked up the fly rod at all.

There are so many farm ponds around here, I need to grow a pair and start knocking on doors. I just hate to bother people. "Oh, look, what a surprise, another random stranger wants to have a go at my fish..."

I have had bass on the brain since you started this thread. Damn you

You should give sturgeon fishing a try. It is a lot of fun catching such huge fish and they bite great in the winter and in cold, muddy water. They are a nice compliment to bass fishing. There is less skill involved but a lot more size

 

[Shaun Solomon]

I don't have a yak. I guess there are spots where people bank them? I would love to get them on my life list. Guaranteed PB, lol. I want to keep one just to experience it, but after that I would let them go I think.

SS

 

[bass]

I don't have a yak. I guess there are spots where people bank them? I would love to get them on my life list. Guaranteed PB, lol. I want to keep one just to experience it, but after that I would let them go I think.

SS

Folks definitely bank fish for them up here around Portland: Dock at West Linn, Sellwood dock, Gilbert river dock and other spots. The lower river has a ton of sturgeon, the upper river has far fewer. I have no idea where you might find a bank spot in your neck of the woods. Heck I have not been able to catch one out of the upper river in half a dozen tries.

 

[Shaun Solomon]

No, I get it... you go where the fish are. That is the real key to catching them... go where they are, lol. I started the process of eliminating bass water last year, I will be continuing that process this year. So far the sloughs and Cottage Grove have been most productive for me. Going to venture out a little more this year, with those locations as fall backs for confidence boosters. There are a lot of places to fish out here, way more than you can hit in a single season!

Thanks for the bank sturgeon tips, I do really want to catch one. Hopefully we can find a house and get out of the apartment, I miss my boat!!!!!!

SS

 

[tomriker]

Now I want to go bass fishing too

 

[Shaun Solomon]

I went out yesterday to Waverly in Albany and blanked. I was only out there about an hour, and it looked like a mud pie, but it was nice to cast some line. There is a small flock of domesticated geese there that think their job is to harass and intimidate all comers, and it always amuses me to disabuse them of their misapprehensions. I don't mess with them, but they hiss and snap at me because I don't step lively when crossing their corner. I call them the hooligans.

Whelp, I guess that is my story. Maybe I will catch some fish next time.

 

[tomriker]

I went out yesterday to Waverly in Albany and blanked. I was only out there about an hour, and it looked like a mud pie, but it was nice to cast some line. There is a small flock of domesticated geese there that think their job is to harass and intimidate all comers, and it always amuses me to disabuse them of their misapprehensions. I don't mess with them, but they hiss and snap at me because I don't step lively when crossing their corner. I call them the hooligans.

Whelp, I guess that is my story. Maybe I will catch some fish next time.

You are must be brave going out in that kind of weather. It was nasty yesterday! I'm too much of a fair weather fisherman

 

[Shaun Solomon]

Not brave, just desperate. Staying dry is a new thing to have to think about. In Colorado, if it does rain (which is rare) there is almost always a squall with high wind and lots of lightning. I actually got struck in 2002, and I scamper at the first strike anywhere even remotely nearby. But usually staying warm in the slow season is a bigger issue out there, not staying dry.

 

[tomriker]

Maybe we can get together and go sometime, I live in Albany and have access to a couple pretty sweet spots!