Northwest Fishing Reports

I have been getting a few PM's and emails from members on the site inquiring about random topics relative to the sport of Bass fishing . I thought it would be a good ideal for all members to read about the questions , concerns , tips , & advise on one thread so that everyone can benifit as a group .

If you have any questions about Gear , Bass fishing , Baits , ETC feel free to post it and lets talk about it folks

Where are they at in December? I've never fish them in the winter. Or are we just planning ahead for this spring?

Nate,

When it comes to December think deeper water and slow moving presentations. For smallmouth around here lake Washington and Sammamish offer excellent chances at not so many numbers but quality fish. Typically you can find them in 35-60' of water. Dropshots or heavy fb heads with some sort of plastic trailer are the two most common bait choices this time of year. My favorite on lake Washington is a 1oz football head with a reaction innovations 420 beaver on the back. Look for hard bottom with rock and or wood. Either make long casts and drag it back to the boat slowly or drop straight down and use the trolling motor to drag your bait on the bottom.

Largemouth are tougher. You need to try and pick a day where there is either some warm rain or a warm winter front like a pineapple express. Target areas that are adjacent to deeper water ie docks, laydowns those sorts of things because wood will retain heat and even a degree or two can make all the difference. Bait choice you cant go wrong with a big bulky flipping jig and a big plastic trailer.

Hey Nate

The cool thing about bass fishing here in washinton state is that this state offers year round fishiers .. Over here in western washington we dont have to worry about many lakes freezing over like they do in eastern washington . So because of that anyone can always get out on Lk Wash, Lk Sammy , lake goodwin , lake sammish, etc from NOV thru FEB .

During the winter months anglers can find smallmouth bass in depths between 5ft-50ft Depending on the body of water you target . My advise is that you put a lot of your efforts in area's of the lake that has really deep water next to Points , Drop off's , humps , sunken islands , etc.

As for gear during the winter months i will rig up Carolina Rigs , Foot ball Heads , Drop shot , and sometimes Swim baits .
Believe it or not i find myself fishing a lot faster during the months when on any giving lake .
What i mean by that , is once i have deterimed what the active feeding depth for the bass that day it becomes easier to make pin point cast when fishing the stucture iv mentioned above (USE YOUR SONAR).
What you will discover is that if the bass are they there and feeding you will most likey get your bite in the first few cast made . If i dont get a strike within 15min of fishing these area's , strap down the rods and move to your next desired location .

BTW , during the winter months if you get 5-6 bites in a single outing this is considered a good day on the lake IMO !!

Hope this helps Nate

This is a great idea Dez and I am more then happy to share what I have learned the past couple years that have made me successful such as weather conditions, target areas, different presentations and all those ins and outs that you need to know to be the most successful!

fishingmachine wrote:This is a great idea Dez and I am more then happy to share what I have learned the past couple years that have made me successful such as weather conditions, target areas, different presentations and all those ins and outs that you need to know to be the most successful!

Awesome Austin , Nate wants to hear what you have to say about fishing for bass during the winter months ..

My post about that is above yours dez lol!

Also when moving your boat from one spot to another a few yards away by the electric motor, be sure to throw a crankbait, either a deep diving or mid diver. A suspending bait would be best.

You can fish a mid diver over 1 to 5 foot depths real easy without it digging into the bottom as it should be retrieved real slow with lots of hesitation and stopping for 10 or 20 or even more seconds just suspending, also a jerkbait works, also with a long stoppage.

You can also slow roll a spinnerbait in deep water, even 30 feet deep, and even let it set on the bottom now and then, and drag it on the bottom, then lift it up a couple feet and let it drop back to the bottom to rest.

A grub on a round jig head for smooth bottom, or football head jig over/in the rocks, will also work.

Or a shakyhead with a grub, worm, senko, sniper.

can you guys provide me some feed back on the rain gear !!

I am in the market for a new rain / wind suit for next season . My goal is to find the best complete suit that will last for at least the next 4-5 years . I would like to hear some feed back on BPS 100mph , Simms , Cabela's , ETC (likes/ dislikes )

has anyone ever tried out this company by chance ? I really like the demo video and this looks like a well built jacket .

http://www.patagonia.com/us/product/men ... ?p=28385-0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I am using a set of waterproof Colombia gear. It works very well and i like it a lot. I have only had the pants this season so i cannot say from experience how long they last, but the fact i can find tall sizes it a big bonus for me.

Bigbass Dez wrote:can you guys provide me some feed back on the rain gear !!

I would like to hear some feed back on BPS 100mph , Simms , Cabela's , ETC (likes/ dislikes )

I've used the Cabelas stuff for a long time - it holds up good. For fishing, I have the Cabelas Dry Plus insulated jacket. I wish I had the bibs, but for now I just use a waterproof shell over my jeans.

Let us know what you get!

...regarding winter fishing, it sounds like I should just target smallmouth ONLY. As a newbie to bass fishing, would I be better off just "practicing" all winter on all bass techniques or actually fishing for smallies? I'm sure there is a lot of technique for smallmouth that can be transferred, but my approach would be fishing deep drop shot setups which doesn't really help learn topwater and flipping, etc. I'm just wondering if I should spend the time casting and learning baits and how they move vs. doing a bunch of deep water fishing. The "practice" will also give me an opportunity to scout lakes. If the fishing is going to slow anyhow - maybe time is better spent on learning the gear? Thoughts?

Gear question - drop shot spinning reel:

In the spring, I treated myself to a G.Loomis GL2 821S drop shot rod and appreciate suggestions regarding a "good" spinning reel to match the rod (been using an old spare Daiwa Crossfire 2000 reel). Enjoyed catching those smallies at Lake Tapps this year. Tackle Warehouse lists a Shimano Stradic CI4 as a drop shot spinning reel, but I'd appreciate any input / recommendations on this and other reels. Priced around $200-ish would be my target. I'll likely purchase a reel during upcoming Cyber Monday or wait for Limit Out Marine's grand re-opening deals.

Thanks.

KevinS wrote:Gear question - drop shot spinning reel:

In the spring, I treated myself to a G.Loomis GL2 821S drop shot rod and I want to your suggestions regarding a "good" spinning reel to match the rod (been using an old spare Daiwa Crossfire 2000 reel). Enjoyed catching those smallies at Lake Tapps this year. Tackle Warehouse lists a Shimano Stradic CI4 as a drop shot spinning reel, but I'd appreciate your input/recommendations on this and other reels. Priced around $200-ish would be my target. I'll likely purchase a reel during upcoming Cyber Monday or wait for Limit Out Marine's grand re-opening deals.

Thanks.

I, too, was looking for a dropshot rig this year... ended up going with the Quantum Smoke PT series spinning reel - largely influenced by the good deal that was offered. Unfortunately, I can't provide a comparison to anything else - aside from my Pleuger Presidents. The Quantum Smoke is VERY light weight, and I can definitely notice the balance is much better using the Smoke on the same same rod. The drag system is all the rage on it - but I'm too new to know any better; it is smooth though - no jerking or studders. Aside from the bail on the smoke seeming small and wimpy - I like it. The bail wont break, it's titanium, it's just small. The only thing I would probably change is the bail flip... the bail flip on the Smoke PT is a spring vs a magnet (magnets are heavier). I think the magnet flips are better and not sure what that Stradic has... I'm sure if you polled the forum, Shimano would win out... I'm an Abu fan myself - although I don't have any Abu spinning setups.

LBES wrote:

KevinS wrote:Gear question - drop shot spinning reel:

In the spring, I treated myself to a G.Loomis GL2 821S drop shot rod and I want to your suggestions regarding a "good" spinning reel to match the rod (been using an old spare Daiwa Crossfire 2000 reel). Enjoyed catching those smallies at Lake Tapps this year. Tackle Warehouse lists a Shimano Stradic CI4 as a drop shot spinning reel, but I'd appreciate your input/recommendations on this and other reels. Priced around $200-ish would be my target. I'll likely purchase a reel during upcoming Cyber Monday or wait for Limit Out Marine's grand re-opening deals.

Thanks.

I, too, was looking for a dropshot rig this year... ended up going with the Quantum Smoke PT series spinning reel - largely influenced by the good deal that was offered. Unfortunately, I can't provide a comparison to anything else - aside from my Pleuger Presidents. The Quantum Smoke is VERY light weight, and I can definitely notice the balance is much better using the Smoke on the same same rod. The drag system is all the rage on it - but I'm too new to know any better; it is smooth though - no jerking or studders. Aside from the bail on the smoke seeming small and wimpy - I like it. The bail wont break, it's titanium, it's just small. The only thing I would probably change is the bail flip... the bail flip on the Smoke PT is a spring vs a magnet (magnets are heavier). I think the magnet flips are better and not sure what that Stradic has...I'm sure if you polled the forum, Shimano would win out... I'm an Abu fan myself - although I don't have any Abu spinning setups.

Maybe Shimano would win out but if I were to vote Shimano would not make top two:) But then again, I am talking baitcasters.

Since we are talking fishing tips and, now, dropshot, how about input for hooks. I know everyone has their favorite. Mine, especially, when using a smaller profile bait such as a Roboworm or Sniper Lures is a Gamakatsu #4 drop shot hook. The hook is tiny and for hookup ratio and fish lost, I would be hard pressed to believe that there is a better hook. I have never seen this hook go deep into the crushers as it is so small it will, from what I have seen, always slide out of their mouths until it snags that skin material in the top of their mouths. Once hooked there, I rarely lose a fish. Maybe one out of every 10.

I trust this sized hook so much sometimes it, actually, keeps me from fishing a larger bait because it scares me to have to go to a larger hook. But sometimes when getting short strikes you have to rig up in other ways, I dread those times.

I got another tip, this one's for photo's while fishing alone. If you do not have a camera but always rely on a phone for picture taking then I guess this may be a waste of time.

I always carry a camera. I see a lot of pictures posted out there and I used to do it, as well, of the fish in one hand the camera in the other and your arm is all stretched out. Works in a pinch but getting a good picture is important to me.

Or worse yet. My first 5 pound bass ever I had a picture of my hand and the fish. Not even a picture worth taking.

So, with the thought of always carrying a camera and then with one of these Gorilla tripods:




http://joby.com/gorillapod/original" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



I take my boat seat post and stick one leg of the tripod right inside of it and stick it into the rear seat receiver. I will just leave the camera there all day. It is easy and cheap and it sure makes for a better picture rather than a hand and a fish or half your face because you missed the self portrait:)

I hope this helps somebody

Well, got one on a mid diving crankbait today. 8-10 foot diver over 15 to 17 foot depth while moving the boat to another spot. Only 1 1/2 lbs but a fish is a fish in the winter.

For camera use, when I fish alone (which seems to be most of the time), I remove the rear seat and insert a pole that I rigged up into the pedestal seat base. On the top of the pole I mounted a bracket that holds my phone at the proper angle to take a consistently good photo of myself sitting in the front seat. I installed a camera app that gives a 10 second delay before snapping 5 photos each 2 seconds apart. With that much time I can usually get situated with fish in hand and get several decent shots without a second angler to assist. All my photos tend to look the same with the same staging but the quality usually comes out pretty good.

Question, Guys: Lake Stevens has depths to 150'. Will bass stay down that deep in cold weather or will they generally stay at depths less than 60' even when deeper water is available?

You'll probably find bass at both/all depths, depending on oxygen and food availability. But I don't like fishing deep, so I'd not go any deeper than 60. There are lakes in Calif/Az/New Mex/Nevada that the bass are caught regularly down at 100 feet.