Thread: Winter on the Pocomoke, frustrated

Winter crappie are always in the main channel where the flow of the tide is almost nothing on full outgoing. Rip rap walls with a southern exposure and deep water up against the rip rap. On the Potomac we find them in 12 feet of water on main creeks that do not have a major feeder creek. Just a huge muddy flat to drain from. Winter fishing is not easy as the bite only lasts an hour or two on outgoing. Got to have sun and clear water. Then comes the issue of lures vs bait.

Yea that is why I will not take clients out in the fall for them.. real hit and miss.

Capt Mike

Thanks Capt Mike that helps.

Capt Mike summed it up good.There easy in spring thats why most people only fish them then.We still use lures 95 % of the time alot times just holding em still in winter.They can change how they want it from day to day also,1 day vertical and still next day slow retreive.

Thanks tear-em-up I'll keep looking. Are you guys disregarding structure on the bottom and just fishing the deep flat at the center of the channel? Paying any attention to bends in the river etc or just probing until you find a school? My fish finder almost never shows fish on the bottom unless some of those "piles" I'm seeing are actually tight schools of fish. I don't plan on using any bait, I'm mostly a jig fisherman. Are you using Browns and blacks for your bodies? One of the best colors for me is a dark silvery gray/green sassy shad type jig body.

You will probably get some different opinions on where to look. All bodies of water can be different. One place I fish in the winter we look for schools of shad, the crappie and other fish won't be far away. I agree Mike and tear rip rap with almost no current. Also don't forget bridge pilings, boat docks, and piers, anything that will hold heat from the sun and also provide shade.

I also have quite a few spots where they can be located very shallow in winter in 4 to 6 fow adjacent to deep water. These are shore fishing spots, whenever a boat would show up in these areas the bite would be over. It would take 20 minutes to an hour before we would catch any fish after they left.
Try to keep a log when you do find fish to include the location, time of year, water temp and clarity, and weather pattern. The more info the better.
Fishing in winter can be tough, but once you find them it will be well worth the effort.
Good Luck
Mike

Thanks Mike that's all good advice. This reminds me of fly fishing. Fly fished a ton from an early age and occasionally caught a trout, never many, but I kept trying. Traded some art work for a lesson from a local expert when I was 22 years old. One two hour session and it changed my understanding of fly fishing, simplified my approach and from that day forward I caught trout almost every time out. Sometimes it only takes one little change and it all clicks. Thanks for the advice I'm excited to go out again and give it a try.

We use alot of chartruese and smelt fin-s,going out of town again this weekend prolly no fishing for me .

Got out today and yesterday, caught fish but not a ton. At the very least I got a good sense of what the bite feels like. Really gentle, just a tiny tap followed by slack as the fish took the jig from below. A lot like ice fishing. Started out two turns of the reel off the bottom about 2.5 feet, caught some small ones. Came up another foot or two and got a few bigger. All in 15 feet, steep drop off main channel with some fallen wood below.