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Winter Wade Fishing Strategies and Tactics

Wader Dave

It almost always comes as a surprise to people when they learn that winter may be my favorite time of the year for wade fishing in the Tampa Bay area.  Especially to those that have avoided wintertime fishing because they’ve heard or believe that fish are hard to find or unwilling to take an artificial lure. In fact, I find the opposite to be true if you know where to look and what lures to throw. Fish behavior becomes very predictable under these conditions and when you do find them, they are often in large schools and easy targets once you find a lure and retrieve that they’re interested in.


There is a fairly predictable weather pattern from Thanksgiving through the middle of March and your strategies and tactics for finding and catching fish will vary depending upon where you are in that pattern.


The day or two following the passing of a cold front generally bring cold air, dropping water temperatures, clear skies and north winds, and will most likely have fish moving off the flats to deeper water, hanging close to the bottom and a bit lethargic. These are the conditions where soft plastics rigged on a jig head are my lures of choice. Try rigging up a ¼ oz jig head with a natural colored shrimp imitation or a white, new penny or root beer colored, three inch paddle tail. Let the lure sink all the way to the bottom after the cast, always ready for a hit as it sinks, and then work it back slowly by raising your rod tip and the lure off the bottom, then lowering your rod tip while reeling in the slack as the lure drops to the bottom.  This creates a yo-yo like retrieve that mimics a shrimp or small bait fish swimming along the bottom. If that isn’t producing fish, try slowly dragging the jig along the bottom and stopping it for a few seconds every ten feet or so. If that doesn’t work, try a quicker retrieve with an erratic twitch, twitch pause action. As a last resort, if you’re not getting any action on the soft plastic shrimp or paddle tail, switch to a jerk bait like the Salt Strong Tweaker or Mirrolure Lil John and start the process over again. Covering ground is important, so don’t spend more than half an hour in any one spot without getting fish before moving on to another. However, once you find the fish, there’s a very good chance you will find a bunch as they tend to school up tightly when it’s cold.


The coldest days following a cold front are usually followed by a couple days of gradually warming weather and milder winds. During these periods, stick to the cold weather strategies and tactics early in the morning and on low water. However, look for fish to move back onto the flats later in the mornings and throughout the afternoons when they coincide with higher tides. The warmer water during these periods will have the fish more active and willing to chase bait retrieved more quickly. Paddle tails and jerk baits rigged on a ¼ or 1/8th oz jig head retrieved with the rod tip held high and retrieved quickly enough to keep your lure from getting hung up in the grass is an effective way to get these fish to strike. As you should always do, be on the lookout for mullet schools, birds wading or diving on bait or other signs of fish activity, as there’s a good chance red, trout and even snook may be in the same areas.


The best days for winter fishing are often the day before a cold front moves through, which typically brings winds out of the south, warming temperatures and lower pressure. The south winds tend to pile water up on the flats and shorelines causing tides to be higher and last longer than predicted on tide tables. These conditions trigger a feeding response in most game fish and will have them feeding aggressively as they sense the imminent arrival of a cold front and leaner times. These are great days to stalk flooded flats and shorelines using a variety of baits, including top water plugs, slow sinking or suspending hard baits, weedless spoons and jigs rigged with soft plastics. Look for fish to be hanging near sandy potholes, oyster beds, sand bars, and other bottom structure or along mangrove or rock lined shorelines.


The weather pattern ends with the passing of the next cold front which usually brings rain, breezy conditions, a change in barometric pressure and a shift from south to north winds. Fishing while the front is moving through can often prove challenging due to extreme weather conditions and while fishing can be productive, it’s usually a good day to do something else.





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