When the Tried and True Doesn't Work, Try Something New

That's the concept I used to turn what otherwise would have been a one-fish day into a six-fish day last Sunday, and it all happened in a matter of about an hour and a half.

Starting at 9 a.m., I had fished for three and a half hours, with only one fish to show for my efforts. I was fishing the upper reaches of West Neck Creek with my favorite jerkbait. The day had showed some early promise--I had missed a couple of strikes in my first dozen or so casts. I soon followed up with a dink, but things then had lapsed into boredom, and I talked to a couple of friends who were having the same luck.

Having fished to the S-curve and a ways back down the other side with absolutely nothing to break the monotony, I decided to pick up and run to the other end of the creek. My plan was to target two areas that had lots of wood cover. And instead of staying with the jerkbait, I put it away and picked up a rod with one of my favorite shallow crankbaits attached.

Somewhere around my third cast at the far point of the first selected stretch, I was ever so slowly bouncing the crankbait amongst the wood when I felt a fish and boated my first keeper of the day. Moments later, I hit another keeper and decided to stay with the same crankbait for the rest of the day. After an hour and a half, I had boated a total of five fish, including three keepers (the biggest of which weighed 2-11) and two more dinks.

Everything I've ever read has noted that a wise angler concentrates his/her winter-fishing efforts in northern areas, which warm faster during the day this time of year. That's why you usually find me fishing above the West Neck Bridge once cooler weather locks in. And more often than not, I will live and die in that area this time of year.

This past Sunday, however, I decided to go looking for more fish, and I'm glad I did. The generally accepted thinking is that wood cover creates enough warmth to draw fish in, and given my recent experience, I would have to agree.

As I see it, there are a couple of distinct advantages to fishing this time of year. For openers, you usually don't see that many other people on the water. And secondly, the best fish-catching times typically are between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. That's not to say a couple won't bite at daybreak and dusk; they just likely will be few and far between. So take the opportunity to sleep in and enjoy a more comfortable fishing experience with the warming day.