winter patterns

[kc]

Small and slow are my main stays in the winter. I like to winter fish Nolin and like you catch a lot of fish on curly-tail jigs. You have the added bonus with curly tails of catching crappie, walleye, white bass, bluegills, and I have even caught a few catfish.

Sometimes when the fish are up on the banks I use crankbaits with #5 or #7 shad raps being my favorite. Rattle-traps yo-yo'd on the bottom have taken several large fish for me at Barkley in the winter. I also really like tubes in colder water. 3" magnum or 2.5" "Bitsy tubes" are my favorites again following a downsize kind of thinking. Another really good lure in the winter at times is a small slow-rolled spinner bait.
I have warmed up to jerk baits on KY & Barkley the last few years also but for me they have only worked at certain times.

Like any other time of the year you just have to try different things and see what they respond to but in the winter your options are limited which narrows things down a lot.

kc

[kc]

A litte more on patterns. Lures are one thing finding fish is another. I find that water conditions are key to finding winter fish. Water temperature is huge and a difference in a few degrees can be the difference in finding them or not. South-facing banks on sunny days can be fish magnets. We have had a lot of rain as of late with more coming in tonight and the muddy water coming in will have an effect also. You just have to find the right water.

I also find that winter fish tend to really stack up. So the thing is to spend some time and find the best water conditions and find out where the fish are stacking up. Your thermometer and graph become your best friends while scouting.

Finally, rocky deep banks are best for bass as I am sure you have noted on Nolin. I have found some places there where I can take fish off of cover on mud flats near deep water but most of the place I find fish are bluffy, rocky, channel types of banks and points.

I haven't winter fished Rough much but I am sure it lays out and fishes much like Nolin in the winter.

kc

[jfw]

thank you for the very informative post