Winter lure fishing

[WaveChopper]

As winter is approaching slowly, and I just dont want to put away my spinning rod, I would like if someone would give me some tips on winter lure fishing. Thanks ...

[padge73]

Hi, my lure gear is still getting plenty of use! I am off chasing bass tommorrow, tactics are much the same, except that i change the type of lure I am fishing. I have lures that are darker in colour and look more like what is about at this time of year, coal fish etc. I also stay away from surface lures. Another usefull tip is to try some soft plastics lures as descirbed on this site, they fish a bit deeper and can be really effective in colder conditions. PM me if ye want to know more!

[JimH]

We landed four garfish yesterday afternoon - all were very big and some were close to specimen weight - all fish were caught on lures fished close to the surface.

its difficult to hook up with gars a lot of the time so we felt this was not only a very unique fish to catch at this time of year but also we were very happy with the quality.

tail walking and jumping on light gear we felt we were elsewhere and had spectacular fun - Ireland at the end of November hard to believe. We also landed some bass

[Rockhopper]

Sounds like good sport Jim, IMHO Gars are a very underestimated fish as far as sports fishing goes....you prove that here.

Another method for Gars is to use a piece of wool (about 5"-6" long) with no hooks, the wool gets snagged in the Gars teeth as it spins...easy to release, no harm to the fish and good sport to boot.

Tom.

[JimH]

Hi RH

The wool method is an interesting one no doubt - have previously targetted gars with fly gear and missed many many fish - will try the wool (iced chenile) today behind a Marc Petitjean head - i believe orange is a key colour for us.

I am not surprised to catch bass at this time of year but was rather suprised with the gars - we're going to try and capture a tail walk on video this afternoon (provided we hook up of course), yesterday they seemed quite brave and followed lures and flies right up to us - - and you know the way it is - go with the equipment and NO fish appear.

[paulocallaghan]

jim,

from the pic it looks like you foul hooked the gar, were many got like this

[JimH]

No fish were foulhooked - the marks that you can see were caused by something else perhaps a cormorant or seal or other.

Im of the frame of mind when it comes to photogarphy, similar to competition fishing ethics, unless the fish is caught in the mouth it never gets photographed.

We do come across a few fish that bear big injuries from nets and other wildlife, but they seem to get on with life and obviously still take flies or lures very positively.

[padge73]

jim had some gars last week! same quality of fish, have been seeing more of them this year. Not a big surprise as i am sure we are not fishing disimilar marks, have found it difficult to hook up at times but I just decraesd hook and lure size and that did the trick, great fun on light gear.

[paulocallaghan]

thanks for clearing that up jim, as you say most species are pretty resiliant

[WaveChopper]

Hi, my lure gear is still getting plenty of use! I am off chasing bass tommorrow, tactics are much the same, except that i change the type of lure I am fishing. I have lures that are darker in colour and look more like what is about at this time of year, coal fish etc. I also stay away from surface lures. Another usefull tip is to try some soft plastics lures as descirbed on this site, they fish a bit deeper and can be really effective in colder conditions. PM me if ye want to know more!

Thanks Padge. Never fished plastic before, but I will defenitley give it a go soon (some of rapalajoes stuff is very interesting). Any particular plug that works well for you... Trying to get my xmass list together :lol:

[corbyeire]

so you can catch the gars like they do the marlin - amazing! :shock:

[JimH]

Glad to have allayed your concerns paul - must ask what you meant by asking 'how many were caught like this..?'

[MAC]

Hi Jim,

Another material to try is nylon strip. Similar to wool, but a little stronger. This method is now fairly common for Marlin and sailfish...

Kev

[paulocallaghan]

hi jim,

it was in relation to the question of foulhooking,

i was curious to know if many the gars were picked up accidentally, i thought maybe a lure fished near the surface had accidentally come across a shoal and picked a few off across their back. however you have answered the question by assuring me they were caught legitimally.

i would have thought the gar has a small mouth so were you intentionally fishing a small lure for them or how were they picked up

[JimH]

Paul

Actually it was the customer who was with me who asked me to ask the question - he had never seen the SAI forum before and had seen me making the post - so he was interested in replies and what people had to say as a follow up

as is often the case his 'mis'-interpretation of your question made him feel as if we were foul hooking purposefuly.

its often the case i explained (as hes gone home now), that its not what it apears to be in many instances.

so hes gone out to buy the kevlar jacket and stuff and will probably join up tomorrow or so - in friendly mode though.

[Rockhopper]

Hi Jim,

Another material to try is nylon strip. Similar to wool, but a little stronger. This method is now fairly common for Marlin and sailfish...

Kev

About 10 years ago in Islamarada in the Florida Keys....out on a skiff with a guide spinning for Tarpon...I had a boat load of really cool looking lures, couldn't get a take to save my life. The guide opened a box and took out this piece of red nylon rope....frayed at one end and heat sealed at the other....piece of thin wire threaded through, swivel at one end treble hook at the other.....value, possible 50 cents......first cast...binging it back fast across the surface...bang! Tarpon....nearly crapped, had it on for about 10 minutes, stripped the line and off it went....the guide shaking his head talking about that was his favorite lure, he's had it for years etc etc...my point....the commotion that thing made on the surface was way better than all the store bought lures :)

Sorry for the long tale :P

Tom.

[MC]

i have managed gars on feathers, size 1/0 hook, hooked in the mouth, great fight, just wish i could do the same with the fly gear, but no luck this year, as they say if gar fish grew top 10lb, we would fish for nothing else

[MAC]

Hey Tom,

For Marlin and Sailfish the nylon attaches itself to the bills. Apparently the bills are quite abrasive and once the bill fish hit the nylon it "hooks" them. Might also work for Gars, with their fine teeth... Worth a bash if you know they are there as they seem to be great craic. Never caught one myself though.

Kev

[cazbass]

As winter is approaching slowly, and I just dont want to put away my spinning rod, I would like if someone would give me some tips on winter lure fishing. Thanks ...

Hi Chopper,,
first week in december got the balls to do a article for sea angler with u know who HG a few years ago now proves when the conditions are correct the bass ARE there , i think that day we had in exess of 10 bass to lure all captured on camera
great sport for late in the year,,

Gee

[WaveChopper]

I think I saw few of those in sea angler, while ago... if I remember well 8)