Seems to me that bites from most fish like walleye, carp and smallmouths really slow down once November and colder weather comes. Is there a way to be successful for these fish in late November and even into December? thank you!
Posted on November 9th, 2016Hi Dako, you are absolutely right. Fish are cold-blooded animals and their activity level is directly related to water temperatures. Remember all of the fish you named are “warm-water” fish (unlike trout, char & salmon that are cold-water fish). This means that when the water temps. start to drop, they become more lathargic (activity level is much slower). Carp & bass become almost dormant when water temp. near the 4C mark (under the ice). I have caught both ice fishing, but they are rare. Walleye on the other hand continue to be quite active under the ice and some of the best fishing for them is in the winter time.
The best presentations to use for bass and walleye as temperatures plummet is to use a slower presentation with or without live bait and definitely to keep a lure for as long as possible in their “strike-zone”. This can be achieved by vertical jigging a spoon or jig (fishing soft-plastic and live bait on drop-shot rigs, tubes and fishing hard lures as slow as possible while still keeping them at the right depth.
For carp fishing deeper is good and matting an area to attract fish regularly before fishing the spot. Nov-Dec can produce some of the biggest carp of the year, but you have to be patient and bait diligently…God bless you.
