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January......A Clean Sweep

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Jim C.:
Before 2010, most of my winter fishing was through the ice.  I had an occasional open water trip to switch things up.  In recent years, my focus has totally switched and I'm fishing open water way more than I cut holes in the ice.  At first, it was a novelty and I would catch a fish or 2 a month just to keep an open water streak going.  It's gotten to the point now, however,  where open water almost always produces far better fishing for me than ice.  I rarely feel an urge to venture on to hard water.

January was no exception.  7 of my 9 outings were on open water.  I came up with trout or salmon on all those soft water trips.  Unlike a few years back, it wasn't just a fish here and there.  Over those 7 trips I averaged nearly 6 fish per trip.  I'll take those stats anytime!

Not all open water days are created equal, and January was highlighted by an 11 fish day on the 10th.  That day was heavy on the brookies, but no complaints.







This day had a common denominator with a number of other days that also had fast action.  I was on the water as a strong cold front approached and then blew through.  Another pattern also emerged.  The fish were most aggressive as the front moved over the area.  In spite of 32* water, they would charge spoons like it was October.  Then as the front passed, but clouds still dominated, they favored a tube jig retrieved with jerks and hops.  Once the sky cleared, the cold air settled in, and guide ice started to form, I had to go to a micro jig under a bobber to tease up a few more bites. Here is a typical progression.  For size comparison, the bobber has a 1" diameter.



The deep cold spells made for more for challenging going and fishing. The edges between snow, shelf ice, and open water became blurred.  Figuring out where I was became a matter of trial and error, but keeping my weight on my back foot kept any falls or breakthroughs from becoming swims ;D





January sure had a batch of changes in the weather, but every shift in gears presented opportunities.  While strong cold fronts were good, the first warmer day after a cold spell would also produce.  The fishing also got a big shot in the arm during the last week  when deep snow was followed 2 inches of rain.  Flows bumped and salmon and browns came out to play in nice numbers, with the brookies still hanging around.  Even with the thaw, the few shards of  ice floating around this salmon is the most I saw in terms of the dreaded "slush". ;D



Multiple year classes of salmon joined the fun.  I found this interesting, since these fish are miles from what is their most likely stocking point.





The browns weren't big, but I enjoyed getting into them and liked their colors.







I managed to set up a pretty reliable spot rotation.  If one didn't kick out fish, saving gas was not the main objective.  At the same time, if I rarely left fish to look for fish.  There were exceptions late month when I sought out variety.  One late day spot change put a rainbow in the books.



With the 'bow in hand, I got a wild hair to look for a togue and a splake to put me into "hat trick times 2" territory.  I only know a couple spots where this is a slight possibility in winter open water.   I tried, but found no love.

We'll see what challenges February brings 8)

fishnmachine:
Great pictures and write-up. Thanks for sharing!  :thumbup_smilie:

zwiggles:

--- Quote from: fishnmachine on Jan 31, 2019, 04:37 PM ---Great pictures and write-up. Thanks for sharing!  :thumbup_smilie:

--- End quote ---

X2 Great read, and nice variety! It would be really neat to get an open water lake trout this time of year!

franklin fisher:
  Great read and educational.  Thanks Jim.

Jim C.:
Lake trout used to be my "bread and butter" winter fish shorecasting Lake Ontario and the Niagara R. when I lived out that way.  Big time fun.  It seems like the few caught off the shore in Maine are mostly in flowing water as dropdowns from lakes. 



--- Quote from: zwiggles on Jan 31, 2019, 10:40 PM --- It would be really neat to get an open water lake trout this time of year!

--- End quote ---

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