Plastics and water temperature

I read the post by H20 (saug-zilla) and was wondering what the water temp. was. The reason I ask is that I find when the water temp. gets 35 degrees or below (La Crosse area), I have difficulty catching fish on plastics, in the same places I was catching fish when the water temps. were in the upper 30s or low 40s (humps , close to deep water). I should explain that I horizontally jig fish (cast and retrieve) as opposed to vertically jig fishing (yo-yoing). So, is it the low water temp. and the fish will not chase a plastic bait hopping along, or have the fish vacated the area because of the water temp or some other reaason? Are walleyes still catchable in shallow water (4-12′) when the water temps. reach the mid 30s and below? I find this situation both in the Spring and Fall.

I realize, at Red Wing, that the water stays warmer because of the power plant. Does it ever get to the mid and low 30s? Is water temp. a consideration when you are trying to figure out a presentation to fish? I do not see water temps. discussed very much in the posts.

I’ll be interested in seeing your comments. Thank you.

sjj

Those are very good questions. I was fishing pool 4 that same day. From what I recall the water temperature was 42 degrees surface. I was catching bigger sauger in 6 to 11 feet, and I was vertical jigging. Wednesday the water temp. was down to 37 and I found the fish deeper. This is not to say that fish could not be found shallow but good number of eaters were ranging around 20 ft. If there is food present in shallow waters the fish will be present even if water temps. are low. They may only be there for short periods before dropping back to deeper holes.

Water temp plays a big part in presentation. one thing I have found though is a change in temp can have a real big impact on the mood of the fish. In the post summer and fall periods I like to see a continuing slow drop in the temps. Likewise in the spring or postspawn periods a gradual increase in temps will keep a bite going strong. The toughest bites seem to be when water stays at one temp. for extended periods.

Water temps are posted with all / most of my fishing reports. Right next to the flow info. I feel it is very important to how and where I fish this time of year so I add it whenever possible.

The water temps were 40+ in my last report but I find that the colder the temps get, down to just above freezing, the more dominant the plastic bite gets for me! We see the low 30’s on pool 4 just like anywhere else and during the dead of winter vertical jigging a ringworm or doo, held motionless above the bottom allowing the current to gently move the bait, is the ticket. And we still do catch many of our fish shallow casting… less then 10′ deep. Alterations to the presentation must be made though. A VERY slow presentation is key. You mention “hops” in your original message. That may work often on the plus side of 40 but it won’t usually be effective when temps get down near freezing. We just “drag” the baits along the bottom… slowly and w/o any hopping, popping or twitching is often best.

Thanks Don and James for sharing your expertise. I probably should do more vertical jigging, but I really enjoy pitching jigs(I seem more involved in trying to fool the fish). I can see now that I need to slow way down my presentation. I have never really just dragged a plastic on the bottom. What kind of a bite can you expect? A weight at the end of the line, a pick up, a tick, a thump or all four types bites?

I will certainly give all of your suggestions a try. Thank you.

sjj

Most of the time fish will hammer plastics! it is a much more aggressive strike, even when the presentation is slowed way down. Give deadsticking a try next time out.

I also echo James and Don’s comments. The colder the water, the better the plastic bite. The key as James said is “‘motionless”. You hear a lot about just “hovering” the super-doos a few inches off the bottom. That is a very effective method. You have to remember, that even though you aren’t moving your rod, the boat is still moving with the current (if you’re not anchored), and even if you are, the boat is probably still swinging back and forth. There is also current at the bottom of the river that will make that plastic tail thump if you’re not even moving the rod.

Also, you hear a lot about pitching “light” jigs. I like to use the lightest jig possible and still be able to get that bait to the bottom. With just the lift of the rod tip, you can make that jig move ever so slowly along the bottom and let the current do the work on the tail. With that light jig, that bait sinks/moves ever so slowly.

Temps Friday were high 30s. As we were pitchin Kalins early Jarrad was kickin my butt . He noticed I was hopping my jig too fast. I slowed my retrieve down to a crawl and started catching fish consistently. At this time of year I believe presentation is more important than color.
We clearly out fished many around us that were using minnows in both size and numbers.

As the water temps get way down there I tend to use more hair jigs than plastics. I seem to get a more consistent bite with hair in the cold water.

Gator Hunter

Hey ya’ gator hunter,

No kidding. I’m the exact opposite. Almost no hair until spring time… pre-spawn the hair bite kicks back in for me and until then plastics just seem to whomp the fish but good over everything else I try.

Just goes to show there’s many ways to skin a cat and still end up with a properly dead kitty.

PS – Did I mention I’ve never met a dead cat I DIDN’T like? Mu-HAHAHAHA <– Evil Laugh

Don’t get me wrong, I still use plenty of plastics in the winter. I guess hair jigs are just a confident bait for me. If nothing else is working, I know I’ll catch fish on hair.

Gator Hunter

Confidence in a bait seals the deal. I know I can just about make fish eat a ringworm. I’m sure you feel the same about hair. What’s your favorite hair jig color? Mine is black/black or black head/kelly green.

James
I always start with black on black. No bait, just hair. You know, we gotta go fishing together some day.

gator Hunter

Sounds darn good to me buddy!

I’ll be spending the weekend on the river. Swing by if you see me. I’m still running the Pro V with 150 johnson. It has been a while since I’ve fished. Too much hunting and too little fishing. Bad news.

Gator Hunter

Hey Gator and James, do you ever use hair jigs or plastics through the ice? I’m in the process of getting all my hard water gear together and was wondering if I should bring my plastic collection and start tying more hair jigs? I’ll basically be fishing the St. Croix this winter.

Last year during the month of December, we caught fish from my boat on the Wisconsin river below the Prairie du Sac dam by using nothing but plastics. Kalins grubs and ring worms worked best for me. We would cast 1/16oz jig/plastic combos across the current from and anchored position into 6′ of water and just let the current wash it down. If it got hung up, we would lift the rod tip just enough to get it moving with the current again. The only retrieving was to make another cast or to take up slack line. In particular, we did very well on legal size saugers while the boats fishing deeper water were going thru 4 dozen minnows and sorting thru 40, 50, 60 or more shorties to get even one keeper. This pattern of fishing with plastics held up thru the end of December and surface water temps were generally around 34 degrees. After December, the ice ended our fishing below the dam. If the bite above the dam on Lake Wisconsin finally comes to and end soon, I fully intend to see if that pattern will repeat itself this year. What surprise’s me the most is that the majority of these fish were saugers.
JWB

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Hey Gator and James, do you ever use hair jigs or plastics through the ice? I’m in the process of getting all my hard water gear together and was wondering if I should bring my plastic collection and start tying more hair jigs? I’ll basically be fishing the St. Croix this winter.

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I don’t fish for walleyes through the ice too often. The river is open all year round here. I would, however, feel very confident in using hair jigs through the ice.

Gator Hunter

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Just goes to show there’s many ways to skin a cat and still end up with a properly dead kitty.

PS – Did I mention I’ve never met a dead cat I DIDN’T like? Mu-HAHAHAHA <– Evil Laugh

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Here kitty kitty kitty