I once asked my grandfather where all the fish go in winter. “They bury in the mud on the bottom until it gets warm again,” he told me. I realize now that he either didn’t really know the answer or he just gave me that one because he knew if I thought there was a chance to hook up, I’d beg him to take me out in the frigid January weather. The truth is, while feeding slows down significantly in winter, all fish still must eat. This includes popular targets like snook, redfish, and speckled seatrout. And, unlike your favorite lake, saltwater rarely freezes.
My good friend Kevin Hughes spent years fishing and guiding via kayak in the waters around Miami, Florida. These days he lives in coastal Virginia, but in both locations, there is no off switch for him in the winter. Long after most boats are out of the water, Hughes is out there … and catching plenty of fish. Winter pursuits in shallow saltwater might not produce the chaotic action of summer, but there are benefits to fishing this time of year, not the least of which is the lack of pressure. I recently had Hughes’s on the Quick Strike podcast to discuss his most critical pointers for salty winter success.
Comfort Zones
Warmth is everything. Whether you’re chasing bass in a lake or seatrout in the bay, all fish are fighting for any tiny bit of extra warmth they can get. It’s imperative that you understand this, because it takes precedence over food, which means completely rethinking your strategy when it’s cold.
“Winter shrinks down the areas where you’ll find fish, which is a benefit,” says Hughes. “However, their focus shifts entirely to just keeping themselves comfortable. So, finding the warmest water is the simplest premise, but short of having a warm-water discharge like from a power plant, identifying those areas can be tricky.”
Hughes points out that how fish adapt to winter will vary by location. As an example, seatrout in Florida naturally have a lower tolerance for cold water temperatures, whereas the fish in Virginia are used to cooler year-round temperatures. Still, in both locations, seatrout, snook, and resident redfish will gravitate to areas with dark mud bottoms and a bit more depth than the surrounding area.
Have you ever noticed during the summer that you’re hotter in a black T-shirt than a white T-shirt? Dark colors absorb more sunlight and retain heat better. But identifying good bottom color is only one part of the puzzle. Google Maps can help you find the other pieces.
Go Without the Flow
Areas with minimal tidal flow are prime winter haunts. Ironically, Hughes says that during the warmer months, strong tidal current is necessary to get bait and fish moving. So, in summer, places with dead water are about useless to anglers. (That’s also because these spots will be depleted of oxygen.) But in winter, when the water cools off, oxygen levels rise. Spots with little to no tidal flow also tend to feature that darker bottom.
“I have Google Maps [satellite view] opened most of the day. It’s a great tool to help you identify likely holding areas,” Hughes says. “You can usually tell how much current flow an area gets just by gauging the color of the water. As an example, when snook fishing in winter, look at mangrove islands and focus on the sides you would not fish at warmer times of year. If the water looks darker and there’s no grass, that points to a lack of current, more silting, and often deeper water.”
Hughes says choke points and holes in the backs of muddy creeks can also provide all the elements that create perfect winter habitat. Granted, it can take some trial and error to figure out exactly where a pile of fish is holding, but if you find them a pile is usually the pay off. I have friends that prefer to fish the backwaters of Louisiana in the coldest months for this very reason. Though it can take some extra effort to get on a bite, you’ll often find redfish stacked like cord wood in the right locations. Now all you have to do is hook them, which requires curbing your aggression.
Low & Slow
“The fish are slow in winter,” says Hughes. “They’re just sitting there, and, unlike at other times of year, they’re not waiting for anything. They’re not hoping a baitfish swims by or ambushing prey. But, if food gets in front of their faces, they will eat.”
With that in mind, you must go into a winter pursuit understanding that the fast-paced tactics you love in summer will do little good now. Hughes leans into soft-plastic lures on jigheads that can be worked slowly and methodically through the zone. Scented soft-plastics can also be very beneficial, as can simply soaking a piece of cut bait or shrimp.
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It doesn’t take much fluctuation to ignite a bite during the cold months. A simple uptick in water temperature of a degree or two can create a feed. Hughes monitors weather patterns looking for significant dips or spikes in temperature, noting that both can help you catch more fish. In warmer climates like Florida, a strong drop in temperature will push snook and trout to wintering holes; in the north, a few days of elevated temperature can make fish that are in wintering holes a bit more active and eager to bite in the surrounding area.
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