Winter Fishing Requires Different Techniques And Tackle

Winter fishing in Delmarva is a whole different ball game. You can’t catch and release a frozen fish.

Fish eat in the winter. People ask that all the time.
“You can catch fish in the winter?” …
“Nope they stop eating about January and hibernate.”
That is when you get that “look”. I mean, you ask a dumb question. Fish are just harder to catch in winter, they don’t move as fast to conserve energy. You have to present your lure slower, and retrieve slower, sometimes you have to all but hit a fish on the head for a bite. We catch crappie, white perch and yellow perch (neds) in winter. These are the preferred targeted fish for the table. Bass are mostly caught on suspending lures this time of year.

 Winter fishing, you aren’t in shorts and bare feet enjoying a sunny day.  In fact if you are crappie fishing you hope for a nice cold, overcast day.  Crappie are schooling fish and a blast to catch once you figure out where they are gathered.  The one thing that is always the hardest for me is transitioning from surf gear to ultralight gear.  Four to five foot rods, with two to four pound test.  The drag is almost all the way open to avoid snapping the line.  When the fish hits, reeling it in is exciting because it is peeling line like crazy.   You think you really have something.
In the surf if my line is screaming like that I have a monster fish or a really big angry skate or ray.  Comparatively on ultralight fishing gear, a good-sized crappie or large mouth bass can put up a heck of a fight.  Yellow perch are also just as fun to catch.  Probably the hardest part of this kind of winter fishing is wearing all the clothes to keep warm.  You look like the Stay Puffed Marshmallow man sitting on a bucket.  

Minnows are one of the preferred baits this time of year. But the small perch or crappie jigs work great. Just put the jig under a small bobber with a few feet of line for the depth of water you are fishing. Let the bobber just float around. Fishing near spillways is also preferred for better action. You can’t net minnows for bait near spillways (within 300 feet), that is illegal in Delaware.
We use DS Custom Tackle top and bottom rigs with a small bank sinker or a bell sinker with swivel this time of year, even in freshwater.

One sneaky way to find the schooling winter fish is use the Old Salt’s “Judas fish” trick.  You take a legal keeper yellow perch, white perch, or crappie bass and put a hook through the dorsal fin with about eight feet of line on a large bobber or balloon. When you release the fish, it swims right back to the school of fish, and marks them. Afterwards you scoop up the Judas fish and take it home too.

Another great winter fish is pickerel and you can pick them up in Millsboro pond, Ingrams Pond, and some areas of Wagamons pond. If you can get access to Betts pond, it is loaded with monster pickerel.  There are some around the park in Milton but not as prevalent as the ponds.   Most of  the ponds in Delaware have pickerel, they are a fun fish to catch.  Silver spoons, dare devils, or minnow jigs work the best.  They will also hit the live minnows we use for crappie fishing.  They fight like a beast so it is better to have ten pound test on your reel.  They are not great table fare, mostly just fun to catch.   I do know a few people who eat them, but they are a very bony fish and tough to clean.  They have some serious teeth too, so don’t lip them like a bass, you will be sorry.  Not a bluefish bit off my finger sorry, but close enough to get some pickerel thumb.   Pickerel also have a high metabolism, they can take a hot minute to revive if left out of the water too long.

Release all fish you aren’t keeping as fast as possible if the temperature is below freezing, it can flash freeze a fishes extremities. The temperature harms a fish’s gills, eyes, and protective slime coat. If the temperatures are freezing or below, leave the fish in the water to remove the hook. The water is warmer than the air at that point. You can’t catch and release frozen fish.