Where to Find Big Fish in Winter

For most people, winter means staying indoors to enjoy a cup of coffee in front of the fireplace. It also meant storing their fishing gear away until the warmer months returned. But for anglers who want to experience fishing across all four seasons, winter is just another time with its charm and opportunities waiting to happen.

Like the other three seasons, winter has its own set of advantages. During the winter, there is less competition because most casual anglers refuse to spend hours waiting in the cold. With fewer people around, you'll enjoy most of the fishing spots of your choice all to yourself. This means that you have more chances of catching more fish.

While it is true that fishing may be more difficult during the winter, it is also true that anglers have higher chances of capturing species that are otherwise elusive during warmer months. This is because most fish, especially the warmth-loving ones, are less active during the winter, and they tend to lump themselves together. In addition, winter is usually when fish store the most eggs, so they are at their largest size possible during the year.

But of what use is this information if you don't know the right places to look for? No worries because we got you. After all, knowing where to go is the first step toward a successful fishing trip, and this is an excellent place to start!

1. Washington

Winter fishing in Washington rarely gets the same attention as fishing there during the spring, summer, and autumn. The good news for wintertime anglers is that Washington's lakes and reservoirs offer excellent fish during the cold months. In Washington, anglers can catch steelhead trout, known for their big size, beauty, and difficulty catching them. During the winter, steelhead trout weigh an average of 5 to 9 pounds, even reaching 15 pounds at times. It is common to catch fish that weigh 10 to 12 pounds on average, while a few get  20 pounds or more in January. Well-known spots for steelhead trout fishing are the town of Forks and rivers, such as the Hoh, Queets, and Quinalt.

2. Colorado

For anglers who love winter, skiing, and trout, Colorado is the place to be. Take that four-wheel drive to the snowy plains of Colorado, get on a snowmobile, scratch deep enough around the ski resorts, and you'll find plenty of anglers fly fishing. It is best to fish in the tailwaters due to the warm water flowing from the bottom of the dam, which also means more active trout species. One known fishing spot in Colorado is the tailwater near Aspen which stretches up to 14 miles and houses big rainbow trout.

3. Georgia

Like any landlocked fishing destination in the United States, the striped bass peak in numbers during the winter in Georgia. Most of them can be found in the northern parts of this state, while some can also be found in Lake Seminole in the south. During the cold winter months, stripers feed primarily on shad and blue-back herring, which lump together in the lower ends of major reservoirs or tributaries. To catch stripers, use a net and cast a live-line around the bait-fish schools. You can use bait-casting reels with a wide spool loaded with a thick monofilament. Some of the major fishing spots in Georgia include Clarks Hill and Hartwell Lakes in the northeast; Lake Lanier on the Chattahoochee River system just northeast of Atlanta; and the Coosa River system in the northwest.

4. South Carolina

South Carolina is home to renowned, year-round hotspots for bluefish, flathead catfish, and channel catfish, such as the Santee-Cooper Reservoir. In fact, the record-breaking blue catfish with a weight of 109 pounds and the channel catfish at 58 pounds were caught here.

As the coldness of winter flows through South Carolina waters, schools of threadfin and shad lump together, and their activity slows down along lakeshore points where catfish feast on them. To catch channel catfish, gather a small shad for bait using a net and use depth-finders to locate big bluefish close by near the bottom structures. Fish usually average from 5 to 10 pounds, and it is pretty common to catch blue catfish that weigh 20 to 30 pounds.

5. Arkansas

Arkansas is where you can find the White River tailwater. Here, the water temperatures remain in the 50s to low 60s, so you can expect trout to be active all winter. The low temperatures in the upper parts of the waterways tend to kill schools of small shad. These dying fish then get carried by the tailwater currents, where big trout catch them at the end of the dam. The trout around this area usually weigh at least 5 pounds.

In Arkansas, good fishing spots include the main-stem White below Bull Shoals Dam in the northern Arkansas Ozarks and tributaries such as the Norfork and Little Red.

6. California

The southern parts of California are known for being where the biggest largemouth bass was ever caught.  A comparably smaller waterway, Dixon Lake alone has produced two largemouth bass weighing over 20 pounds. What more if you go to the Diamond Valley Reservoir in Riverside County? With an area spanning 4½ miles long by 2 miles wide, it is home to Florida-strain largemouth and rainbow trout.

7. Texas

For anglers planning to go to Texas and prefer a slightly warmer winter fishing destination, our advice is for you to go south to the 84,000-acre Falcon Reservoir for the best bass you can catch during the winter. Its waters have recently led large numbers of juvenile largemouths to spawn and thrive. Combined with local programs, the said lake has been an excellent spot for fishing as it started to produce bass that weighs 5 pounds on average. A 14-pounder was even caught at one point.

So, what are you waiting for? Load your car with your winter fishing gear and plan your next fishing trip.