Winter Trout Fishing In Creek Systems
- By: Richard Thomas
- on
What indicators reveal where the trout will be during the wintertime in creeks?
How should you target seatrout in creeks during the colder months?
Check out everything you need to know for catching winter trout in creeks down below!!
Learn more here!
Winter Trout Fishing In Creek Systems
Water Depth & Tide Cycle
It is important to take into account the water depth and what part of the tide cycle you plan on fishing.
You want to focus your fishing in creeks with about 6 feet of water or more at low tide.
The reason is trout at this time of year like deeper water and will most likely stay where they are for the remainder of a tide cycle if the water levels are deep.
This time of year, outgoing tides are typically the best tide to fish for trout.
If you have the time and can fish the lower third of the tide, try to get out and fish during that time.
This is because fish at this time of the year will feed maybe once a day or maximum twice a day.
Especially with regards to creek systems, trout are staged in deeper holes waiting for the bait to be swept off the flats and into their mouths.
Areas with structure such as oysters or ledges that link up to a flats drain are areas of particular interest.
Usually, there will be pockets of deeper water connected to the drain where the trout will be waiting for bait to flow in off the flat.
Trout are able to ambush bait coming off of the flat and exert as little energy as possible.
Positioning
Your boat, kayak, or trolling motor can spook a school of trout if you get too close to them.
You want to make sure you are within casting distance of the deeper holes but still far enough from the trout to not startle them.
By not putting any pressure on the fish, you can catch more and avoid spooking them.
Winter Trout Fishing In Creek Systems [VIDEO]
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Equipment Used:
- 30lb Stren Magnathin monofilament
- 15lb Braided Line
- Falcon MH 7’6 Coastal Clearwater Rod
- TFO Professional 7’ M spinning rod
- Quantum Smoke Inshore Reel
- Daiwa Procyon 2500D-XH
- Wealers Fishing Rod Wall Rack
- Vibe Shearwater 125 Kayak
- Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ (4-inch)
- Mako 18LTS
- Minn-Kota Riptide Terrova
- Stick-It Anchor Pin
Conclusion
Trout during this time of year are stacked up in larger schools and are very predictable.
If you stay on top of current trends and find areas with the structure shown in the video, you will catch more trout this winter!
Remember not to get too close to the schools of fish or else you will spook them!
Do you have any questions or suggestions about fishing for winter trout in creeks?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who wants to learn more about catching winter trout in creeks, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Thanks for the tips and nice touch with the illustration!
Was fishing a spot just like this in Beaufort SC this week, Fished without much success on the tidal flats where I live so we paddled down to the drain into deep water and ran into a school of trout on the oyster shelf’s next to the dropoff. It’s a bit of a paddle back against tide but worth the extra effort. Appreciate having a fish finder on my kayak to find these pockets for both the deep of winter and cooler water in the summer.
Absolutely Alex, I feel
The same way!
Good stuff Richard!
Looks like you found a nice group of them.
Hi Richard, couple quick questions. What type of hook did you have on your artificial lure? Was there any bait or birds visible at that specific spot (I think I heard you say you saw finger mullet)? Also, were you fishing the wind blown side of the creek? Thanks again for all your support.
Awesome questions Ben! Great reminder for me to add that in on some of my next videos.
So I was using a 1/4oz trout eye jig head- most of the fish we’re holding a bit deeper 4-6ft, but still
Aggressive and it worked great.
Yes, there was finger mullet present- a great way to recognize them is the small fluttering like sound they make when they come out of the water even if you can see them- it’s very distinct.
I was fishing the protected side, however many times when the water is lower like it was that day, the wind is not as big of a factor compared to water depth and structure. We caught fish on both sides of the creek.
Thanks Richard for the feedback. Greatly appreciated.
Great video lesson Richard..✌🏼
Thanks Marshall glad you liked it!
Are these pointers the same everywhere? Winter and cold water is different in northern NC and southern FL. What do you consider cold water?
Don, this video was more specific to the South East US up to parts of North Carolina. However, yes this trend is extremely consistent across many other parts of the country as well. Temperature is typically more relative to the area we have found. So the same 55degree water would
Likely affect fish differently in south Florida VS Virginia for example.
Typically on the east coast I start to see this trend when temperatures get lower than the 60degreee mark
Be interesting to see a spot dissection on this same topic on the Pamlico and Bay rivers in North Carolina.
No problem Kenneth! Here is a screenshot of the title for one Tony did in that area as well. This particular one wasn’t for winter months, but still a great dissection if you haven’t seen it yet.
Spot Dissection “finding productive feeding zones”, Pamlico Sound NC.
Nice work! Thanks you!!
No problem Michael!!