# The best winter lures and a fly for fresh and salt water fishing.



## DRH (Oct 14, 2009)

One of the best winter lure and fly for fresh and saltwater fishing. Winter fishing ether conventional or fly fishing, you want to use a slow sinking lure or fly. For lures one of the best is a Catch 2000 Jr. in black back, red and gold sides.. this lure fishes like a Cory, A Cory is good too. ,, let slow sinking an twitch slowly with pauses. Hang on the reds and trout will try to take your rod away when they hit it. This is winter fishing...slow retrieve also applies to freshwater.. With a fly rod use this fly, also a slow sinking and slow retrieve fly. The darker colors work best in winter over cast days.. and in darker water. 

Good Luck!


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

So you're saying stuff like this?


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## Popperdave (Jul 9, 2016)

I agree that dark flies work the best in dark water and cloudy days. On really cold winter days I target the deeper cuts on an outgoing tide. There I use a heavier fly to get it to the bottom quicker. Then I let the current drift it through the deepest holes, kinda like river fishing. But keep a tight line on the fly because the strike may be no more than a tick on the the line.
On warmer days when they move up onto the flats the slow sink fly is prefered.
I just got back from two days in Rockport, the fly of choice was a black and purple Crack fly with small lead eyes.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

I probably obsess about how buoyant a lure or fly pattern is as much as anyone. DonH in the OP mentioned a Corky and those lures a great winter offering proven to get the trout especially. I tried to pattern the unweighted Steve Farrar Blend Baitfish I tie to capture and mimic the ability of the Corky or a Catch 2000 as slow sinking fish getter. Olive, Chartreuse and Black over white are favorites, but I also like black over purple.

















More often than not, in the winter, Iâ€™m fishing along some drop off or reef margin or some little gut rather than out on the flat. Iâ€™m wanting like Popperdave mentioned something that will get down more quickly in that case. Redfish Crack and Borski Sliders are the ones I turn too most often. How fast each sink can be manipulated by the materials chosen. A little Tungsten for the fastest sink, lead, then brass in that order to slow the plunge.

Colors, I like chartreuse in the winter along with white, but sometimes Iâ€™ll go dark with an olive, gray or black, Black and Tan with some purple eyelash yarn under the EP fiber of the crack pattern.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

I need to do or more correctly would like to do some redfish crack in purple/hot pink, purple/ black, chartreuse/pink. I think I am gonna try some EP minnow head brush for some baitfish style flies. I think with that brush I can keep a more rounded profile. I have some Farrar flash blend in olive that I'll give a go as well on something. 


I have varied the weight on the crack flies a good deal from different sizes of bead chain to the type and size of dumbell eyes I have been using. The Marsh Mohawks have a slow decent rate no matter what. The rabbit zonker really slows it down and gives it good action on the way down. Once down though I can scoot it across the bottom and the rabbit and rubber legs look awesome. Largemouth and Spotted bass seem to like it anyway. 


Really like the eyelash yarn it makes the fly "pop" and helps keep the collar from veiling the tail. Hadn't thought of black and tan as a combo but will have to ad that to my wish list of colors too. What is food is in the drift in the winter is still shrimp or is it more baitfish like mullet and mud minnows.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

http://txmarspecies.tamug.edu/fishdetails.cfm?scinameID=Hypsoblennius ionthas
http://txmarspecies.tamug.edu/fishdetails.cfm?scinameID=Adinia xenica
http://txmarspecies.tamug.edu/fishdetails.cfm?scinameID=Gobionellus oceanicus

Besides mullet, Shad and other mystery fish, Iâ€™ve seen fish like the above, blennies, killifish (mud minnows), and gobies in redfish stomachs. If they can get on fiddler crabs, they seem to love those. Iâ€™m not sure the Black and Tan crack fly doesnâ€™t represent a fleeing fiddler crab. Black and Tan has worked out well for me so I try to have it in the box. I think the olive crack could suggest a mud minnow or blenny. Shrimp will be in the stomachs when shrimp are in the system. Various crabs besides blue crabs. Turn over a clump of living oyster reef and itâ€™s often loaded with dark mud crabs such as stone crabs.

Seems like the shrimp are mostly not available once it gets to about December. On the Bite Me podcast, John Lopez and Capt. Null talk about the upper coast being more shrimp forage oriented during the summer and fall and the lower coast more of a crab migration deal.


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## DRH (Oct 14, 2009)

yes, Winter fishing is the best for any lure.. I love to fly fish in winter because the fish don't have much of bait choice and not to picky.. so much fun.. If conventional fishers, would take the time to learn the fly cast,, I don't think there would be to many of them fishing conventional much longer.. Fly fishing is so much more entertaining an fun.. I don't do much sight fishing,, I grew up drift and blind fishing on conventional, I use same techniques on fly fishing. If you can make a 60ft cast with fly rod. Your catching fish.. sometimes a forty foot cast will work,, I had reds and trout take a fly next to the boat. It's all about having fun... fish or no fish.:texasflag


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## Bird (May 10, 2005)

DonH said:


> yes, Winter fishing is the best for any lure.. I love to fly fish in winter because the fish don't have much of bait choice and not to picky.. so much fun.. If conventional fishers, would take the time to learn the fly cast,, I don't think there would be to many of them fishing conventional much longer.. Fly fishing is so much more entertaining an fun.. I don't do much sight fishing,, I grew up drift and blind fishing on conventional, I use same techniques on fly fishing. If you can make a 60ft cast with fly rod. Your catching fish.. sometimes a forty foot cast will work,, I had reds and trout take a fly next to the boat. It's all about having fun... fish or no fish.:texasflag


We think a like....


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

I like drift fishing while slinging the flies. Very relaxing and the casts donâ€™t have to go into the backing. Somehow, a lot gets said or written about the need for crazy casting skills in saltwater, but I havenâ€™t experienced that at all. Maybe thatâ€™s a tropical destination fly fishing need.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

I think the hype about cast distance is mainly to sell over priced rods that under perform for most. My favorite rods have almost all been cheap glass rods except of course the few boos I own and my Hardy glass rod, one of the last made in Alnwick. Sorry I am a Hardyphile.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

I used my two 7/8 weight slow action fiberglass CGR rods yesterday afternoon for the entire outing. I took along a graphite rod just in case the wind got too obnoxious, which really wasnâ€™t the case Saturday. The NE-ENE wind was enough to make sight fishing mostly a no go. No worries, I was able to comfortably drift or stake out along some shallow reefs and pick up a variety of fish, all on the Black and Tan and olive redfish crack, the exact ones in the photos above. I only switched from the Black and Tan crack to the Olive when a 15â€ flounder inhaled it and I couldnâ€™t get itâ€™s jaw open to get my fly back. In the ice chest the fish went, I got my fly back at the cleaning table. I donâ€™t think it mattered which color was used, presentation trumped color, like is usually the case. Redfish crack, in spite of the name, works for a variety of fish and yesterday it was trout, flounder, redfish and sheepshead. 

Today ought to be even nicer condition wise than yesterday, but give me any day to fish with temperatures in the 50s and 60s over the 90 degrees, 80 degree dew point endless summer stuff. I see folks go by in boats dressed like Eskimos this time of year and Iâ€™m in shorts and a light fleece pullover and looking to shed the pullover at the first opportunity. That awful brutal cold we get seems to thin out the crowds in a big way, another plus to fishing from now into March or April.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

I am hoping to get down over the winter but will be on foot. Got to build back up after the move here. Need to get a saltwater reel as I do not want to destroy the vintage Hardy/Scientific angler reel I have on my 8/9 wt now and my 6wt is a freshwater model. Also need to get a descent saltwater line the cheapy bass line I have on it now has shown its flaws and the Wulff line I have on my 6wt probably needs swapped out too. Never mind the fact that I cant seem to quit buying tying supplies for when the weather and my bad back keep me indoors. 


Loving watching the Texans around here in full Carhart's, lined bibs and all, on any day the temp slides below 65. I was wet wading the creeks up until last week. The water is now around 55 so the Sims came out of the closet.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Iâ€™ve been using the Piscifun Sword out in the saltwater. Itâ€™s a machined and anodized Aluminum reel thatâ€™s something like $50-60 for the 5/6 weight reel, the bigger one might be more. The finish looks to be holding up well. I canâ€™t remember having a fish test the drag on that reel in any real way, but most of the fish I run across arenâ€™t capable of destroying reels. 

I do like some of the specialty saltwater fly lines, but they are pricey at full retail. I caught my first slot redfish using Cabelas top of the line fly line that I think was about $30 at the time. I fish where gritty mud gets in the kayak and ends up in the line coatings to where they lose their slickness and are impervious to cleaning. SA tropical textured lines have been the best for resisting the grime. Rio tropical types have been the worst. 

STP sometimes has premium flyline at 60% off retail. 

Probably a little too chilly to comfortably wet wade here now. I donâ€™t think youâ€™d get serious hypothermia wet wading in relatively shallow water now as the water is about 60 degrees and air not far from that. I have wet wade a cold Colorado/New Mexico trout stream in October as long as it isnâ€™t too deep or super cold on the air temperature. Whatâ€™s the rule, the air plus water temperature must equal 100 degrees or more to be safe? I have comfortably wet waded to fish the Cape Cod surf in low 60s water and air in the 70s. I did live in New England for several years where there is a winter. The experience sort of reset my system to where the so called winter cold here doesnâ€™t phase me much anymore. Fishing and casting a fly rod generates its own heat.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

I completely agree casting generates its own heat, if your seriously fishing. It will be nice in the "winter" here to be able to get away with my G3s instead of having to either seriously layer up or switch to neoprenes which was the norm on Colorado tailwaters in February when the big girls wanted to play. It has always amazed me as to what passes for winter here. Because of a real outside chance of freezing rain here around Killeen, Ft. Hood and the area schools are already talking delays and or closures despite the fact the high will get up to about 48 that afternoon. Just flat out mind boggling. 


I have been thinking about the Piscifun reels and will probably dive in next month on that. At $50 bucks I may pick up two. 


Thanks for the info on the lines. Had been wondering about that and have been paying attention to many other threads concerning the issue. I have a Cabela's bass line on the 8/9 wt now and it feels as air resistant as a wet 5/0 pike bunny by itself. Hasn't made much of a difference fishing the little creeks around here as most casts are well within 30 to 40 feet. I don't need to cast the whole line but a little more might be nice. The one on my six weight, a Rio smallmouth line, just turns to crude anytime the air temp gets over 70, its an older line that has seen a decade plus use so that may also be the issue.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Hopefully these new to me Gartside Soft Hackle Streamers I tied this afternoon will be a winter time winner. My daughter the duck hunter supplied the flank feathers. I added in a craft fur tail, two olive and two chartreuse, overriding the recipe found online.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

Those look good. Used to do a way smaller version for trout and smallies with pheasant feathers and either gadwall or pintail flank.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

These are on size one Mustad Stinger hooks. Seems like ~ 3â€ baitfish are about right for the inshore saltwater fish around here. They are weightless and once wet cast pretty nicely even with a 6 weight. 

I thought to add the craft fur tail just it seems to work on other patterns and also gives the fly a little more of a longer profile than with just the marabou.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Gartside Soft Hackle Streamer worked nicely for redfish. Easy tie.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

They work! Thanks for the info on the size of baitfish. Now I have a base line for the size of fly to create. What's the number on the mustad stinger and is it cheaper than the Gamakatsu B10S?


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

C52S BLN. I didn't see the mustad size 1 on stockard, but their size 2 mustad hooks are $4.55 for 25. The gamakatsu b-10s are $7.65 for 25. The mustad stinger has a slightly smaller hook gap.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

May have to look into that. I like the B10S but if the gap is only slightly smaller I think the $3.00 difference might justify the mustad. I think they would be a killer hook for some mullet patterns I have been daydreaming about.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Here are the two size 1 hooks side by side. I happen to have both.








Top is the Mustad, bottom the Gamakatsu.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

bones72 said:


> May have to look into that. I like the B10S but if the gap is only slightly smaller I think the $3.00 difference might justify the mustad. I think they would be a killer hook for some mullet patterns I have been daydreaming about.


Gamakatsu hooks are very good, but I also like the Mustad signature hooks.

A mullet pattern would be great. Iâ€™m thinking any finger sized mullet shaped pattern that kind of suspends or slowly sinks ought to be great. Casey Smartt did a Dead Head Minnow that has the right shape. I tied some not so great ones up way back when, but never fished them much. Iâ€™d probably do a better job tying them now, understanding tying techniques a little better.

https://caseysmartt.com/2010/08/01/tying-the-deadhead-minnow/


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

I've seen that Deadhead minnow before. Could probably do them but there are a fair anount of steps and I hate dealing with glue around really "light" fibers. My palin is place a tail of either polar fiber or craft fur then wrap the shank in some 2 or 3 mm foam and then use minnow head brush to cover that. I believe that should give me a "suspending" bug.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

I put in the thinnest craft store foam I could find in a few Steve Farrar Blend Baitfish to add buoyancy. Hereâ€™s a photo of the foam tied in to one. The foam sheet is easy to trim into whatever size and shape it is you desire. The Steve Farrar Blend Baitfish are pretty buoyant without the foam so I never much fished the foam version.









I spread out the fibers to try to show the foam along the hook shank. I ended up all but removing it just because it floated too high for my tastes.

Thereâ€™s a foam strip that forms the crown of the head with a thin overlay of Pink Steve Farrar Blend.









Might be hard to see, but itâ€™s a shade darker in the photo.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

I'm liking that Farrar blend it seems to have a nice translucence to it. Are you using a mono thread on those or just white? I've tied some larger baitfish patterns for pike using mylar tubing. The mylar works out great as it is trimmed, and coated with a thin layer of UV glue and that really helps prevent hook fouling. On the inside of the tube I could leave it rather hollow or add some foam or weight dependent on how I wanted it to fish. I liked the tungsten scud bodies for adding weight rather than wrapping lead wire. They have a few different sizes and I could move it around on the shank for different "swimming" effects and it "keels" the fly. I did just about all of them in rainbow trout as the pike in Colorado are better at following the stocking truck than any human. I did have some done to represent yellow perch and threadfin shad but the walleye in Union Reservoir up in Longmont (actually one of the only natural lakes on the front range) tore em to shreds.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Those are nice. You might probably give them a try when you get to the saltwater. Or maybe on the Guadalupe River where the Striped Bass hang out to eat the Rainbow trout there. I donâ€™t think Northern Pike or Walleye do very well in our summers here. 

Iâ€™m using white thread on that Steve Farrar baitfish. I Hardly ever use mono thread, I donâ€™t much like tying with it.


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## bones72 (Oct 29, 2019)

Yep I think the panhandle has the closest walleye waters about nine hours away. I've heard about pickerel in east Texas but also heard they don't get very big. 


I'm not a huge fan of the mono thread either but have gotten better at using it. It is pain because it demands that you really pay attention to how it is wrapped and the pressure applied. I prefer uni-thread; I can wrap that and not have to be so precise and in the 3/0 size I can really crank down on it. I do not miss 8/0 and smaller sizes of thread. When I was tying tiny #24 and smaller parachute midges I used 14/0 and that stuff broke if you breathed too hard.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Iâ€™m not very picky on thread. I almost always have something thatâ€™s 210 denier even if the recipe calls for 140 or thereabouts. I like flat waxed nylon, GSP, uni-thread, whatever. But, the nylon mono doesnâ€™t grip fibers very well and thatâ€™s one thing I donâ€™t like, plus the memory it exhibits.


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