Fishing When the Weather Gets Cold

This article may be a bit early, seeing as how fall just started, but in many areas of the country it's getting cooler, and at times it can be downright cold. In any case, in this article I want to discuss fishing when the weather gets cold. As anglers, there are few things as difficult to deal with as the cold.

The problem is that we use our hands a lot while fishing, and when it's cold outside your hands can be the first thing to "go". When your hands are freezing cold, it's all but impossible to fish, which is why you need fingerless gloves (which I'll discuss later).

The point is that being cold while fishing is terrible, and will cut a fishing trip short faster than almost anything. Although if you've ever taken a fall while wading in high water, that works pretty well at shortening a fishing trip as well, but I digress. Fishing when it's cold outside provides some unique challenges.

The first of which is staying warm.

I know you've heard this tip a million times, but that doesn't make it any less true. When the weather gets cold layering is of the utmost importance.

This is especially true when the weather tends to warm up later in the day. Remember, you can always remove layers when it warms up, but adding layers if it get colder is impossible.

When it's cold outside, fish tend to feed less often. This means that your offering needs to look as enticing as possible. In most cases this means as natural as possible. In other words whatever bait or lure you're using needs to look as much as possible like the food that the fish normally eat. Fish become much more "finicky" when the weather gets cold. The best way to accomplish this task is through the use of gang hooks. In the case of bait, gang hooks provide an incredibly natural presentation.

Most of your body heat escapes from your head in cold weather, which is why a hat is a must when fishing is cold weather.

I don't mean a baseball hat either. In cold weather (or if you think it might become cold) make sure you wear a beanie cap of some sort. This simple tip will help to keep your whole body warmer in cold weather.

Now, back to your hands. When fishing in cold weather, as I alluded to earlier, there is nothing more important than your hands. For many fishing techniques, including the ones that I enjoy, having your fingers unfettered is an absolute must. This is where a quality pair of fingerless gloves comes into play. Fishing when its cold outside and fingerless gloves go together like.....well a hand and a glove.

The bottom line is that just because it gets cold outside, that doesn't mean that we have to stop fishing. A that's needed is a little more preparedness. As long as you prepare, everything will be fine, not to mention the fact that if it's the fall, many times the fishing is very good.