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Just four lures are all that's needed for
winter holdover fishing. |
If you are looking for stripers, your best bet right now is to fish the winter holdover spots. A lot of fish are now moving into those locations. Places like the CT rivers, the backwater ponds of the south shore in RI and rivers of upper Narragansett Bay. These are the places that will produce all winter long if you want to continue catching stripers.
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This good size schoolie
was taken 2 nights ago
on a Zoom fluke fished
along the bottom. |
Lures and plugs to use for winter holdovers is not complicated. Unlike the rest of the year when you just can't fit enough in your surf bag, most of what you need in the winter game can fit into your coat pocket. For the most part, this is a jigging game on light tackle. Work the bottom slowly because that's where the fish are holding.
There are three main jigging lures that are "must have" for winter fishing. The first is the ole reliable bucktail jig spiced with a curly tail. Next is the Cocahoe mounted on a jighead. And, finally, the hot producer in the upper Bay is a Zoom fluke mounted on a jighead. All of these lure should be in a light color. I also like to carry a small swimmer or two like a 4 inch Rapala X-Rap. The small swimmers tend to produce in shallow water when the fish are fussy.
