Winter in New England, What Is an Angler To Do?
Jan
12th,
2009 by Jake
Well, this article isn't exclusive to New England anglers, just anyone who is too busy shoveling snow and being miserably cold to hit the water during the winter months. If you are located in the northern states and have a strong passion for fishing I hope that this article will ease some of your withdrawal pain and give you some ideas to keep you busy and prepare you for more productive spring/ summer months.
If you are stuck inside daydreaming about landing that monster bass, why not work at educating yourself to help your odds of making it a reality when the nice weather returns? Read, re-read, and re-re-read your Bassin' magazines, get a book, watch instructional DVDs, watch fishing on TV. Do anything that will educate you further on your point of obsession, and better prepare you for the summer. Join forums and talk with other northerners going through the same pain that you are.
Use this down time to get everything in order. During the spring/ summer my tackle box can get to be quite a disastrous mess, because I am too busy fishing to take the time to keep things organized. The winter is a opportune time to organize your lures, sharpen hooks, replace hooks, and clean/ oil your reels.
If
you
have a boat, pull it into the garage and clean it up. Take inventory on
your lures and replace the ones you casted into trees or otherwise
lost. You can often get fishing supplies at discount prices during the
off season, so deciding what you need to replace before the season
starts may also save you a good amount of cash. Preparing your gear
when you have all this extra time on your hands will make your fishing
life a lot easier and more productive when the weather warms up.
Getting out and smelling the fresh air will ease your pain to some degree. One element of fishing is being outdoors and enjoying nature, which can also be achieved during the winter. My fishing buddies and I always make a point of taking at least one camping trip over the winter months, of course it usually ends with us all sitting around the camp fire talking about fishing, but theres nothing wrong with that. Ice fishing is also a good option, although it could never measure up to the real thing, it can be a good fix for those of you suffering serious withdrawal.
Just because you won't be hooking any bass on your new rod, doesn't mean you can't break it in. If you have enough space in your basement/ garage, make a shooting range and practice flipping and pitching jigs with more accuracy.
Well, this article isn't exclusive to New England anglers, just anyone who is too busy shoveling snow and being miserably cold to hit the water during the winter months. If you are located in the northern states and have a strong passion for fishing I hope that this article will ease some of your withdrawal pain and give you some ideas to keep you busy and prepare you for more productive spring/ summer months.
Prepare!
Prepare! Prepare!
If you are stuck inside daydreaming about landing that monster bass, why not work at educating yourself to help your odds of making it a reality when the nice weather returns? Read, re-read, and re-re-read your Bassin' magazines, get a book, watch instructional DVDs, watch fishing on TV. Do anything that will educate you further on your point of obsession, and better prepare you for the summer. Join forums and talk with other northerners going through the same pain that you are.
Equipment
Maitenance
Use this down time to get everything in order. During the spring/ summer my tackle box can get to be quite a disastrous mess, because I am too busy fishing to take the time to keep things organized. The winter is a opportune time to organize your lures, sharpen hooks, replace hooks, and clean/ oil your reels.
Go
Camping/ Ice Fishing/ Or Any Other Outdoor Activity
Getting out and smelling the fresh air will ease your pain to some degree. One element of fishing is being outdoors and enjoying nature, which can also be achieved during the winter. My fishing buddies and I always make a point of taking at least one camping trip over the winter months, of course it usually ends with us all sitting around the camp fire talking about fishing, but theres nothing wrong with that. Ice fishing is also a good option, although it could never measure up to the real thing, it can be a good fix for those of you suffering serious withdrawal.
Practice
Just because you won't be hooking any bass on your new rod, doesn't mean you can't break it in. If you have enough space in your basement/ garage, make a shooting range and practice flipping and pitching jigs with more accuracy.
Take A Trip
If
you are lucky enough to have some family down south, or enough money to
rent a hotel room, take a trip. If you are in dire need of a fishing
fix, and have some vacation time, hop a plane down south and take a
break from the miserable weather.
Don't let the painfully cold temperatures, lack of daylight, and fishing drought get you down. You have all of this free time on your hands to do things that you cannot get done in the summer. Make some hot chocolate and get a fishing video game. Use the extra time to get everything else in order in your life so you have more time to relax and go fishing in the summer. Just remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
-Happy Bassin'
Don't
Forget To Have Fun
Don't let the painfully cold temperatures, lack of daylight, and fishing drought get you down. You have all of this free time on your hands to do things that you cannot get done in the summer. Make some hot chocolate and get a fishing video game. Use the extra time to get everything else in order in your life so you have more time to relax and go fishing in the summer. Just remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
-Happy Bassin'
