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| How late do you fish and in what kind of conditions?.
What type of clothing works best for you?
Is it really worth taking all that cold wheather punishment in the fall? | |
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| Jason,
Since the season is so short, I will fish until ice up - as much as humanly possible - no matter what kind of conditions. Last year I think I pushed the button one too many times as I experienced my first mishap of late fall fishing. I ended up getting caught in a snow storm - put the boat and truck in the ditch. Quite the debocle!
Plenty of layers is the name of the game in the Fall. You can always take some off but it is certainly hard to get warm if you end up getting cold. One neat thing I tried last year was taking one of those hand warmer packets and putting it in my boot under the arch of my foot. Certainly took the chill off on some of those extremely warm days. A propane heater always comes in handy too.
Gore Tex is certainly the way to go though. Expensive but well worth it!
The biggest thing that I like about fall fishing is that you can drag live bait while casting. This is a big boost when guiding. Clients get excited about meat hanging over the side of the boat and it is a great way to increase you percentages in the cold water conditions. You can still get skunked dragging live bait BUT the potential is certainly there to get a hog. One of my best days last year came in November. We boated 10 fish over 32" in two days (two over 40") and lost 14 others. With the potential for action like that, I would definitely say that it is worth taking the cold weather punishments. With the feed bag on, your best bet for a pig lies in fall fishing! | |
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| I'm not a pro, but I love cold weather in general, hate summer because it's just to darn hot. I use 10x clothing, it's really expensive, but I'm outdoors enough fishing and hunting its worth it. It's easy to cast in because it's light weight and not cumbersome, and it'll keep you dry which = warm. My question to you guys is this. What do you use as far as gloves? I have tried neoprene, but don't like it. I went to a glove like a regular old fashion wool glove with thin cloth fingertips. But anybody have any better ideas? As far as the fishing goes, I go with jigs, because I hate using live bait. I don't have the attention span for it. By the way, make sure you take your gloves off before pulling the fish out of the water! Sounds ridiculous, but my buddy was helping me out with a big fish last November, the first muskie he ever saw and got so excited he just reached down with his gloves on. Needless to say, he was chilled out for the rest of the shortened day.[:)] | |
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| I use fingertipless leather sailing gloves...Available at Cabela's! Great until wet! | |
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| Great question on the gloves. I am interested in hearing what others have to say also. It seems every year I try something different because I can't find something that totally works well. I think whatever you find that works well, get two pairs. Once you get them wet, your going to be cold so it would be good to have a back up pair. I have tried all kinds of gloves but can't get the right feel. For me personally, neoprene seems to be the worst. My hands will actually cramp up with that stuff. Maybe we should have a thread talking about suggestions for fishing gloves. Someone in the garment business may be able to develop something that could revolutionize cold weather fishing!
The best ones that I have found, I can't think of the name right now. I picked them up at Bass Pro Shops in Gurnee. They were black and very thin material. The only problem is when changing baits, the hooks would catch on the material and cause frays. Great gloves - until they got wet..... | |
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| oops double post sorry | |
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I fish till I can't get the boat on the water anymore because of the ice been to thick at the launches.
I bought a flotation suit some while ago and it's the best thing for the fall, it keeps you warn and saves your life if you were ever to fall in the drink with 35 degree temps. Last October I didn't even need an extra sweather underneat it to stay warm. Like any other clothing layers are the way to go, you can take one off here and there as the day warms up.
As for been worth it well your out there in the enviroment catching some fall fattys and have a chance at your biggest fish ever, I think that would mean a big yes.[:bigsmile:]
As for gloves I carry 5 pairs yes that is 5 here is the list:
A large mitts type gloves or some batterie oparated ones. I wear these when my hands get cold when trolling.
Some thinner leather gloves. Good to wear when it's not that cold out.
3 pair of wool gloves that with cutoff fingertips with a flip up mitt to cover your fingers when not tying a lure of anything else. When one gets wet you trade for the next ones.[:sun:] | |
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| I fish Musky to the end of November here on the Niagara River.I like bad weather,strong winds & big rolling waves,brings the Hawgs to predictable places and closer to my terms.A must is a Mustang Survival Suit,may give you those extra minutes to make it out alive if you end up in the cold water of late fall.Gloves,with hand warmers are a must late in November.I do not use gloves when handling fish,so the hands get wet and cold quick,to reverse the frozen hand shuffle dance of pain quickly onboard is a Honda Generator and a Ceramic Heater to warm up and dry the hands off,then back to the hand warmers and gloves.The feet get toe warmers slipped into snow paks that are rubber and dont get wet.The face may be covered
with a wool stocking cap with eye holes,the Mustang Survival Suit hood over that,in those high winds that are below freezing.The Honda Generator also runs the coffee pot and George Foreman Grill for Prime Rib Sandwiches!I just love the Fall Musky Hunt! Capt. Larry | |
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| It depends on the year and the weather, as I get involved in fall duck hunting too.
I second the vote for the Mustang survival suit for the real late COLD days.
As for gloves, I believe, after MANY years of cold hands I have finally found the answer! I use Simms "Windstopper" gloves in both full finger and finger(tip)less models when it isn't terribly cold or windy. The great thing about them is that they are reasonably warm even when WET! When using braided line in the fall, you just can't help get them wet. When they get soaked, just wring them out and put them back on. I believe their claim is about 85% heat retention even when wet!! I got mine at a fly fishing shop (Simms makes clothing for those whippy rod folks). Try them and I think you will agree, they are the best.
Muskie regards,
Larry Ramsell
www.larryramsell.com | |
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| Why would you NOT fish in November. For most people that is the "last chance" at a fish either due to ice-over or closed seasons. Winter is WAAAYYYYY too long to quit early.
I'd like to hear more about Larry Ramsell's glove recommendation. What are these Simm's gloves. I use fingerless wool gloves because wool stays warm when wet.... but if these Simms things hold heat even better... I'm in. I also like the wool because they are thin and basically just shield your hands from the wind without compromising your ability to palm the reel and cast.
jlong | |
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| The season up here in Canada is just too short to whimp out because of a little cold wet weather. Last year, I had an 8 fish day on my last outing (Nov. 13th) including 5 fish over 40". Hard to beat that way to end the season off. I go right to closing on Nov. 15th, weather permitting. The ONLY 3 things that will keep me off the water are excessive snow (very rare), early ice-up preventing launching (twice in the past 5 years), and freezing rain (plain unsafe and hard on the equipment).
I have a special set of camoflage coveralls (cattail) that are 100% goretex, and fleece lined (Cabelas) from my waterfowling days. This is very warm, and also waterproof. They also have a number of large waterproof pockets. I will likely also be adding a Mustang suit to my gear this year as well.
Like a couple of the guys have indicated, dress in layers. Better too much than too little. Up here, you can count on the temperature out on the lake being at least 10 degrees F cooler than it is on land. A warm hat is important. I prefer a wool toque, but hate the fact that it muffles the sound of the drags. I kind of like that furry thing that I've seen upon Larry Jones' head. Looks mighty warm! I carry several pairs of the fold-back woolen gloves. I usually pull the gloves when handling fish in favour of my kevlar-glass gloves (better protection). I also carry several large woolen rags for thoroughly drying my hands.
Nothing like a thermos full of warm soup either to help keep the insides warm. Besides, Murphy's Law... take the cap off that thermos and reach for the spoon, and you can bet that drag will be screaming!
Steve Wickens | |
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| Jlong: When/if you see the Simms gloves you won't believe that they can be warm. MUCH thinner than wool. Great from the first chilly days of fall on!
Larry | |
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| First-off let me say I want to go with Capt.Larry,primerib & hot-coffee,damn!I am not a pro,but work & play out all winter so here goes!12 pr.yes 12pair brown jersey cheapo`s(.99each)sealed in a ziploc and 1pr.eskimo rubber ice-fishin mittens w/handwarmers for driving/loading/unloading.Now when your brown gloves get wet just grab a dry pr.If you get a fish and hands get real cold just put the mitts on for five mins.This set-up makes me all day fishing.Clothes alot of anything works(layers)but boots is LaCrosse Ice-kings with hand-warmers in the toe sections,seems if you put them in the bottoms the sweat shortens warmer life!Good for deer hunting too!Good luck and keep warm! Jeff | |
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Cold wheather and muskie fishing for the Pro's