Fishing Sportsman in the winter.

[Herefishyfishy]

Gents
some buddies and I have rented a house on sportsman road right after Christmas. We have rented it in the summer and fishing under the lights was great. Any suggestions on lures or bait for good wintertime action? Also I have a kayak so would there be any areas that I could paddle to and get in the thick of them during the day? Thanks for any advice.

[kenny]

My favorite lure for that area is a Catch 2000 Jr.- light green back, silver sides, white belly. Sometimes jigs work better and, of course, Corky's. There will be a lot of boats drifting. Just look for the boats with bent poles.

[OR19]

Great walk in spot, I started fishing there around 2003...not as good as it used to be because rock barrier makes it a longer harder walk for my older a@#, but still good. My best all time lure there is a gold/ch Catch 2000, biggest fish on a corky, slow sinking/suspending lures over mud/shell...have caught a handful of >25 fish there. If you can hit it about an hour before dark and fish till about an hour past sunset you will almost always pick up 2-3 solid fish. I like falling tide the best but as long as it's moving it usually produces, the colder the water the lighter the tap. Also good for reds on same suspending baits and jigs.

[TroutSupport]

I'd stick with the corkies or suspending baits that time of year mostly.. but if you get a couple really warm days back to back with a south wind. don't be scared to put on a one knocker. There is a good bit of pressure in the area during the winter months, but you can still catch a few. As far as where.. well, thing is, they move enough that pinning it down like that makes it hard to give straight up intell. You can hit the inside of the reefs on the north side (just west of south deers western most end) and fish that area on a south wind, good chance you'll catch a few resident trout in that area. I wouldn't expect to slay them unless you know specifically what to look for and where to look. Try to located some bait in that area and fish around them.

Good luck.

[Chuck06R1]

TO piggyback on this area, what would be the best way to boat in around the South Deer Island/Sportsman Rd area? I know it can get shallow real quick if you're not paying attention. I was just curious if it's better to approach from the Offats side or come up from the opposite end.

[FlyPelican]

Best way to navigate is to go slow! I'm half kidding.

I studied Google Earth at low tides. Then got in the general area, dropped the trolling motor and figured it out. Or get out and wade...no better way to learn the bottom than that.

-FP

[kenny]

It's much easier from the lower bay. There are two ways there from Offats but the shoreline way gets really shallow in the winter. There's also the old ICW.

[Herefishyfishy]

Thanks guys for all the great info. The weather isn’t looking so wonderful but everyday is a great day for fishing!! If you see some guys on the pier the27th to the 29th give us a wave.
Cheers