Winter prep for Spring Success
By Lance Valentine
Winter! We are now smack dab in the middle of it and spring looks so far away. So, what can we do now to start thinking about spring and make our spring fishing more successful? Here are a few things I prioritize in the winter to be ready to go when spring finally gets here.
1) Clean, sort and organize tackle: Make sure everything is in good shape, is organized so you can find it. Replace or fix broken reels, guides, lures, hooks etc. Work on your storage system so it’s simple to quickly find what you need. Don’t forget about your safety gear, tools and accessories
2) Organize your waypoints: Now is the time to bring your GPS unit indoors and spend some time organizing your waypoints. Use a number and symbol system to identify different species of fish, different months etc. Break your waypoints into smaller files so you just have the waypoints you need in your unit. Be sure to back up your waypoints in a few different places so you don’t lose them!
3) Organize and analyze your fishing data: Now is a great time to get all your fishing logs and notes from the past season into some easy to use format. Go over the season and look for patterns you may have missed. Make notes of things you learned this year. Check this years’ data against previous years and see what stayed the same and what changed. Grab your lake maps and start looking at spots that produced this year and try to find other locations that look the same…these may end up being your “honey holes” this season.
4) Surf the web: spend some time on fishing sites and go back through the fishing reports from the past season. See if you missed anything; a new technique, new area etc. Sometimes during the season, we are too busy to go looking for data that could help us catch more fish and the winter is the perfect time to go back and do some research.
5) Do some reading: Winter is a great time to brush up on the basics. I have a few fishing books, mostly filled with “foundation” information that I read each winter.
It’s amazing what you sometimes forget when you are on the water trying to figure the fish out! Going back and spending time going over the basics of fish location, movement, baitfish and more is a great way to kill long winter nights. Sometimes it seems like winter will never end and spring will never come. But, alas, it always does. Spending some time this winter getting ready for spring will pay off, starting with your first trip of the new year!