Smallmouth Fishing in Winter on Elkhorn Creek

For me its about two weeks in winter before I have cabin fever. Any day I'm not working and the temperature get into the 40's or higher I'm going fishing. November threw February can be some of the slowest months to me. I still try to go fishing at least 2 times a month just to help motivate me threw the cold, bone chilling winter. Now I realize fishing will not always be successful in the winter as the spring or fall but it helps me enjoy life and not mope threw this depressing season. Creeks and small rivers have been the most productive in the winter for me. Smallmouth bass are usually what i target in the winter due to them being less lethargic than other fish species.
Smallmouth Bass or (Bronzebacks) are a great fish to target in the winter. They prefer water temperature in the 50 to 65 degree range but they still eat thoughout the winter. With me living in Lexington, Kentucky I have numerous places to get my arm tugged by a smallmouth. The most popular and productive is Elkhorn creek. This creek is about 90 miles lone and has two major arm that branch out from the main that is 12 miles long. Back in the yearly 2000 it was rated the top 10 smallmouth streams in southeast. This creek is considered a senic creek and is protected by the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Jeff Crosby, central region fisheries biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) says. "This creek has good habitat and water quality, decent water flow through all seasons, and active management from the KDFWR." These things combine to make the Elkhorn a thriving fishery.
I love to fish Elkhorn creek in the winter. Although its colder and the fish are more lathargic It makes it nice when you have your own spot to yourself. During the hot summer days you can get on Elkhorn before the sun comes up and you still will not be the only one their. This creek has all kinds of fish species in it. Smallmouth are the most common but their is also alot of Largemouth, crappie, bluegill, pearch, and during the spring walleye and saguer. This creek is great to wade and float with a small boat. Their are several dams on this creek but almost all of them are designed to let you float down the spillway. These spillways on these dams also allow fish to more up or down the creek where as most other dams in kentucky do not have spillways that fish can travel up or down.
When I fish Elkhorn creek in the winter I usually throw all kinds of baits. Some of the most productive and consistant are hair jigs, tubes, and crawdead imatatiors. Hair jigs and tubes inatate dieing minnow or small bait fish. The key to fishing these baits in the winter is SLOW PRESENTION!