Fact or Fiction

[davetclown]

On this string we will be discussing statements most commonly heard.

taking them one at a time, here is the first.

[ul] [li]Fish are more active in the summer than in the winter.
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What do you think?
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[Coldfooter]

I think that depends on several factor including the species as well water temp and absorbed oxygen content, and, the location of any given body of winter and summer months.
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[Bassmaster-ND]

Definetly! A fish's metabolizem slows way down in the winter[]
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[tomc]

more active in the summer ,tell us the truth dave
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[davetclown]

[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]There seems to be not much thought on this subject or most every one is just waiting for the answers. It could be that the pro’s are waiting to see if I will put my big clown foot in my big fat mouth…LOL…[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]I probably should have made this a poll, on the next one I will.[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]The answer is “FICTION”[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]Some excellent points have been brought up and do in deed affect fish, but these are special conditions that are not normally encountered by fish.[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]True there are some smaller ponds that do suffer from lack of oxygen, they suffer in both summer and winter due to plant over growth which will at one stage sucks oxygen out of the water and then in the winter because of the ponds lack of size and the lack of flowing water air cant get in to the pond and there is the ever dreadful sub freezing affect which makes the ice so thick that it can suffocate a lake as well.[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]As with all reptiles’ amphibians’ raptures and mammals temperatures is a major factor, both heat and cold will cause the metabolisms to change along with its activity. Heat will cause less frequent feeding periods and cold will trigger more frequent feeding periods. The exception to this rule is those critters that hibernate. Some hibernate in the winter and others hibernate in the dog days of summer.[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]Water temperature changes are really more of a spring and fall issue when winter thaws and heavy fall rains stir up the lake sending flows in to the thermal cline triggering spring and fall runs. [/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]In the summer and winter water temperatures stay pretty much constant in the thermal cline and is the same temp both in the winter as it is in the summer. [/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]Truth of the matter is fish are not really affected by the ice; the fall rains drive them down in to the thermal cline. [/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]Fish come to the shallows in mid spring to early summer then back down to the thermal cline in mid summers heat and back up in late summer in to mid fall until the cold rains drive them back down again.[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]If you can find the fish in the dog days of summer you will be able to find them in artic days of winter.[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]Fish are actually more active in the winter than in the summer, they need to eat more often in the winter than in the summer, they may not eat as much at a single feeding and that is because of the depths in which they are sitting. [/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]In most states where ice fishing is featured bass seasons are closed due their more frequent feedings. I my self have caught more bass in the winter than in the summer.[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]So one might ask then why don’t they catch more fish in the winter than they do in the summer, truth is I catch as many fish if not more in the winter than in the summer. To target fish in the winter you need to go where the fish are, they still move back and forth in the winter as they do in the summer, and they still have days when they wont hit any thing in the winter as they do in the summer. [/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]Most of us diehards don’t really care if the fish are biting or not, we just want to get out of the house so we will go fishing no matter what the conditions, rain sleet or flight of snow. Nether fog, neither blazing sun nor drifting ice shelves will hinder us in our need to fish.[/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]For those of us who are not as "lets say bitten with the bug to get out of the house" will find the cold a bit of a challenge to endure while waiting for the bites to turn on, hence in the winter the wait can cause some to count the seconds they are on the ice making it seem like for ever in between bites. Us diehards count hours if not the number of days of ice fishing left in the season. [/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]For less enthusiastic anglers a minute on the ice can seem like an eternity. [/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][size 4][black]What is commonly not known by the average angler is ice can help you to land fish on tackle you would not be able to land fish on in the summer. [/black][/size][/font]
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[font "Book Antiqua"][black][size 4]Imagine catching a 30-inch pike on 2-pound test line. Well this not only a probability in the winter but is actually common, when the fish is caught in the thermal cline they tend to swim closer to the ice where the waters are colder causing their reflexes to slow down making it easier for you to pull them in. This holds true with bass as well, I can’t begin count the number of bass I have pulled in on 2-pound test line in the winter on a little mousie or a small minnow. In the summer a 15-20 inch bass would snap a 2-pound test line on his first jump.[/size][/black][/font]
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