Winter is in full swing and with it brings a completely new approach to your bass fishing. For the most part western anglers can put away most all of their reaction baits at this time of year. What's really important to remember about fall and winter fishing is that all of your windows of opportunity are narrowed significantly. What I mean by this is the choice of lures that you have that will actually produce will decrease significantly. The actual areas and places that you will catch bass in the fall and the winter become very finite. This is all about trying to find the one lure or technique that the fish will respond to. And then more importantly trying to find the location where the fish are concentrated. Everything becomes all about a small area and a small number of techniques that will actually work in the winter. The first and most important thing about fishing Lake Casitas in the winter is to not be in a hurry. Once you put your boat in the water try to focus on being relaxed and methodical in your approach. Take your time, don't be in a rush, try to get your mind on the same wavelength as the fish because believe me the bass are in no rush to bite your bait during this time of the year. Try to watch for any type of bird activity, or bait activity that you might see in a given area. Many times birds like the Western Greb can be a real indicator to where the bait is and therefore where the fish are located. Greds feed on live shad, so do bass, therefore watch Greb activity and it can be a real indicator. Try to keep your techniques limited to four or five basic winter approaches. Those approaches are: a vertical jigging spoon, drop shot, split shot, jig, and under a underspin. These are five of the most productive winter fishing techniques that you can utilize. This is the time of year where all the money you spent to purchase a good Lowrance depth finder will pay off in spades. Pay close attention to your depth finder and where the fish and the bait are located. Once you catch a fish in a certain area don't assume that you can travel all over the Lake and duplicate the same pattern. Many times in the winter the fish are intensely schooled into certain areas or spots on Lake Casitas. Once you found the sweet spot hang tough and fish that spot extensively. Many times fall and winter fishing locations can hold up for months at a time. You can find a spot, or a school of fish in the winter and continue to fish it day after day with very good success. Don't move the boat around a lot, be patient, and don't leave the fish. If you caught a fish or two in an area hang tough, there's most likely more fish in that area. On my bass fishing guide trips at Lake Casitas I try is to utilize fluorocarbon fishing line is much as possible at this time of year. Most of your movements with your baits are fairly slow and methodical in the winter and therefore fluorocarbon fishing line and its ability to not reflect light as much as monofilament or braid really helps at this time of year. Keep your color choices very basic at Lake Casitas, one or two basic colors in any or all of the techniques that you use. use colors that you had success with in the past during the winter and don't go too far off of those variations. Don't be afraid to dead stick your bait! When fishing a plastic worm or a jig, don't be afraid to move your bait for distance and then dead stick it. Don't be afraid to throw your bait to a target and not move it at all, just let the bait set their with the dead stick technique, this is an old Lake Casitas bass fishing trick. What we obviously mean by dead sticking is not moving your bait at all, just let your bait set their completely motionless on the bottom. This is the time of year that technique became famous. Don't forget that. And lastly I would highly recommend fishing a vertical presentation as much as possible during the fall and winter. When you get around some fish make shorter casts and work within the area that you believe the fish are in. With a shorter cast you can work your bait with a more vertical presentation and keep it in and around the fish for a longer period of time. Winter can produce some of the most beautiful days the your experience on the water. Little or no boat traffic, and on many days in the Western United States some absolutely gorgeous days on the water. The key is to be patient and not try to catch bass all over the lake on a variety of lures. Narrow down your approach, and limit the amount of water that you fish at this time of year. If you need more help and would like to book a bass fishing guide trip on Lake Casitas you can click the "Contact Rich Tauber" link at the top of the page. Thanks, and Good Fishing.