I have been winter fishing big Tex for the past three years and although most of my fishing is around the Holidays due to being off work. I have always heard that the winter pattern to an extent is good into March. I am just rarely there to verify this.

That said. The other day after the bad reports started coming in a guy told me "they have gone up river" and I ask when fishing would be somewhat back to "normal" whatever that is.

He said late March.

My question is does this sound right based on a normal year? Does just about every striper in lake head up river in mid Jan and stay gone for like 10 weeks?

We caught BIG fish from Feb to summer last year, No big numbers but 8 to 10 BIG 30+" hogs. Seemed like every trip last year I had a Personal Best.

Not all the stripers go up to the river. Plenty stay around.

No the fish have not gone up the river. Every winter the fish go on a feed in November that last till sometime in January when they have fattened up enough and the water gets cold enough that it just slows the bite way down. Thats where we are now ,fish are fat and the water is too cold. There will still be some good winter days but not every day like it was before.

That sounds encouraging. But why are they suddenly so hard to find? Are they just more spread out or what?

Yes they are not schooled up and chasing bait. That extended cold spell we had just finally shut it down.

Agreed.....if your not getting bit, reel slower.

I'm dead sticking. I'm gonna have to work to reel slower

I haven't been having trouble finding the fish but I have had trouble getting them to bite. I got excited when I found this group but never caught a fish out of it. I think the recent cold has them in a funk but I think it will be short lived. I think the bite will be back to normal soon. The fish aren't up the river though.