spectr17
02-12-2003, 03:24 PM
Feb. 06, 2003
Cold only hurts the fishermen at Grand Lake
By BRENT FRAZEE, The Kansas City Star
AFTON, Okla. - To most people, it was an ugly day.
The temperature was in the high 20s, it was overcast and a cold wind was sweeping across Grand Lake.
A great day to stay inside, right? Not to Tony Coatney, a guide on the Oklahoma reservoir.
To him, it looked like fishing weather.
"People come in to the marina on a sunny day in the summer and they'll say they want to go out and catch crappies," said Coatney, 37, who runs the guide service at Shangri-La Resort. "And I'll tell them, `Come back in January, February or March.' That's when the crappie fishing is the best.
"It isn't nearly as comfortable out here. But if you want to catch fish, that's the time to go."
Coatney has obviously had a hard time convincing others of that. When he set out on a cold day last week, he didn't spot another boat on the lake.
"We're the only nuts who would go fishing on a day like this," he said with a laugh. "Not much competition for the fish today."
With that, he was off on a bone-chilling ride in which "wind chill" took on new meaning.
Moments after he stopped his boat in a deep cove, he took a second to thaw out, then flipped a marabou jig into a boat stall. And it didn't take long for him to get a reminder of why he was out on such a miserable day.
When his line went slack, he quickly set the hook and he felt the tug of a healthy crappie.
"Now that's an Oklahoma crappie," he said as he admired the 12-inch fish before plunking it back in the water.
That fish certainly wasn't alone. At virtually each stop, Coatney caught crappies out of the deep brush.
Time and time again, he flipped his jig into boat stalls and let it slowly swing through the tangled cover that dock owners had sunk. And time and time again, he caught fish.
By the end of the four-hour trip, Coatney and I had reeled in and released some 50 crappies -- a fair percentage of them the big fish that has given Grand Lake fame.
All of this on a day when most fishermen were at home dreaming of spring.
"We'll catch a lot of fish in spring during the spawn," Coatney said. "But it's such a narrow window.
"The fishing's a lot more consistent in the winter. The fish get bunched up in deep water and they'll stay there.
"If you can find the deep brush along these docks, you can catch fish for a couple months."
At many lakes, fishermen head for the main lake and fish along the edges of the channels in the winter. Coatney takes a slightly different approach.
He heads for the deep coves not far from Shangri-La and fishes the boat docks that are situated at the edge of dropoffs.
He looks for brush along the lip of spots where the water often falls as deep as 30 feet.
The depth at which he fishes can differ from day to day. For example, when the sun is warming the water a bit, he has found the crappies suspended above the brush. On cold, overcast days, the fish often are buried right in the middle of the cover.
But one thing remains constant: The crappies usually hit in the winter.
"The fish aren't real active; they're not going to chase your lure," he said. "You have to put it right in front of their face.
"You don't want to put a lot of action on your jig. In this cold water, that doesn't look natural.
"A lot of times, I'll just drop it down there and hold it still."
Coatney got started in winter fishing by joining others at the reservoir's many heated docks. Eventually, though, he took his boat out so that he could be mobile. Now he fishes several times a week from December into March, seldom letting the weather hold him back.
"I'm out here on some cold days," he said. "But when the fish are biting, you don't mind it as much."
Cold only hurts the fishermen at Grand Lake
By BRENT FRAZEE, The Kansas City Star
AFTON, Okla. - To most people, it was an ugly day.
The temperature was in the high 20s, it was overcast and a cold wind was sweeping across Grand Lake.
A great day to stay inside, right? Not to Tony Coatney, a guide on the Oklahoma reservoir.
To him, it looked like fishing weather.
"People come in to the marina on a sunny day in the summer and they'll say they want to go out and catch crappies," said Coatney, 37, who runs the guide service at Shangri-La Resort. "And I'll tell them, `Come back in January, February or March.' That's when the crappie fishing is the best.
"It isn't nearly as comfortable out here. But if you want to catch fish, that's the time to go."
Coatney has obviously had a hard time convincing others of that. When he set out on a cold day last week, he didn't spot another boat on the lake.
"We're the only nuts who would go fishing on a day like this," he said with a laugh. "Not much competition for the fish today."
With that, he was off on a bone-chilling ride in which "wind chill" took on new meaning.
Moments after he stopped his boat in a deep cove, he took a second to thaw out, then flipped a marabou jig into a boat stall. And it didn't take long for him to get a reminder of why he was out on such a miserable day.
When his line went slack, he quickly set the hook and he felt the tug of a healthy crappie.
"Now that's an Oklahoma crappie," he said as he admired the 12-inch fish before plunking it back in the water.
That fish certainly wasn't alone. At virtually each stop, Coatney caught crappies out of the deep brush.
Time and time again, he flipped his jig into boat stalls and let it slowly swing through the tangled cover that dock owners had sunk. And time and time again, he caught fish.
By the end of the four-hour trip, Coatney and I had reeled in and released some 50 crappies -- a fair percentage of them the big fish that has given Grand Lake fame.
All of this on a day when most fishermen were at home dreaming of spring.
"We'll catch a lot of fish in spring during the spawn," Coatney said. "But it's such a narrow window.
"The fishing's a lot more consistent in the winter. The fish get bunched up in deep water and they'll stay there.
"If you can find the deep brush along these docks, you can catch fish for a couple months."
At many lakes, fishermen head for the main lake and fish along the edges of the channels in the winter. Coatney takes a slightly different approach.
He heads for the deep coves not far from Shangri-La and fishes the boat docks that are situated at the edge of dropoffs.
He looks for brush along the lip of spots where the water often falls as deep as 30 feet.
The depth at which he fishes can differ from day to day. For example, when the sun is warming the water a bit, he has found the crappies suspended above the brush. On cold, overcast days, the fish often are buried right in the middle of the cover.
But one thing remains constant: The crappies usually hit in the winter.
"The fish aren't real active; they're not going to chase your lure," he said. "You have to put it right in front of their face.
"You don't want to put a lot of action on your jig. In this cold water, that doesn't look natural.
"A lot of times, I'll just drop it down there and hold it still."
Coatney got started in winter fishing by joining others at the reservoir's many heated docks. Eventually, though, he took his boat out so that he could be mobile. Now he fishes several times a week from December into March, seldom letting the weather hold him back.
"I'm out here on some cold days," he said. "But when the fish are biting, you don't mind it as much."