Steeper matters as well. Most of my 26-inch and over winter trout have come off hard edges, areas where 2- or 3-feet gets to 5-plus in a hurry. Can’t tell you how many of those mega-trout munched coming off the deeper water onto the lip. Man of them I’ve seen inhale the bait at my feet.
Channels also come into play. Dredged channels offer the depth and softer substrate winter trout prefer. One of my best kayaking spots is a long channel with a busy boat landing at the head that eventually opens into a major bay. Boats will blow past enroute to sundry spots in the bay while I hold fast in the channel, absorb wakes, and pluck away at trout that favor the softer, deeper channel and all the foodstuffs it offers.
Equally as explorable are canals, including the ones with wall-to-wall housing, as winter boat traffic is next to nil. Depths are favorable. The bottom is soft. And baitfish are typically plentiful. Pick a promising one and fish it to the back. (Canals are also excellent nighttime targets if there are illuminated docks.)
Pay attention to tide, too, with incoming superior to outgoing in the winter. If fishing channels, look for cuts that create some current with a slack water tail. Trout will move up out of their wallowing areas when the water moves and the entire food chain triggers.
In bays without current cuts, low tide presents an opportunity to locate those pockets, adjacent flats sometimes being only a foot or two deep. Note them. Oftentimes, trout associated with those holes become active as the water rises.
Weather-wise, cold fronts are the key. Incoming fronts are often associated with small-craft-advisory gales, and unfishable. The day after, fishing can be good, but I’ve found that the second day after a system comes through can be wicked good.
