deep or shallow

[G_CHILD]

just wondering what peoples opinions are on dep water v shallow water this time of year,lot of people i know head straight for the deeper water this time of year,but i am under the impression that the fish are more likely to be in the shallower water especially if the sun pops its head out.
any ideas also what do you prefer dropping a bait on /behind or infront of a bar in the cold weather.
cheers people

[scorpio]

This time of year Deep is usually the best as the water temperature is warmer, saying that over a depth of 4 - 6 feet the temperature levels out. It all depends on the wind direction, sun, water temperature etc. The water temps. are probably now down to winter levels and with this frost and cold air the fish will probably be shoaled up in the deeper parts of the lake but when the air temperature warms up and the sun comes out they will move to the warmer water which will be the shallower parts.

Tony

[maximus]

Too my mind it depends on the air pressure mate.I have used an echo sounder on a couple of venues i fish(say no more!)
All the way through the winter, and some of the things i have seen are very interesting indeed.During high pressure in the winter(sunny days, freezing cold clear nights) i have found most of the fish to be in the upper layers of the water e.g 10 foot deep water, fish 4 foot off the bottom( this is at night)
The only thing i can conclude from this is they are at this depth because it is where they feel more comfortable.

[alex]

I prefer shallows but in this weather I go for a depth of around 7-8ft.
Alex.

[Paulm]

Durring the winter months i normaly choose a swim that gives me plenty of options. Lots of deep water to about 15ft, near a island for some snags (most of my winter fish came from snags) and some nice shallow gravel bars.
On warm (warmer) days in the winter the fish will certainly move to these shallow areas as long as there's not to much angling presure there.

Paulm

[CarponlineEditor]

I dont really go on depth but rather on location first. If I find fish anywhere no matter what the depth then I will obviously try there first. Saying that though a lot of the time this time of year you dont see much at all when this happens I will try the middle of the lake no matter what the depth is as i have found that the conditions out there seem to stay reasonably stable no matter what direction the wind is at.

I will keep scanning the water though for the whole of my session near enough so as when I do eventually see fish then i can move onto them straight away.

Andy