How to fish in the winter?

Question
Hi my name is Garret and I am a beginning fisherman. I live in the state of Washington where the temperature is below 40 in the winter. The lake here where I live is stained were the fish are finicky and spoocked easily.The fish that are in state are mostly trout,bass,bullhead, and salmon. My question to you is "how do I fish in this cold weather and what bait should I use"?

Answer
I use a newer technique for Bass, and Crappie called the Float and Fly. Not really a fly but a jig. Go to www.FloatandFly.com to read about how to do it. Small jigs imitate small fish in cold water. Keep them at the right depth and you catch fish.. NOW the exception to this may be Salmon which are cold water fish anyway and do not slow down in cold water.. I am not familiar with Salmon as I live in the South Eastern US.. In your case jigs with some chartreuse coloring or bright colors will help to attract fish in stained water. Another technique is to use slightly larger jigs with some minnows or nightcrawlers on them, and work them along rocky banks. The jig banging off the rocks will attract fish.. just move it slow.
Jim Dicken