Back in 2004, I believe, Lake Weiss had a major freeze occur. Millions upon millions of shad died due to the cold temps, and we had ice on the water. It extended about 20 ft. into the water.
However, although the ice was there, anglers were pitching jigs and soft plastics to the edge of the ice, especially where it connected with a dock, a laydown, etc., and fish were being caught. These places were only 5-7" ft. deep.
I remember some nice ones being pulled out that year. After the ice left, a lot of catfish were caught around the shorelines. They would stack up around the places where the dead shad were stacked up. If a wind came along that carried the shad into the open water, you could toss a top-water and fish it really slowly, and have largemouth, spots, and stripers inahle them.
What is funny that so many shad died, that an estimate on the # of shad could not be agreed upon. It did not, however, make a dent in their population. You could still go out with a cast net, when the crappies and bass went to spawn, and catch several shad with the net.
So, yea, I believe that some bass stay shallow all year long. If a major front rolls through and they are unable to deal with the changes, they might move location. It could be 1 ft. deeper, or it could be 30 ft. deeper. Just as humans are similiar in many ways, each individual is different.............I like to think that the same applies to fish, and that there will always be the one rogue fish that says he can stay shallow no matter what conditions occur. 8-)
