Ice Out! But Cold Waters...help!

[BassinBoy]

Hi guys,

 

In PA the ice is melting and the snow is stopping. Im so anxious to start catching some bass but...

 

I dont have much confidence fishing 40 degree water, and I dont want to ruin my excitement by going out and getting skunked.

 

I would be fishing ponds and small lakes by foot mostly and ive been thinking slow plastics, jerkbaits, and slow crankbaits.

 

Any help and info for a confidence boost would be awesome!

[Felix77]

I thrive on the challenge to catch fish in cold water. I don't think of getting skunked but go to the lake looking to practice finesse techniques.

IMO the best stuff when it's cold is finesse. Drop shot, split shot and slow dragged jigs and shakey heads.

I fished the past 3 days and caught only 1 fish each day. They were ghostly white and put up no fight.

Good luck.

[MarkH024]

I would be fishing ponds and small lakes by foot mostly and ive been thinking slow plastics, jerkbaits, and slow crankbaits.

 

 

You just answered yourself. Good luck!

[clayton86]

Iv been catching trout and northerns lately no bass of yet but I haven't tried to much I will BR this week. In the past the tickets always been red craw colored lip less cranks, jigs, rebel wee craw I think it's called, slooooooow spinners in fire tiger or red craw patterns, jerk baits in perch and trout colors.

[J Francho]

Hair jigs, spoons, suspending jerkbaits.

[Paul Roberts]

I'll share some of what I know about this time period in the waters I fish -ponds and small reservoirs in the north in which primary forage is bluegills, some yellow perch, and some gizzard shad.

 

Forty degree water likely has fish in winter quarters or at least remaining deep (although I have seen small fish coming shallow on sun-warmed north banks in mid-winter -but don't expect it.) Winter quarters often mean steep drops, so probing the steeper drops (in a boat) or the steeper banks (if from shore) is worth checking, especially those near a good shallow cove with good habitat. But, I have a spot on a smal res I fish that has the most consistent winter quarters fishing on a steep bank that is well away from the shallow coves that attract the largest numbers of fish as the water warms up. But fish will winter in the best available places. In some very small ponds I've fished the mature bass winter in the only deep hole. In another, larger pond that happens to be very shallow, they winter in one main channel that is only about 5 feet deep some years. I catch them in bunches with 1/32oz and 1/16oz jig heads (with various trailers), rest em, then catch a few more.

 

As shallows warm, shallow coves and bays will suck fish in, esp those on NW banks and corners bc low angle early spring sun hits there first and longest and the food chain is kicked off there first. In my waters bluegills pile in to these places. Bass follow. These movements of bass are feeding not spawning movements. Water temp trends are critical with rising temps bringing more aggressive and often concentrated biters, and dropping temps turning them off. Stable temps are somewhere in between.

On fast rising temps fish can come very shallow, right to the shoreline, pinning bluegills at the shoreline. Less warming and the fish hang back a bit and are less heavily concentrated but still present, just holding off a bit deeper. Dropping temps cause the fish to shrink back deeper, and slower close-to-the bottom presentations are needed, although close to the bottom is where the majority of action occurs early anyway. When fish shrink back it may be to a deeper pocket in the cove or a channel if available. Bass can stack heavy in these spots and fishing just a few feet off and you might miss em. Find em and you may catch one after another.

 

In general, the more aggressive they are, the further they’ll move to strike a lure, and more apt they are to be coaxed off bottom –but not far. I mean like maybe only an extra foot or two. Don’t get lazy and  expect the fish to come to you –good general advice year round.

 

Even while this warming action is happening in NW coves, it pays to keep checking the steeper “winter quarters” too, as not all the bass in the pond are doing the same thing. Warming helps here too but movement is more vertical, the fish relating to more vertical “bottom” than flat bottom. So warming trends can move them a bit shallower up the break, and make them more willing biters. On cooling periods I tend to do poorly here and just don’t know exactly what the fish are doing –how they are relating to the steep banks.

 

As to confidence, part of angling is taking your lumps. Don’t worry about getting skunked. Work hard and don’t expect miracles. They’ll come, but you will earn them.

Early spring coldwater lures:

 

The important thing in cold water is that bass are less willing and able to chase in cold water. There are exceptions, such as when large amounts of easy prey are available and the extra effort is worth it –shad die-offs in late winter are an event that can goad bass into chasing in frigid water. Bass can move quickly in cold water (although apparently not prolonged as they tire quicker) but the vast majority of times and places they will not move fast or far to chase a lure. They also tend to be much more sluggish fighters in cold water.

 

The point is, you must still attract strikes with lure movement but the bass must know they can catch that bait. In cold water this is the biggest issue (outside of bass activity level). The way to do this is to control, minimize, horizontal movement. You can use aggressive motion (pumping, jerking, slashing, twitching, fluttering, etc….) but it can’t move horizontal at a pace that the fish are unwilling to commit to chasing. So with that in mind lots of lures can work, but here are some that lend themselves well to cold water bass:

 

-Hard jerk baits. The pauses are the important part, letting the bass know whether they can catch it or not. The less aggressive the fish the longer the pauses and shorter the horizontal movement must be.

 

-Jigs are a staple, especially when fish are less aggressive, bottom hugging (I often catch them with mud and clay stuck to their bellies during cold snaps), or in/around cover. By jigs I mean almost any jig: skirted, hair, paddle-tail grubs, and creature baits.

 

-Spinnerbaits can be excellent. What I like is the fact that they can be fished so slowly in horizontal speed. One of the most effective lures I “invented” was one I made to solve the problem of catching coldwater bass stacked in a channel in a small cove. I tied a good fan-like “skirt” of bucktail to a 1/16oz Brewer Slider jig head. I added a twister trailer and then a clip-on overhead spinner with a Colorado blade. Together this little SB, fished on a light action spinning outfit, could be slow rolled at incredibly slow speed. And that’s what it took to be back in business catching those bass, one after another, during cold snaps. I doubt many people have ever fished anything THAT slow!

 

-Soft jerks can be good as they can be worked very slowly. Sometimes just hanging one in the water column is enough. Other times some short kicks are needed. I haven’t tried it yet, but one fished wacky might work well.

 

-Lipless cranks have amazing fish attracting power. The trick in cold water is controlling forward (horizontal) speed. It’s always worth moderately burning one bc you never know who’ll be triggered with a lipless. But vertical pumps and falls seem to work most consistently in cold water. Don’t be shy, let the bait fall close to bottom, then vibrate up, then let it fall. Aggressive fish may chase up some, but most will hit on the fall –or simply, close to bottom.

-Bladebaits are basically a heavy deepwater lipless, fished nearly vertically. Not very applicable from shore bc they stay so deep and fish best nearly vertically, but pumping one over deep holes and along steep drops is worth a go.

 

-Crankbaits can work well, but ones that are not too buoyant tend to work best bc they can be kept deep, near the fish. I like shad shaped ones (“potato chips” I call them) as they have a tight wriggle that coldwater fish like. You can weight a crank with a pinch on sinker (on the shank of the front hook), or use stick-on lead strips to slow the rise rate of a crank, keeping it down and slow where it’s needed.

 

-Oh yes, one more... In-line spinners. I love throwing Mepps #3 Aglia's as they can be retireved SO slowly and have great fish attracting power. I also fish them on the fall, just killing em and letting em drop ALMOST to bottom. I say almost bc they tend to collect weeds, algae, sticks, trees, you name it. But if you are deft, they collect bass too.

 

My staples tend to be the hard jerk and jig, often a creature bait. These tend to cover the range of cold water activity levels pretty well.

[senile1]

Paul, I think it would help if you would be a bit more thorough. 

[Paul Roberts]

You know, Ed, whenever I read "depending on conditions" in an article, I yell outloud "WHAT CONDITIONS?!"

 

The devil is in the details in fishing and there are plenty of em.

[J Francho]

I'm so glad Paul has left those trout behind and come back to bass.  There's a lot between those ears of his, and I'm glad he's sharing it.

[BassinB]

You know, Ed, whenever I read "depending on conditions" in an article, I yell outloud "WHAT CONDITIONS, you wimp!"

 

The devil is in the details in fishing and there are plenty of em.

 

Paul, what do you think of a carolina rig in cold water conditions like that?  I'm thinking that you can cover a lot of water with one looking for where the fish might be wintered, plus you can drag it real slow.  Maybe with a fluke on it or something like that?

[Paul Roberts]

Paul, what do you think of a carolina rig in cold water conditions like that?  I'm thinking that you can cover a lot of water with one looking for where the fish might be wintered, plus you can drag it real slow.  Maybe with a fluke on it or something like that?

I've not C-rigged in such cold water. Worth a go I suppose. As to speed I would think a hard jerk, blade bait, or lipless would cover water better. Plus, I don't think a C-rig would work well on the more vertical drops a lot of fish like to winter off. But I'm sure there are places where it could be a good option. I've just not done it.

[Scott F]

One major tactic I use for pond fishing is to fish where water is flowing into the pond especially after a rain. The bass will stack up at the point the water is flowing in.