Can't Get Largemouth In The Winter!

[Weld's Largemouth]

Today i went to five different ponds in Long Island, New York and not a single bite. All of these ponds are known for fish just not in the winter... How can i get largemouth bass when it is so cold out? I've tried all the different suggested lures including jigs and senkos. Nothing has worked... the bass just have disappeared entirely... i haven't caught a largemouth for about 2 months and im beginning to feel the effects.....

[Catt]

Wacky rigged Trick worm

[flyfisher]

Slow down to the point of being painfully slow and search areas thoroughly.  A few feet in another direction can be the difference between getting bit or not.  It is not uncommon for me to take longer than five minutes on a retrieve if am confident there are fish nearby.

 

I also will fish shallow which i know goes against conventional wisdom but it works for me and i have caught fish in 39 degree water less than 4' deep.

 

Bites in the cold are harder to get but i have found them to be more quality.

[mkfriedrich]

Got this and a couple others like it a couple nights ago. It was extremely cold for san diego. Keep it simple. Senko and 8# mono. work it extremely slow. Smaller baits in the winter will get you more bites. 

[Weld's Largemouth]

Slow down to the point of being painfully slow and search areas thoroughly.  A few feet in another direction can be the difference between getting bit or not.  It is not uncommon for me to take longer than five minutes on a retrieve if am confident there are fish nearby.

 

I also will fish shallow which i know goes against conventional wisdom but it works for me and i have caught fish in 39 degree water less than 4' deep.

 

Bites in the cold are harder to get but i have found them to be more quality.

 

Got this and a couple others like it a couple nights ago. It was extremely cold for san diego. Keep it simple. Senko and 8# mono. work it extremely slow. Smaller baits in the winter will get you more bites. IMG_2299.jpg

 

I've been reeling painstakingly slow, and i have been using a senko with 8 lb test. These bass just don't show  up..... the air and water is just too cold..... i did find a dead 8 lber floating in one of the ponds however...goes to show how cold it is...

[flyfisher]

How cold is it, have you taken a temp of the water?  Bottom line is if it isn't frozen then it is above 32 degrees and hardly cold enough to kill a bass.  Cold water won't kill a bass as they are cold blooded.  As long as there is oxygen they will live.

 

They will be in different locations and i prefer vertical type cover that allows them to move up and down the water column as needed.

[Weld's Largemouth]

How cold is it, have you taken a temp of the water?  Bottom line is if it isn't frozen then it is above 32 degrees and hardly cold enough to kill a bass.  Cold water won't kill a bass as they are cold blooded.  As long as there is oxygen they will live.

 

They will be in different locations and i prefer vertical type cover that allows them to move up and down the water column as needed.

I didn't take the temperature, but it isn't frozen. I don't know how the bass died, it was a small pond and maybe ran out of food or lacked oxygen. I might just have to wait it out until spring... the bass are barely eating it seems, their metabolism is obviously significantly lower than in warmer weather. I spent all day today fishing for bass with all types of lures and all types of spots with different types of structure but no bites. 

[flyfisher]

welcome to winter fishing  

[Craiger12]

Have you tried suspending jerk baits with extra long pauses? I recall a day about 5 or 6 years ago in early March when I was fishing a small pond near where I lived in CT. I was throwing a Pointer 78 using 15-30 second pauses. Caught a handful that day. Different time of year, but water was still very cold.

[mkfriedrich]

dropshot is a extremely deadly rig. hows the water clarity? dropshot a robo or fluke. Always produces fish. USE Smaller Baits! 

good luck man! 

[Weld's Largemouth]

Have you tried suspending jerk baits with extra long pauses? I recall a day about 5 or 6 years ago in early March when I was fishing a small pond near where I lived in CT. I was throwing a Pointer 78 using 15-30 second pauses. Caught a handful that day. Different time of year, but water was still very cold.

Interesting... i'll definitely give that a go! Thanks

[Weld's Largemouth]

dropshot is a extremely deadly rig. hows the water clarity? dropshot a robo or fluke. Always produces fish. USE Smaller Baits! 

good luck man! 

I've never actually drop shotted before. I have heard of it but i never learned what it is or how to do it? Please explain.

[boatinpete]

Try a 3" senko or chartreuse trick worm dead sticking, can't hurt.

[bassguytom]

Try a blade bait. I was out today the water was 41 degrees and I caught 7. Cast it out get a feel for it and how it moves. Then when casting it out pull it off the bottom just a little 2 or 3 flutters and let it sit, repeat this all the way in. Most people over work this bait by pulling if off the bottom way to far. The blade bait in my opinion is the most consistent producing way to fish in the winter. I'm a fan on the Binskey blade bait. Give it a try. Good luck.

[Nitrofreak]

If a slow falling trick worm is not working , I like lil Cleo spoons , especially when the water temp is right there at that point that shad can no longer survive the cold .

As others have posted , slow and patience is key.

[WRB]

I've never actually drop shotted before. I have heard of it but i never learned what it is or how to do it? Please explain.

Drop shot weight is tied or attached to the end of the line, the drop shot hook is tied directly to the line above the weight. The worm is nose hooked or wacky hooked. Casting from shore the hook should be about 24" above the weight.

Hook; Owner mosquito, Gamakatsu drop shot, both size 1. The hook point should be upright.

Weight, 1/4 oz round drop shot weight, several mfr's.

Cast let sink to the bottom, lift the slack line until you feel the weight, then simply hold the rod tip upright for about a minute, then drag the weight about 1' and repeat. You can shake the rod tip lightly into the slack line to add a little action if you like.

You can also use a 1" pear shaped bobber and 1/8 oz weight, adjust the bobber for different depths.

Tom

[flyfisher]

I also want to throw out there that downsizing hasn't produced any more for me than larger baits.  My theory is the bass don't eat nearly as often in the cold due to the slower metabolism so if i can chuck a big bait out there, fish it slow they will be more apt to eat it as it has more value for the energy expended.  Well....at least it makes sense to me  

[Bluebasser86]

Have you tried suspending jerk baits with extra long pauses? I recall a day about 5 or 6 years ago in early March when I was fishing a small pond near where I lived in CT. I was throwing a Pointer 78 using 15-30 second pauses. Caught a handful that day. Different time of year, but water was still very cold.

I had a 30 fish day in January last year on a number 6 Xrap in a pond that was partially frozen. I was having to pause 10-15 seconds then the line would slowly start to tighten up or I'd feel the tick. If the water is clear that's how I'd be trying to get them. 

[ww2farmer]

I do not like to fish slow when it's cold. So I will throw a jerkbait or lipless crank all day, and I MIGHT slow down and fish an area where multiple fish have been caught with a jig, shaky head, or drop shot....but not if I am cold.........then I keep moving.

[Weld's Largemouth]

Thank you all for the great advice. Im gonna head out soon and give these new methods a go. Ill report back later on. It is a bit colder than yesterday but the water hasnt iced over yet. Wish me luck!

[zwhiten12]

slowwwww downnnn untillll youuuu cantttt standddd ittttt

 

good luck!

[Weld's Largemouth]

slowwwww downnnn untillll youuuu cantttt standddd ittttt

 

good luck!

thanks! sadly i was unable to head out this evening i had other complications and it did start to flurry outside :/

[zwhiten12]

thanks! sadly i was unable to head out this evening i had other complications and it did start to flurry outside :/

 

We aint got to worry about the flurries down here in GA!  First year of college is stopping me form heading out!! I'm having withdrawals!

[Paul Roberts]

Plenty of good advice above. You just have to keep at it.

I fish a number of different ponds and small reservoirs. Some give up winter bass and some don't. I don't believe for a minute that in some ponds they not catchable. It's just that I haven't found the best locations. Some thoughts/advice/background on winter bass fishing:

General Trends in Winter Bass Habitat:

-Bass are apt to bunch up in good winter habitat. As flyfisher mentions, a couple feet off and you can be out of the game.

-Winter bass generally use deeper water, often away from shorelines. In some of my shallower ponds the winter habitat is obvious: the deep pockets surrounded by the shallows. Find these and you’ll learn a lot about winter bass activity. These bass are often belly to the bottom and I will often fail if I’m fishing too high up. I have one shallow pond that has no deep spots; it’s just a dishpan, rimmed with a shallow shelf. I haven’t caught winter bass there yet. My guess is they are away from the shallow shorelines down near the roots of the weed clumps. No boats are allowed on this one so … I may never find out.

-Look for steeper shorelines. The going theory is that temperature stability becomes more critical and deeper areas offer it. There’s also been conjecture that bass can adjust depth with barometric pressure changes and temperature fluctuations easier on steep drops. I dunno, I’m not a bass. Steep contours in certain locations (esp “inside turns”) may also provide calm water out of wind generated current. Certainly current is a big deal for winter bass in rivers and reservoirs, and this likely has a strong influence on bass in winter. Rapid (steep) depth changes do appear to be winter habitat for small water bass too, maybe simply bc steep drops and deep water tend to come together in ponds. It could also be that, when vegetation dies, steep contours become the cover they use to feel comfortable. I think this is at least a part of it.

-It seems when weeds die, bass vacate. However ice fisherman find them in deeper weeds, and cameras have shown LM at times cruising the weed edges like they do in summer. In some of my ponds, in years that don't get snow-packed ice, deeper weeds survive through winter.

-Winter bass seem to appreciate hard cover, and this may have to do with the loss if soft cover (weeds), and rock and wood can attract winter bass, usually along with depth and steep contours if either/or/any are available. "Ideal" habitat doesn't always, or rarely, exists. Bass make do.

-Winter days in the north are short and the sun is low in the sky. The warmest parts of the day seem to be best, which means that fishing periods can be real short; often I don’t catch fish until at least 10AM and things seem to die before evening sets in. This may be an artifact of small relatively shallow waters I fish. IT could also be an artifact of my sampling effort -not sire how much time I've actually logged in the early AM on frigid mornings. If it has a "dead horse" feel to it, I may jump to conclusions. Gotta beware of how I "feel" bc it's not always right. I have ot keep in mind to back up my "feelings" with solid effort. Can't truthfully say I've done that in this case. Lemme know what you find.

Presentation:

-In general, slow is the rule, but that is only in terms of horizontal speed. (Horizontal speed is the one thing that newb (and many not so newb) anglers fail to appreciate.) Bass aren’t always willing to chase, and this is esp so in the winter.) Vertical speed, coupled with little horizontal speed, can trigger winter bass really well.

Use of active horizontal presentations in winter appears to be confined to shad-based fisheries in which cold-stressed shad provide incentive for bass to chase in temps as low as 36F (WI) and 39F (TN). So far, I’ve seen reports of this phenomenon coming from WI, IN, MO, and TN.

-Bluegill-based lakes seem to give up bass through the ice, (first and last best) on deep weedlines, and possibly shallower areas with weed clumps (bluegill wintering habitat). Ice anglers note that bass are grouped, and you must knock a lot of holes to find them. Catching is relatively easy at times. In one neat study that used submerged cameras and hook-n-line ice fishing, LM seemed to require some triggering with erratic motion to get them to bite, compared to SM which readily took live minnows at the same time. It's been apparent to me that this can be true with LM year round, but esp so in colder water or off-activity periods.

-Many winter anglers make good use of bladebaits which provide that erratic vertical component without much horizontal speed. These work best in lakes with some depth, and from a boat. In my ponds, often fished from shore, I’ve made similar use of lipless cranks. Other winter GoTo’s for me are: suspending jerks (long pauses -i.e. little horizontal speed), deer hair jigs (w/wo overhead spinner) and often with a pork strip, spinnerbaits (CO with pork), creature jigs. Match these to substrate, cover, and depth, and bass activity.

Angler Mind-Set:

The fact that bass have left the shallows in itself can reduce catch rates beyond the comfortable threshold for anglers used to fishing shallow summer bass habitat. Add narrower active periods and shorter strike ranges and this will weed out most anglers used to comparatively easy fishing in the warmer seasons. Then add cold “un-bass-like” weather and many anglers are done before they really started. If you find yourself coming up with more explanations for why bass can’t be caught in winter, you are more than half done for already. As I said, some ponds I haven’t figured out and it can get pretty dull catching-wise. Others, I can catch ‘em and that feels pretty good.

Here’s a fishing trip report I posted that touches on “winter” habitat on some small ponds:
http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/115075-boom-spring-or-is-it/?hl=%2Bpaul+%2Broberts#entry1261169

[Bankbeater]

Sometimes it gets cold enough so that you almost have to hit the bass right in the head to get a bite.