Cold + Wind + Prespawn = ?

[PennBass]

How would these conditions effect fish in a shallow (1-5 ft) pond? 

[Ski]

Depends how much the temp dropped.

Depends how big the pond is,

I would venture to say it could completely shut em off.

[PennBass]

Temperature drop is around 10 degrees, pond is 2 acres in area. There was a brief period of warm rain + thunder last night: would that also factor in to changes in bass behavior?

[Fishes in trees]

If I'm fishing in that situation, I 'm thinking low & slow - most likely some jig/worm combo.

[Zachary Nute]

Throw a suspending jerkbait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Smokinal]

23 minutes ago, Zachary Nute said:

Throw a suspending jerkbait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winner winner chicken dinner! I was out yesterday, 46 degree water, 40 air temp, cold wind; usually fish this spawning cove where a big feeder stream comes in and the bite is pretty good but we couldn't catch a cold in there. Went out main lake, got 2, struggled for a while and decided to go back up in the cove. Still no fish so we thought, well, lets go even skinnier up by the stream where there are 1 to 1.5 ft flats on either side of the stream. Proceeded to whack the bejeeses out of em on a susp jerk until dark. We had 2 in the boat in 3 hrs going up into that place and ended up boating 53 in the last 1.5 hrs up there on the jerk. Along with  some huge crappie mixed in.

Throw the jerk

["hamma"]

take note of the winds direction, it will position them, throw a jerkbait,...  suspending  or floating i try them both til they tell me what they want.

[IndianaFinesse]

Another vote for the suspending jerkbait, nothing works better in cold front and/or cold water conditions.

[stk44]

What about in muddy conditions? Still throw a jerk? 

[BassObsessed]

Curious how you made out. I'm just a little south of you and today whacked em good on a squarebill.

[PennBass]

Didn't go today but will try a suspending jerkbait next time!

[Smokinal]

8 hours ago, stk44 said:

What about in muddy conditions? Still throw a jerk? 

I know everyone says they won't work but, if I wasn't getting bit on anything else, absolutely.

[Zachary Nute]

1 hour ago, Smokinal said:

I know everyone says they won't work but, if I wasn't getting bit on anything else, absolutely.

Who says that? I caught 3/4 of my fish from muddy water on jerkbaits. Just pick up a jerkbait that has some rattles and/or flash! The IMA Flit 120 actually does a very good job for me.. A little pricey but works very well.

[IndianaFinesse]

10 hours ago, stk44 said:

What about in muddy conditions? Still throw a jerk? 

I agree with the above posts, jerkbaits are still killer in muddy water, they are just a little better when the water is clear.  Just pick one with more flash and loud rattles.

[PennBass]

What's a good cadence to work the jerkbait at? Slack or semi-taught line? How well would a MHF casting rod work, and how far should I move the tip? 

[IndianaFinesse]

I usually use a medium power rod, unless i'm throwing a staysee.  You should always have slack line on the pause right up till the twitch, otherwise the jerkbait keeps moving forward.  What I usually do is cast out, give two downward twitches, pause with a slack line for 2 to 45 seconds depending on the water temperature and the fish activity level.  Vary how far you move the tip until you find what the fish want, but as a general rule for everything, use less movement for colder water. 

[PennBass]

Ok thanks for the info! How would a bite usually feel? Would it just be weight on the line when you go to jerk, or should I watch my line?

[IndianaFinesse]

Just now, PennBass said:

Ok thanks for the info! How would a bite usually feel? Would it just be weight on the line when you go to jerk, or should I watch my line?

Usually when you twitch the fish is just there, without any indication of a bite.  Always watch your line, sometimes the bass will eat it on the pause.

[papajoe222]

Short periods of cold and windy conditions don't affect the fish as much as those that last a couple of days or more. The fish will bounce back almost as quickly as the weather. The warm rain and windy conditions will help distribute that warmer water down into the water column quicker than calm and sunny conditions when the warmer water will stay up.  

Early pre-spawn will see the fish moving up and back frequently and in a small/ shallow body of water, their only option is to move tight to the bottom or any available cover rather than deep. Base your lure choice accordingly. 

[smashinsmalliestv]

The wind and cold will push any fish deeper. I was out today and before the wind hit they were pushed shallow (5-2 feet) schooling and hitting floating jerkbaits but after the wind hit they moved deeper to about 10 - 15 ft and were hitting deeper diving jerkbaits. Wind will always push them back and jerkbaits will be the hot bait to throw.

[BaitMonkey1984]

On April 3, 2016 at 2:37 PM, Fishes in trees said:

If I'm fishing in that situation, I 'm thinking low & slow - most likely some jig/worm combo.

Fishes in trees had it backwards. Slow and Low. Great song too.