Favorite cold water techniques

[JWall14]

I live in northern Illinois and was wondering what you guys like to throw and how you approach a pond or lake when the weather gets down in the 40s and 50s?

[BigSkyBasser]

Jerkbaits, and then more jerkbaits.

I'll try and figure out where the biggest depth changes/contours are if possible, and start with gentle single rips and long pauses.

 

I tend to still catch a fish on drop shot as well in those temps if I know where the fish are. 

[Allaroundfishing]

although a little unorthodox I will put a 2 or 3 inch white or black Mister twister curl tail on a mushroom jig head and just hop it on the bottom and slowly drag. If the bottom of said water has grass or other debris i would reel it s l o w l y just let that grubs tail do the action. I've caught them like this even when the water was in between  37-40 degrees.

[EGbassing]

My top 3 would be jerkbaits, jerkbaits, and jerkbaits, but if those don't work, T-rig.

[Team9nine]

Hair jigs, jerkbaits and blade baits...

[Troy85]

What about cold dirty water?  Down here when the water temps get that low, most of the grass dies and the water gets pretty dirty.  Less than 1' visibility, or even 6" or less in places.   If i can find clear water I can usually get jerkbaits to work, but there are some days when the N wind is whipping and it muddies up just about all the water.

[All about da bass]

I have found that the best way is to...... go home, sit down on the couch, grab a coffee, and watch football works fairly well on those hard bite days. I know, as a tournament angler you have to figure something out but when I'm not fishing one I prefer to stay home. IMO

[TnRiver46]

Gulp minnow on jig head

[Ksam1234]

1 hour ago, JWall14 said:

I live in northern Illinois and was wondering what you guys like to throw and how you approach a pond or lake when the weather gets down in the 40s and 50s?

As everyone else said, jerkbaits !! And if that doesn’t work then a jerkbait haha .. but seriously either a jerkbait, jig, T rig soft plastic 

[Deleted account]

If the water is 45ish or so with a rising temp trend, I'll throw a finnesse spinnerbait, crankbait, and chatter first to gauge their activity level and how they are relating to cover or structure before going to more traditional cold water baits which will include finnesse jigs, lipless, jerkbaits and blade baits depending on the temperature and conditions. 

[Log Catcher]

1 hour ago, All about da bass said:

I have found that the best way is to...... go home, sit down on the couch, grab a coffee, and watch football works fairly well on those hard bite days. I know, as a tournament angler you have to figure something out but when I'm not fishing one I prefer to stay home. IMO

Forget the couch. I become best friends with my recliner when the weather gets that cold. If I did go brain dead and try to fish in cold weather I would probably try a drop shot.

[BigSkyBasser]

1 minute ago, Log Catcher said:

Forget the couch. I become best friends with my recliner when the weather gets that cold. If I did go brain dead and try to fish in cold weather I would probably try a drop shot.

 

More for me then!

 

[fishwizzard]

I fish right up until the water freezes, but my winter catching has been awful the last few years.  

 

So this year, as soon as it gets cold enough that I want gloves, I am gonna throw a Hudd 68 Special and nothing else.  If I am only going to only catch a handful of bass all winter I might as well go for some big ones!

[Bankbeater]

Jig and a t-rigged plastic worm. When the bass hits the jig the first time I just let it sit and the bass usually comes back and picks it up. Then I set the hook. 

[Ratherbfishing]

A suspending jerkbait just about every time.  Prefer the ones which truly suspend (when I can get them to-given the variable water temps).  Ones that float or sink too quickly don't work as well.

[scaleface]

Late fall , early winter with temps   that low I fish slow . I have done well with crankbaits fished as slow as I can stand it , spinnerbaits the same way . Jigs , worms and one time and this was a rare event I got on a buzzbait bite during a snow .  The bass had shad corralled in the back of a cove and I tried a buzzer and surprisingly the bass were all over it .

[Bluebasser86]

Jerkbait, if the water is dirty then I'd drag a jig or fish a single Colorado bladed spinnerbait, but I'd usually stay home over fishing cold, muddy water.

[Mobasser]

I like jerkbaits too. Slider worm and small jig/ trailer. All fished slowly

[ohboyitsrobby]

An Alabama rig. 

[IgotWood]

Lipless cranks. Rip it off the bottom and let it fall again, rip it off the bottom, repeat. Jerkbaits too. 

 

Also senkos work well too, but it’s slow fishing. You’re not gonna cover water very fast. 

[Oregon Native]

Depending on the body of water of coarse but a jerk is my favorite.  Followed by a little three inch senko,dinger or a TRD on a light head or drop shotted.  When I moved here it was awesome....and it still is.  Depending on lake....3 ft to 40 ft.  

[Sam]

My favorite cold water technique is put on my sweats and a warm sweat shirt along with my cotton and fuzzy sox, turn on the family room TV to a football game, put my snacks and drinks on an end table, sit back in the recliner covered with a soft quilt, and enjoy the warm temperatures of home.

 

I do this when the outside temperature drops below 70 and is really cold.

[the reel ess]

Lipless crank, reeled extremely slowly in deepest areas of the pond. I haven't tried it in cold weather yet, but I'm sure I'll try jigs more this winter.

[MickD]

Surprising only one mention of blades.  Walleyes love them too.

[smalljaw67]

Jerkbait, hair jig, blade bait are the staples for cold water. The last few seasons we have done well with an underspin and fluke jr. trailer in water down to the upper 40s. Another thing is a 3.5" to 4" finesse style swimbait fished like a tube along the bottom on a ball head or football head jig but the big 3 are still the jerkbait, hair jig and blade bait.