Targeting big cold water bass

[Mr. Aquarium]

I live in New England. I do pretty well fishing in cold water, down to  40. But I catch a lot of smaller fish mostly 2-4lb fish. It’s still fun cuz I’m getting them.  But I’ve always heard best time for giant bass is in the winter and colder months. 
 

I fish a lot of big swimbait, jigs, small swimbaits, blades, hair jigs, ned rigs. Now that i have a boat, no more shore fishing or kayaks fishing. 
 Last year I did well on 8 inch floating hudd, I rigged the hudd to slow sink, dam near suspends. It was killer fishing over weed beds.

any advice  for targeting bigger cold water bass 

[Catt]

 

[the reel ess]

Go to Florida. LOL. I went there after last Christmas and caught 50 bass a day. Came back home and zeroed twice.

[jimmyjoe]

    I've heard that best time to get big bass is in the winter, too. But I had thought they were talking about the South, where water doesn't get much below 40 degrees, not the Northern tier of states.

    I don't know; maybe I was thinking wrong.        jj

[Mr. Aquarium]

38 minutes ago, jimmyjoe said:

    I've heard that best time to get big bass is in the winter, too. But I had thought they were talking about the South, where water doesn't get much below 40 degrees, not the Northern tier of states.

    I don't know; maybe I was thinking wrong.        jj

But If you watch Matt Allen’s videos. He fishes in northern Cali. Their waters get into the low 40s even high 30s. You know calli and it’s rep

[jimmyjoe]

25 minutes ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

But If you watch Matt Allen’s videos. He fishes in northern Cali. Their waters get into the low 40s even high 30s. You know calli and it’s rep

 

   Good point.     jj

[DitchPanda]

Depending on what you call big I can say that most of my big fish...lets say 6lbs and up came from cooler water. This year I've caught 4 fish that size...3 6s and a 7. All 4 of those fish came from water under 60...2 from water in I'd guess the 40s. My PB of 8.75lbs came years ago in late April or early May so high 40s or low 50s water. Biggest I've caught the past 3 years came in November of 18 A fish I estimated around 8lbs. You can see a pattern. For reference I live in Northwest Iowa so I am used to brutal winters and lots of time chasing fish in cold water.

I've got two lures I feel confident in for cold water big fish...A jig and a spinnerbait. I've caught and seen lots of bigs on those two lures...more than all others combined I'd say. They just have that drawing power from big fish in cold water.  Swim baits are one that I don't throw but obviously they have the reputation for a reason.

My biggest piece of advice for targeting big fish is fish in bad conditions. Most of my biggest fish have been on windy overcast often times rainy and often times chilly days. Be out there when other people won't go...something about those conditions..be it lack of pressure either barometric or fishing wise that gets large fish to let there guard down. Another thing is don't buy into the whole its to cold or to early scrap other anglers try to feed you. My 7lb bass came April 5th this year on a lipless about an hour before dark...water was maybe 45 I'd guess. Funny thing is I caught her,kept her alive had my girlfriend come out to see her and let her go. A guy that day told me the bass won't bite...its to cold.

 

[J Francho]

Big? Erie. Cold? 48 degrees. Deep? 38’. Big bass? PB 5-12 SMB. 

[Glenn]

51 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Big? Erie. Cold? 48 degrees. Deep? 38’. Big bass? PB 5-12 SMB. 

On a....?

[BlakeMolone]

1 hour ago, DitchPanda said:

Depending on what you call big I can say that most of my big fish...lets say 6lbs and up came from cooler water. This year I've caught 4 fish that size...3 6s and a 7. All 4 of those fish came from water under 60...2 from water in I'd guess the 40s. My PB of 8.75lbs came years ago in late April or early May so high 40s or low 50s water. Biggest I've caught the past 3 years came in November of 18 A fish I estimated around 8lbs. You can see a pattern. For reference I live in Northwest Iowa so I am used to brutal winters and lots of time chasing fish in cold water.

I've got two lures I feel confident in for cold water big fish...A jig and a spinnerbait. I've caught and seen lots of bigs on those two lures...more than all others combined I'd say. They just have that drawing power from big fish in cold water.  Swim baits are one that I don't throw but obviously they have the reputation for a reason.

My biggest piece of advice for targeting big fish is fish in bad conditions. Most of my biggest fish have been on windy overcast often times rainy and often times chilly days. Be out there when other people won't go...something about those conditions..be it lack of pressure either barometric or fishing wise that gets large fish to let there guard down. Another thing is don't buy into the whole its to cold or to early scrap other anglers try to feed you. My 7lb bass came April 5th this year on a lipless about an hour before dark...water was maybe 45 I'd guess. Funny thing is I caught her,kept her alive had my girlfriend come out to see her and let her go. A guy that day told me the bass won't bite...its to cold.

 

What style/brands/models of spinnerbaits are you fishing in the winter? I want a spinnerbait to work for but they have been really hit or miss for me.

[DitchPanda]

For cold water I like Colorado blade spinnerbaits. A half ounce bait with a single blade can be very good...depending on water clarity I will change blade color. Skirt color isn't as important to me...using white,chartreuse or white chartreuse combo. Some guys swear by a black skirt and copper blade...I've never used that combo in fall as my water is usually not that dirty. Booyah makes some decent ones as does strike king...and I've heard that site sponsor siebert outdoors makes a good one as well. I've never tried his single blade spinners but everything else of his I've tried has been quality. 

Let me specify that this isn't true winter fishing...I'm talking about late fall and early spring as my cold water. In winter its hard for me to use a spinner bait...they don't break through 15inches of ice very well.

[Mr. Aquarium]

1 hour ago, DitchPanda said:

Depending on what you call big I can say that most of my big fish...lets say 6lbs and up came from cooler water. This year I've caught 4 fish that size...3 6s and a 7. All 4 of those fish came from water under 60...2 from water in I'd guess the 40s. My PB of 8.75lbs came years ago in late April or early May so high 40s or low 50s water. Biggest I've caught the past 3 years came in November of 18 A fish I estimated around 8lbs. You can see a pattern. For reference I live in Northwest Iowa so I am used to brutal winters and lots of time chasing fish in cold water.

I've got two lures I feel confident in for cold water big fish...A jig and a spinnerbait. I've caught and seen lots of bigs on those two lures...more than all others combined I'd say. They just have that drawing power from big fish in cold water.  Swim baits are one that I don't throw but obviously they have the reputation for a reason.

My biggest piece of advice for targeting big fish is fish in bad conditions. Most of my biggest fish have been on windy overcast often times rainy and often times chilly days. Be out there when other people won't go...something about those conditions..be it lack of pressure either barometric or fishing wise that gets large fish to let there guard down. Another thing is don't buy into the whole its to cold or to early scrap other anglers try to feed you. My 7lb bass came April 5th this year on a lipless about an hour before dark...water was maybe 45 I'd guess. Funny thing is I caught her,kept her alive had my girlfriend come out to see her and let her go. A guy that day told me the bass won't bite...its to cold.

 

Id say anything over 6 is big.  One of my PBs. Don’t got a weight, d**n scale broke.  It was in super early March, pond still half frozen. Got it on a black blue finesse jig up in super shallow water under a tree. I enjoy winter fishing less people out there, weather comfortable.  But I’ve always struggled getting large fish in cold water.  Even pre spawn when everyone says it’s time for PBs. My biggest is 7.8 on a 9 inch swimbait cranked down along a steep drop off, this fish was on a hot sunny afternoon in June!   I catch my big fish in warmer waters. May-September.  I REALLY REALLY want to break 8.  My buddy has 4 8s in the past 3 years. He only really fishes april and may for bass. very specific time and place.  Worst part is I do the same thing he does. Same baits and same spots during the  same time. I’ve often fish the same spot and says he gets his 8s.  Like I’d fish the  morning and tell him it’s TIME!!! He’ll fish the afternoon and get em.  Or he’d fish the morning and I’d fish the afternoon. 

 

so slow rolling a spinner bait? Never tried it. I don’t fish spinner baits often. Ive also heard lipless cranks work well! I’ve been trying those but haven’t gotten much on them.  I’m more of a methodical, dissect an area with slow moving baits kind of guy. Bottom fishing with jigs.  But always the dam smaller bass hitting before the big girls 

[DitchPanda]

Lipless can also be good in cold water..that's what I caught my 7 on this April. They can be burned, slow rolled or even hopped like a jig. So they are versatile and can be adapted for water temp. Another bait ive caught  big prespawn fish on is a bladed jig. Had a season a few years ago that I caught several 5 to 6lb fish on one in a few week time period in May. Then for some reason they stopped producing for me as well so I leaned heavily on spinnerbait and swim jig. Then this May I was out with a buddy in a private pond he has access to. We were targeting crappie but like every self respecting bass angler I had a baitcaster along just in case. The crappie deal wasn't happening so we decided to call it. He says hey ill troll the shoreline on the way back if you wanna throw that jig thing. A few casts in a hookup and wouldn't you know its a beauty...right about 6lbs. He says its the biggest bass he's ever seen.

[WRB]

None of the NorCal bass lakes get below 45 degrees water column temps. Florida LMB can't servive water colder then 45 degrees!

Bass don't live on the surface they live deeper. During the cold water period bass seek out the warmest water they can find.You have zero FLMB in New England.

Bass of all species metabolism slows way down when the water temperature drops below 45 degrees...they eat less often.

Tom

[J Francho]

9 hours ago, Glenn said:

On a....?

Crosstail Shad in Ayu.  Drop shot - what else?

 

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

For me it boils down to 2 options.  I'll throw smaller finesse baits to try to get numbers and hoping that eventually ill run into a better one.  The other option is to throw a big jig or a 6 or 7" swimbait.  Smaller fish will take shots at the jig so it produces more numbers then the bigger swimbaits.  The majority the fish that hit the bigger swimbaits are a good size, but some days you may fish 8 hours and get 1 bite or none at all. 

The bigger fish don't seem to move as much as the smaller ones.  When they go shallow to feed they don't stay long, they feed and go back into deeper water.  The window of time to catch them when they are actively feeding isn't very big.  Approaching storms can really fire em up, so don't hesitate to fish in poor weather.  I think one of the most important factors is the moon.  Pay attention to the moon phase and make every attempt to fish a couple days before and a couple after the new or full moon.

[ww2farmer]

For smallmouth my top cold water bait  by a wide margin is a 1/2 oz blade bait. Silver on sunny days, gold on cloudy.

 

For largemouth.............well, I really don't bother with them in high 30, low 40 degree water much anymore when I'm one my home lake where big smallmouth are an option. The windows for catching largemouth are too tight when it's that cold. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

40 minutes ago, ww2farmer said:

For smallmouth my top cold water bait  by a wide margin is a 1/2 oz blade bait. Silver on sunny days, gold on cloudy.

 

For largemouth.............well, I really don't bother with them in high 30, low 40 degree water much anymore when I'm one my home lake where big smallmouth are an option. The windows for catching largemouth are too tight when it's that cold. 

Makes so much sense! I do love cold water smallies, definitely will be out there on smallie waters since I got. A new boat! Blades are definitely the best for smallies. Ive done well on largemouth with blades. I have a 6.9 giant smallie. But I need that giant 8lb largemoit that’s why I spend time chasing largemouth.  I’ve seen a lot of guys CRUSHING fish in shallow ponds allll winter ! Like big fish like 5-7lbs! 

[scaleface]

I'm not a good cold water fisherman . I have caught some big ones in early, early spring with crankbaits on sun baked banks .Come to think of it crankbaits have been my best bait in late fall also for large  bass . I did get on a blade bait bite last November in 25 foot of water but there were no big bass mixed in .

[Mr. Aquarium]

Thanks for the info guys. 

On 10/15/2020 at 7:45 AM, scaleface said:

I'm not a good cold water fisherman . I have caught some big ones in early, early spring with crankbaits on sun baked banks .Come to think of it crankbaits have been my best bait in late fall also for large  bass . I did get on a blade bait bite last November in 25 foot of water but there were no big bass mixed in .

I love blade bait fishing but haven’t gotten big fish. Ill give cranks a shot. 

 

On 10/14/2020 at 2:42 PM, Rusty_Shackleford said:

For me it boils down to 2 options.  I'll throw smaller finesse baits to try to get numbers and hoping that eventually ill run into a better one.  The other option is to throw a big jig or a 6 or 7" swimbait.  Smaller fish will take shots at the jig so it produces more numbers then the bigger swimbaits.  The majority the fish that hit the bigger swimbaits are a good size, but some days you may fish 8 hours and get 1 bite or none at all. 

The bigger fish don't seem to move as much as the smaller ones.  When they go shallow to feed they don't stay long, they feed and go back into deeper water.  The window of time to catch them when they are actively feeding isn't very big.  Approaching storms can really fire em up, so don't hesitate to fish in poor weather.  I think one of the most important factors is the moon.  Pay attention to the moon phase and make every attempt to fish a couple days before and a couple after the new or full moon.

Yea i love fishing both finesse and big baits. each as their place.  In deeper ponds I’m fishing finesse baits. But shallow ponds I’m tossing a swimbait 

[lavbasser]

If you are catching 4 lbers then you are doing well.  it’s probably just a matter of time before you connect with the bigger ones.

 

The margin for error when the water is that cold can be very small.    And even when properly layered the weather can challenge you severely to the point where you fish too fast, lose you focus, or quit.  Switching to a slower reel can help you slow down.