Cold Water Tips

[RyanCastin]

I live in Colorado and we have been having a very mild winter here. Most of our lakes have already thawed out and the water temp is in the mid 40s. Looking to see if anybody has some tips on locating these cold water bass and baits to use, etc. Obviously fishing slow is key in cold water but I'm looking for some more knowledge on where these bass will be hanging out in the cold weather as well as some different baits to try. 

[Catt]

Jerkbaits, Lippless Crankbaits, Chatterbait, & Jig-n-Craws

[Smokinal]

I'm not sure what it's like in other parts of the country, but I wouldn't limit myself to thinking bass have to be in a certain depth at a certain time of year.  My last 2 times out, before ice over, water was 34-38.  We went from catching them on blade baits in 35-45 fow to, in the next spot on the same day, to catching them in 5-8 fow on small craws on a light jighead on rockpiles.

There's always going to bass deep and there's always going to be bass shallow.

[RyanCastin]

5 minutes ago, Smokinal said:

I'm not sure what it's like in other parts of the country, but I wouldn't limit myself to thinking bass have to be in a certain depth at a certain time of year.  My last 2 times out, before ice over, water was 34-38.  We went from catching them on blade baits in 35-45 fow to, in the next spot on the same day, to catching them in 5-8 fow on small craws on a light jighead on rockpiles.

There's always going to bass deep and there's always going to be bass shallow.

Thanks for the advice! I mostly fish smaller ponds with maximum depth of about 10-20 feet. I mostly am wondering what to look for as structure and if I should focus on moving baits or slow baits. Appreciate the help!

[the reel ess]

Here's my experience yesterday and today. I caught two yesterday at the local reservoir. 48 degree water. One on a lipless crank in about 5' and another on a jig/craw off a log at the dam. Today I caught one on the lipless crank in about 2' of water. These were in areas that get the most sun. Today I only focused on that area. Do all the things mentioned in the posts above and don't expect many bites. Those are just icing on the cake.

[RyanCastin]

What do you guys fish if waters are just above freezing temp? Colorado winters fluctuate drastically with a week or two of 50-60 degree weather going right back down to snow and less than 20-30 degrees. Our lakes are constantly freezing and thawing back out.

[DitchPanda]

Our buddy on here @Paul Roberts is a fellow Colorado angler. Maybe he will chime in and offer some tips. He also has a YouTube channel...Nature of Fishing...where he has a bunch of several well done in depth instructional videos on locating bass at ice out and in cold water in general. I recommend giving those a look as well.

[Paul Roberts]

Hi, Ryan. I've found that the bass may use shorelines well down into the 40'sF. But at that point, icing is imminent. What I've seen is that when icing begins the bass drop away from the shorelines and begin to hug bottom more. When the surface freezes, the upper layers are coldest, and warmest water (~40F) is on the bottom due to ~40F water being water at its most dense, and bc the ground retains heat.

 

However, this is may not be the whole story, as the water directly beneath the ice for much of our winters is 38F! The whole water column will be 38, except at the very bottom, where it's ~2deg more. So there may be avoidance of colder upper waters, or innate concerns over stranding? Also, some areas with ice cover will become stagnant and if there is much vegetation in there its decomposing and lack of fresh water recharge can make for an anoxic toxic soup. Some of these are prime habitat for bass in summer but become toxic wastelands (except for bacteria) under ice and snow cover.

 

Cover/objects can remain important, so look for that. Even dead weed beds act as objects. That’s part of the draw of the bottom too. I know one spot on a fairly cover-free pond where a chain-link fence goes out into the water. It’s a bass magnet in winter.

 

Winter waters tend to become very clear, with the lack of planktonic algae in the water column, and bc the denser water near the bottom has suspended sediments settle out, barring heavy winds. So, clear water and the die-back of vegetation beds, I go lighter and lighter in tackle. By mid and late winter I may be using an UL rig with 4lb line. Winter bass seem to prefer small, even tiny, baits, esp by mid-winter.

 

Early and late winter often offers the most receptive fish, or… mid-winter the least. So I adjust expectations of a “good day”. This will vary though, of course, with that particular water body and the conditions & circumstances prevailing. So, don’t be surprised if you are pleasantly surprised here and there. Or if you take a skunking.

 

Nearly all my videos touch on C&C and how the fish respond. The video fishing journals (VFJ's) often have a seasonal focus, yet the seasons are progressive, so... it's tough to understand winter without understanding what the other seasons are how they come about. 

 

Hope this helps,

Paul

[RyanCastin]

3 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

Hi, Ryan. I've found that the bass may use shorelines well down into the 40'sF. But at that point, icing is imminent. What I've seen is that when icing begins the bass drop away from the shorelines and begin to hug bottom more. When the surface freezes, the upper layers are coldest, and warmest water (~40F) is on the bottom due to ~40F water being water at its most dense, and bc the ground retains heat.

 

However, this is may not be the whole story, as the water directly beneath the ice for much of our winters is 38F! The whole water column will be 38, except at the very bottom, where it's ~2deg more. So there may be avoidance of colder upper waters, or innate concerns over stranding? Also, some areas with ice cover will become stagnant and if there is much vegetation in there its decomposing and lack of fresh water recharge can make for an anoxic toxic soup. Some of these are prime habitat for bass in summer but become toxic wastelands (except for bacteria) under ice and snow cover.

 

Cover/objects can remain important, so look for that. Even dead weed beds act as objects. That’s part of the draw of the bottom too. I know one spot on a fairly cover-free pond where a chain-link fence goes out into the water. It’s a bass magnet in winter.

 

Winter waters tend to become very clear, with the lack of planktonic algae in the water column, and bc the denser water near the bottom has suspended sediments settle out, barring heavy winds. So, clear water and the die-back of vegetation beds, I go lighter and lighter in tackle. By mid and late winter I may be using an UL rig with 4lb line. Winter bass seem to prefer small, even tiny, baits, esp by mid-winter.

 

Early and late winter often offers the most receptive fish, or… mid-winter the least. So I adjust expectations of a “good day”. This will vary though, of course, with that particular water body and the conditions & circumstances prevailing. So, don’t be surprised if you are pleasantly surprised here and there. Or if you take a skunking.

 

Nearly all my videos touch on C&C and how the fish respond. The video fishing journals (VFJ's) often have a seasonal focus, yet the seasons are progressive, so... it's tough to understand winter without understanding what the other seasons are how they come about. 

 

Hope this helps,

Paul

Thank you Paul! Being an environmental science major (graduating this year) I love to hear and rely the scientific explanations of bass behavior and ecology. What part of Colorado are you in?

 

Ryan

[BigAngus752]

On 1/25/2021 at 7:13 PM, RyanCastin said:

What do you guys fish if waters are just above freezing temp? Colorado winters fluctuate drastically with a week or two of 50-60 degree weather going right back down to snow and less than 20-30 degrees. Our lakes are constantly freezing and thawing back out.

As soon as the ice is gone I get the Ned out.  It's my #1 fish catcher by far in water under 40 degrees.  Nothing else is close.  If I didn't have stuff with me for a Ned Rig then I would drag a jig slooooowly around.  

[Paul Roberts]

17 hours ago, RyanCastin said:

Thank you Paul! Being an environmental science major (graduating this year) I love to hear and rely the scientific explanations of bass behavior and ecology. What part of Colorado are you in?

 

Ryan

N CO front range. Hey, congrats on your coming graduation! CSU?

 

16 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

As soon as the ice is gone I get the Ned out.  It's my #1 fish catcher by far in water under 40 degrees.  Nothing else is close.  If I didn't have stuff with me for a Ned Rig then I would drag a jig slooooowly around.  

I use a Ned and hair jig most, esp by mid-winter.

[RyanCastin]

12 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

N CO front range. Hey, congrats on your coming graduation! CSU?

 

I use a Ned and hair jig most, esp by mid-winter.

Thanks I am graduating from Regis University! I am also in the front range area, maybe we can get out and fish sometime!

[Paul Roberts]

Awesome! Congrats.