You Already Know

[LrgmouthShad]

Hey y’all,

 

You already know what time it is. Time to rig up for a weekend of winter fishing. 
 

Thinking maybe small jerkbait, small spinnerbait, shaky head, lipless, and a jig maybe. I’m bank fishing. 
 

If I get one, Im happy. If I don’t, Im happy and I can say the water’s too cold. I love winter fishing

[TnRiver46]

Add a tiny jig head with gulp minnow to the arsenal 

[LrgmouthShad]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Add a tiny jig head with gulp minnow to the arsenal 

Man that sounds fire. I have some tiny flukes someplace. Got it ??

6 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Add a tiny jig head with gulp minnow to the arsenal 

How do you retrieve that?

[throttleplate]

16 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

ou already know what time it is. Time to rig up for a weekend of winter fishing. 

please go ice fishing, just once.

 

[MN Fisher]

4 minutes ago, throttleplate said:

please go ice fishing, just once.

Stay safe - don't go under cover.

 

(did this over 4 decades ago on Lake Bemidji....never again)

[LrgmouthShad]

17 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Add a tiny jig head with gulp minnow to the arsenal 

This is what I rigged up

[Susky River Rat]

Can’t go wrong with a Ned 

 

[TnRiver46]

34 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Man that sounds fire. I have some tiny flukes someplace. Got it ??

How do you retrieve that?

Just keep the line tight and “feather” it back as it pendulums 

[LrgmouthShad]

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Just keep the line tight and “feather” it back as it pendulums 

I need more explaining… my dumb butt can’t figure out what you mean, lol

[Catt]

Bettle Spin ?

[LrgmouthShad]

54 minutes ago, Darnold335 said:

Can’t go wrong with a Ned 

 

Don’t own any Ned heads 

[TnRiver46]

15 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I need more explaining… my dumb butt can’t figure out what you mean, lol

He explains it better 

[WRB]

1 hour ago, LrgmouthShad said:

This is what I rigged up

Put that soft plastic on 1/4-3/8 oz underspin so you can cast it far enough yet still retrieve slowly enough.

Tom

 

[Dogface]

44 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Just keep the line tight and “feather” it back as it pendulums 

 

Or fish it as a Float & Fly. 

1 hour ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Man that sounds fire. I have some tiny flukes someplace. Got it ??

How do you retrieve that?

 

[LrgmouthShad]

3 minutes ago, WRB said:

Put that soft plastic on 1/4-3/8 oz underspin so you can cast it far enough yet still retrieve slowly enough.

Tom

 

Another thing I just rigged up is a road runner with similar fluke. 1/4oz. That will cover that, I think

13 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

He explains it better 

Think I get it. He’s just slowly reeling while bouncing rod tip? And selecting his depth by how long he initially lets it fall? 
 

 

Normally I ain’t wild about small baits but I’ve got reason to believe that the baitfish the bass are targeting on this smallish lake are quite small and probably struggling with cold temperatures. 
 

 

[ironbjorn]

I haven't fished since fall, but where I'm at in Indiana we still have completely open water (stunning really), so I'm going Wednesday on a very stable day 47* high/42* low, 6mph winds, overcast skies. It looks to be possibly my best shot to touch a bass before March or April. I'm keeping it very simple. Spinnerbaits, Jerkbaits, and Senkos. Starting with a Pearl 110 and a finesse War Eagle. I'll move to Senkos if these fail. I'm bank fishing as well. I might take a chair and just sit and cast when I get tired and keep at it all day. 6 acre pond.

[BrianMDTX]

Going fishing on Monday (holiday for me). Forecast is a high of 75°. Should be a good day!

[LrgmouthShad]

1 hour ago, ironbjorn said:

I haven't fished since fall, but where I'm at in Indiana we still have completely open water (stunning really), so I'm going Wednesday on a very stable day 47* high/42* low, 6mph winds, overcast skies. It looks to be possibly my best shot to touch a bass before March or April. I'm keeping it very simple. Spinnerbaits, Jerkbaits, and Senkos. Starting with a Pearl 110 and a finesse War Eagle. I'll move to Senkos if these fail. I'm bank fishing as well. I might take a chair and just sit and cast when I get tired and keep at it all day. 6 acre pond.

 

27 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

Going fishing on Monday (holiday for me). Forecast is a high of 75°. Should be a good day!

Sweet y’all. Best of luck!

 

I just realized that it’s 20 degrees overnight tonight…. It may be a difficult first day for me tomorrow  and hope that ice is nowhere to be seen. the forecast is excellent for many days going forward though for keeping away ice. 
 

Tomorrow’s choice of spinnerbait: 

 

a lot different than my usual stuff but I thought through what I wanted out of it for this trip

[LrgmouthShad]

+1 for the lipless

[killobet]

The 3 inch SLIM senko is my go to baits. Weightless  wacky  5 lb floro 

Slow jerk and keep it at the bottom if possible.

[GRiver]

A jig with skirt and a net bait paca craw…. Green pumpkin color for both. That was my winter “go to” bait when I fished for smallies in the winter. 

[LrgmouthShad]

Cloudy this afternoon and quite windy today. I’ll be out around noon - sunset. With the wind really kicking and clouds, hope I can get a spinnerbait bite going…. I always hope that… but going to remain open minded. I won’t be able to fish on the bottom as easily. Maybe the lipless will produce again for me. Just that one fish yesterday in 2hr but happy to not get skunked. 
 

No plan. Going to start where I did yesterday and just keep an eye out for things

 

@TnRiver46 I tried your fluke and jig head and liked what I could do with it, just didn’t get any bites. @WRB was right, casting distance is suffering with that bait. It helps to have something that can get out farther. 

[The Bassman]

I've always said that I don't like the cold but I keep going out in it. Lately a small Megabass Dark Sleeper has largely replaced my ned rigs. I get better casting distance (important to me because of fishing from the bank) and no question as to its effectiveness. A jerkbait can be a lot of fun, too if the pond I'm fishing has decent visibility. Small blade baits have been a staple for me too. Just giving them a break for now.

[LrgmouthShad]

8 minutes ago, The Bassman said:

Megabass Dark Sleeper

Used to have a couple. I gave them away.

 

You fishing today too?

[Susky River Rat]

On 1/13/2023 at 9:43 PM, LrgmouthShad said:

Normally I ain’t wild about small baits

I tend to lean more towards smaller stuff in most situations. You will always catch more fish on what you throw the most. You learn the ins and outs of that specific presentation.