Do winter rules apply everywhere?

[Swamp Girl]

38 minutes ago, Catt said:

The bass are always biting somewhere, our job is to find somewhere.

 

The only "lull" I see is in my ability to locate actively feeding fish. 

 

If there was a book that only had ^these^ words, that book would be worth buying.

[Catt]

One of the "rules" of fishing during the winter is to fish the northwest shore because its exposed the the sun the longest. 

 

Pick one 😉

 

[senile1]

To the OP, there are no rules.  There are only tendencies that have resulted in "rules of thumb" that may or may not apply.  The winter tendencies you read about are created by water temperatures in the 30s and 40s.  If your waters don't cool below 50 or 55 degrees, the behavior of your bass will tend to be different from these rules of thumb.  Use temperature as your guide.  

[Catt]

My #1 "rule" is to keep an open mind 

 

Our water temperatures will drop down into the mid to lower 40s.

 

Looking at the water temperatures one would think smaller lures & slower presentations. 

 

The most productive lures down here is a 3/4 oz Jig-n-Craw, a 3/4 oz Rinky Dink, a 5/8 oz Rat-L-Trap 

[TnRiver46]

On 12/17/2024 at 6:26 AM, Catt said:

The issue I have with water temperatures is we're reading surface temperatures. Bass don't live on the surface.

 

 

Learn the structure, learn the cover, learn the baitfish. 

Cool thing about a dam, you can measure the water temp below it and above it. In the fall all the way until spring time, many of our highland reservoirs will be the same temp from top to bottom. In the summer, it can be 80 degrees on top and 40 degrees on the bottom 

 

Temp stratification is also fairly non existent on the main stem TN river lakes in winter due to constant flow 

[Fishingmickey]

Reposting in the correct thread this time:

 

    I will chunk my two cents in the pot. My winter bass fishing rule of thumb.  Back in the day when I fished a lot. I fished 45 days straight in the winter (Dec, Jan, and Feb. here) and I came up with a pattern that works for me in Texas. The cold front blows through. The first two days after the front don't even bother, It's cold and windy.  They ain't biting.  The third day they start biting again and it bite continues improving until the next front rolls in.  This was fishing the same water each time. I had a little gravel ramp where I'd launch my 12' Sears Ted Williams semi-vee with a trolling motor on the bow and a dead 9.9 Wizard motor on the back to keep it (from wind vane-ing) tracking.

     I would launch the boat and put the troller on two and tossed a spinner bait next to every piece of cover, through every lily pad opening and under and along the docks.  Anything that might look like it would hold a fish, I'd hit it while going down the bank.  Fish one side and then I'd cross over and come back down the opposite bank.

     My weapon of choice was a 6'6" Shimano Bullwhip with a Shimano Bantam Mag 4:1 reel with 14# Berkley XL 14#. Lure of choice was either a Chartruese or White Strike King double bladed spinner bait tied on.  Short accurate casts, I'm a lefty and throw righty. I can start that spinner bait's blades turning just as it hits the water.  I swear that some of those bass would see it coming and hit the instant the bait hit the water.

 

I still think my theory would hold true today. Cold front blows through, blue bird skies, high pressure moves in, cold temps, cold winds out of the north and by day three the wind starts to lay or starts coming out of the south again and they are eating again.

FM 

[geo g]

True Florida Strain Bass are effected by cold fronts much more than their northern cousins.  A cold front with water temps dropping into the mid 60’s will put them into lock jaw for several days until the temps start to rise.  Forget early morning fishing and concentrate on fishing areas with direct Sun.  Usually drop offs close to heavy vegetation.  They will be deep at the base of the drop off, or sitting under thick cover with direct Sun on the cover.  Kind of a blanket of warmth above them.  They will not be out chasing stuff, so slow down and then slow down more.  If it’s right in front of their face they might bite it.  Flipping time, patience is a must.  Also drag a worm along the base of the drop off with long pauses, and subtle shakes.  You will get some warmer water deep from seepage from the aquifer.  This water is always 72* from deep underground Summer or winter.  Find a deep water spring and you might find a gold mine of fish.