Bass habitat in winter

[directlink]

Other than moving into deeper water, do Bass change their habitat much in the winter?  In other words, instead of hanging around in tules in the summer, will they gather around sticks or something in the winter?

[flippinmaster]

They move into deeper water and hide around deep structure also bigger fish are suppose to be more active in winter time.

[Fishie]

I usually catch some big ones in the winter but not a whole lot.

I usually do my best on deep points or 45 angle banks that are getting hit by wind. Not usually getting pounded but there is a nice wind hitting them. It doesn't hurt to have nice brush on the deeper points. Deep grass can also be good. I caught a 8 or so on a deeper grass point getting hit by wind.

[8srohleder]

bigger fish are more active in the winter? what states are we talking about. I live in kansas and i never get a bite.

[Nick_Barr]

Bass hold usually on the Second Drop off, Closest to the basin of the lake in winter.

[Guest avid]

Bass hold usually on the Second Drop off, Closest to the basin of the lake in winter.

You may be on to something here Nick.  My lake is basically a few feet of shoreline then a drop of about 3 feet, then a straight drop down to about 8 feet.   when the water is at normal level the bass will move to that first shelf to feed or lay in ambush.  But in winter when the lake is low it's the second drop off that holds em.  The bigger fish are more aggresive under these conditions and so my average weight has gone up nearly a pound.  

[basswest1]

Yes, in most situations, in winter, bass do move deeper.  They will be in main lake structure..........where points meet channels, bluff banks, and other deep water.  One of the best winter structure and cover for bass is vertical cover and structure.  Bluff walls, trees, and other vertical structure gives bass an opportunity to go from shallow to deep without useing much energy.  Energy conservation is very critical in winter..........they dont want to move around alot.

There are some situations where bass are shallow even in the coldest monthsd.  Like when the water is muddy........now if you have a choice in this situation steer clear of cold, muddy water.......it is probably the worst situation you can encounter..........but if you had to fish this situation.....most of the fish will move directly into cover on the shore.

another situation where bass remain shallow is when you have a day or two of extraordinarily warm sunny days in winter.......at which time bass often come shallow to warm themselves.......and they become increasingly active.

[spotaholic]

I agree with most of what is being said but let's also use a little common sense. I fish shallow all year long at Clarks Hill which is a very deep lake. The majority of the fish after about 9:00 AM in the winter are caught on shallow points with rocks ( Warm  up the fastest)  and shallow weed flats that are less than 6 feet deep. In 4 days of fishing in the last week boated over 40 fish with several over five and 1 eight. Fish were caught on #5 Shad Rap,Rat L Trap,  and TD Minnow. All of those baits run less than 4 feet. I know this pattern may not work everywhere but not all the fish move deep. The majority of the deep fish I catch come first thing in the AM. These are just my observation and I am sure others have the exact oppisite happen.

[catchen bass]

i fish a small semi private lake here in sc and now that the water has turned cold 49 deg. top water i can't catch anything at all the water is never clear here always muddy but can usually catch sum decent bass 1-5lbs.. but not latley an i have been trying everything ............... :'(

[Matt Fly]

All is correct, you will find shallow fish year around and have deep bites also.

Some lakes don't follow the norms, never have, never will.   Jan in TX means fish could be on beds in Feb. if this weather stay warm as it has all season.  Couple of blasts of Artic air and thats been it so far.

It won't be long before we have the pre-spawn threads going.   This time of the year as Nick and Avid said, points and humps, creek bends will start to stack prespawn fish that have a ledge, 45 degrees is an ideal point with the breaks associated on them.  My fish are holding in 20ft,  they are traveling about 45 yards in late afternoon, up to 12ft and feeding, this has been about 3:30.  Small french fries, ring fries has been the ticket when active,  a vertical presentation of a small spoon, tail kicker or drop shot picks up the inactive fish at 20ft.   Large major feeder creeks that have deep water into the creek is holding lots of pre-spawners on the secondary points.

The key for now on will be using electronics to graph the creek bends, ditches, guts, river chanels, points, road beds that are still deep enough to with stand the late season cold fronts.   What is the best spawning grounds on your lake.   Just as if you where planning on driving to TX to fish, you would pull your map out and plan your route and the roads to travel.   Same with bass,  search out the interstates, roads that will take a bass into the spawn areas.   Find where they intersect, maybe the creekbend, you will have the same spawning bass and the same post-spawners coming back when there done.

Late Jan, we will start seeing male bass cruising the shallows to make beds.  You can bet, the first deep water out from there that has deep structure (points, humps and guts) will be some females waiting for mother nature to ring the bell.    If weather in Tx holds up, the first full moon is Feb 13, this usually sends the first wave of bass in.   The second moon phase is 28th of Feb.  

[Matt Fly]

You can see my take on waters that have a short winter periond.   How does  Table Rock compare with the TX spawn?  My winter will be short this year as it is going so far.   How long do you guys wait to look for pre-spawn staged fish.   Does your fish spawn from late march until late may?  Common sense says the further north I go, the later the spawn, June in Mn?

Would like to know the spawn cycles of lakes across the country which are typical times on the normal years with out the late cold fronts.

[RoLo]

Actually, it was easier locating winter sites when I lived in New Jersey.

In the north, bass instinctively gravitate to spots that minimize the effort needed

for depth change. Accordingly, the buzzwords for the chart search were Steep, Deep,

Drop-Off & Bluff. Almost invariably the bass were found on the vertical-most drop

that was accompanied by woody cover (stickups, blowdowns, brush, stumps, didn't matter).

In Florida where I now live, the winters aren't as cold, the lakes are shallow

and many lakes lack defined bottom contour. The bass still move deeper, but instead

of 5 to 20 feet, it's more like 2 to 6 feet. Nevertheless, I truly enjoy the challenge.

You probably think I'm crazy, but to me, "finding" fish is just as much fun as "catching" fish.

That's probably why I've never hired a guide in my life, which would only encroach on MY fun ;D