Winter time bass fishing

[Catt]

During the winter months there are certain conditions one must pay attention to if one wants to be productive.

The first is stability as in stable weather; I don't care what the ambient temperature is as long as the weather has been stable for 3 or 4 days. In order to take full advantage of stable conditions one must have the ability to pick and choose the days you fish.

The second is the bass itself; a bass's metabolism is finally tuned to its circulatory system temperature which is the same as the surrounding water temperature. In cold water their metabolism slows down, their brain slows down, so the bass slows down. In cold water a bass's instincts are less finely tuned, it has less appetite and it mostly stays suspended at or near the bottom.

It is fairly easy to catch bass in cold water, if you can find them and if you use the right techniques. This means putting bait in front of a fish that looks right, sounds right, and smells right. The colder the water, the slower the bass's brain operates so the slower you must present the bait or it's gone before the bass's brain tells it to bite.

The third think vertical; Jigging spoons or the jig-n-pig (pork frog) are probably the two most popular methods. If you want to get into the finesse end of things, fishing a small grub can also be good. But my favorite, naturally, is the jig-n-pig (or craw).

The fourth think deep; on most bodies of water in winter we're looking at a vertical situation as far as cover types go. To explain: Bass usually move deeper during the winter months. On some lakes that may mean they pull into creek channel for the winter.

On other lakes, where everything is pretty well shoreline-related, they might move to steeper banks, 45-degree banks or bluffs, which are the areas where they're probably going to spend the winter.

One thing you can just about bet on is that wintertime bass are going to be close to deep water. I'm not saying you can't catch them shallow because if you get a few nice days during the winter some of the fish will move up. They may also get on shallow targets next to deep water.

Keep deep water and a slow retrieve in mind, and you'll be a little better off during winter months.

The fifth think bottom; when I'm fishing during the wintertime, I usually relate to the bottom. That's where I'm trying to find the bass I'm not looking for suspended winter fish.

The sixth I want to get that bait down to the fish. I want to maintain contact with the bottom. Try to crawl the bait along the bottom in short spurts, basically dragging it. You don't want to sweep it off the bottom like you would during the summer.

To repeat: winter jig fishing means a slow, tedious retrieve with pauses between movements of the bait. Often that's what it takes to get some of the sluggish wintertime bass to bite.

Keep in mind that the bass are well grouped this time of year. It can be a long time between bites, but when you get a fish to hit, there are probably a bunch of them down there. So stick with it.

[ptomacbass]

I picked up some denny brauer 3x magnum chunks for winter jig fishing because they don't have too much action.  some of the articles on bass resource say to use bigger lures for winter and some say to use smaller lures. I plan on nose hooking these on 1/2 ounce flippin jigs.  the trailers are about four inches long.

[FD.]

Time to dust off the flippin stick and get deep into the grass.

[tyrius.]

Time to dust off the flippin stick and get deep into the grass.

ugh, not too much longer before the water is too hard to get a lure through it.  

LAME!!!!

[Mike 12345]

Good tips, Catt-- thank you!