What is your "go to" when the cold front has shut them down.

[32251]

Got beat up pretty bad a few days ago. Cold front moved in...I tried everything I had...nothing worked.

What do you guys do in that situation....besides go home.

[FishingBuds]

Got beat up pretty bad a few days ago. Cold front moved in...I tried everything I had...nothing worked.

What do you guys do in that situation....besides go home.

Agree, this is the third year in a row that I continued thru the cold fronts like these and I to have been shut down, I tried at different times tho, It was around 2:30PM and still nothen. The water temp was 48 degrees, I know where they are but they just sit there ;D

[Chris]

scale down, slow down, fish tight

[bigtimfish]

X raps and or rogues

[steezy]

rat-L-traps and black plastics

[FD.]

budwiser and dynamite :

[Crestliner2008]

If you are pretty confident in their location, then downsizing and slow presentations should get a few to bite. I'd go with the drop shot, number one; and/or slow crawling a jig or tube.

Sometimes the hard jerks will produce (with frequent, long pauses), but the fish have to be in a slightly higher level of activity for them to work much of the time. Plastics work all the time.

[Boogey Man]

Shaky head or split shot rig.

[Catt]

Creek channels & suspended fish

[fishfordollars]

Look for suspended fish out in the mouths of the creeks and drains. Fish them with a crankbait. they like to suspend out in the 12-15' water out over the 25-30' water..

Fish tight to cover(Not close, tight). Scrape the bark with a jig, baby brushhog, shaky head, etc. Anything that will stay in the strike zone longer. Slow down, soak the lure.

If it's hydrilla, concentrate on the points, cuts, small openings, or any thing that stands out as different. If that fails, move up to the edge of the viewable grass with a 1 oz or larger jig and crash it through the top layer out off the sides of the drains and creeks. Start in the 4-6' depths and work your way out.

Try a main lake point pattern. Pick the side with wave action and fish them all with rouges, cranks, and plastics until you find the fish. Why wave action? Fewer people fish in the wind(Less pressured areas), and it stirs up everything making it the more active side of the lake. You may fish five points before catching a fish. If you do, that just tells you it will take 25 points to put a limit in the boat. Harder for the fish to see you to.

Going home ain't no option! You will learn more on these days than any of the easy days.

Good luck.

[Wayne P.]

I have the most success with slow presentations in all conditions, so cold fronts do not affect my catch ratio. Actually it impvoves it because the fish are more predictable and more concentrated.

During pre-frontal conditions, they roam a lot and search baits work better to cover more water, just the opposite is true for post frontal conditions.

I agree with Catt on the location and position.

[ctbassnut]

Like everyone said. Slow it down, but for lures I go with black hair jigs and slider grubs on a darter head  on those type of days.

[zach t]

My go to is always a wacky rigged Senko/Dinger. Usually Watermelon. Pull up, shake a couple of times, let it settle.

[Gangley]

budwiser and dynamite :

thats the best reply i have heard yet.  I about spilled my coffee when i got down to that reply after quickly scanning the above replies.

[Raul]

I s*t you not: Lipless cranks and soft plastic jerkbaits.

[The Hag]

A small jig or a shakey head on 8 or 10 pound test line has always worked for me after a cold front.

[Rebel Angler]

I s*t you not: Lipless cranks and soft plastic jerkbaits.

hahah I thought that was hilarious for some reason.

but my last time out I did pretty well usin a drop shot rig and a wacky rigged black senko. It was about 45 degrees outside, I don't know what the water temp was.

[cmatthews6485]

today it was cold and windy the baits that produced the best were a 7" berkley finnese worm and a 7" berkley shakey head worm both rigged weightless and slowly dragged on the bottom caught 5 fish 2 were 3 pounders and missed 2 nice fish when my dragged messed up

[TimJ]

for largemouth, a 6" worm...deadsticked deep into reeds or under mats.

for smallies, on rocks, a carolina with a soft plastic craw (2 1/2-3")...in weedy areas, a very slow tube, maybe with a pc of alka selzer in it...using scent.

keep in mind, I'm up here in Ontario.

TJ

[Bankbeater]

Jigs. I have been starting with 3/8 ounce and if I don't get anything after a couple of hours I scale it back to 1/8 ounce.

[Dalton Tam]

Creek channels & suspended fish

I agree. You should definately drop back off of a point and fish deeper. Use something like a black and red jig but fish it slow. maybe try a culprit worm let it fall to the bottom and fish it slowly back to the top.

[roadwarrior]

Sworming Hornet with a LFT Live Magic Shad.

http://www.sworminghornetlures.com/

http://www.lftlures.com/categories/soft-plastics-lft-live-magic-shad-3-1-2

8-)

[Uncle Leo]

scale down, slow down, fish tight

I would also agree with this. The question is general so no matter what the situation calls for in lure type, this is much more important.

[tnbassfisher]

Working a finesse worm of any type very slowly.

[Jighead70]

Zoom Finessee Worm or Giggy Stick,rigged on an Owner Ultra Head.