Bassin in Cold water - help me.

[BigEbass]

So, I am a newB Bass junky - live in Birmingham, AL - last winter was my first winter fishing season and we hauled in the bass (largemouth and spots) all winter pretty consistently (mostly on cranks and worms). 

This winter is DIFFERENT - water temps have been 10 degrees colder in comparison to last winter - now 45 degrees - brrrrrr.  I only get to go fishing perhaps 2-3 times per month, so getting completely skunked is no big fun for me - I feel apeased if I can get a few bites or a few fish at least!

I have a general question about approach to tough cold water bite:

I was out yesterday on a small local lake that I rarely ever fish - water was slightly stained, water temp 45 degrees - it is a public lake with little cover on it - most intersting bassy looking habitat I thought to target yesterday was 2 or 3 points on the lake and they drop off to 20 feet very quickly.  I also fished the dam which drops down first quickly to 20 feet or so then steadily down to max 40 feet. 

This was the first time I ever went out on my own somewhere without my 68 year old neighbor mentor....I started with jig-pig 1/2 oz - standard with zoom pork trailer - worked it real slow on those points (I am very new to jig fishing).  After 45 minutes of that, I changed to a lipless crank and see If I could trigger a strike.  Tried to throw Rapala Jerkpait for a while, no strikes.  Spinner bait slow rollin it, tried a crankbait for about 1/2 hour and gave that up.  Tried a shaky head jig (with zoom purple finess worm) - nothing. Tried a swim bain workin it deep on the point (very new to swim baits too) - nothin.

My question is this....in these tough conditions are you better to switch your tactics, colors, etc...intermittantly frequently to find what works?  Or should you stick with something for much longer and wait for the bite?  Also, in ponds and small lakes without alot of cover or rocks, where in the winter are the bass primarily holding up - where do I target mainly?  I try to find the steepest drop offs and banks or a point....couldnt find a creekbed yesterday....any advice for this relative newB appreciated!

[Bridge buster]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger as I have encountered the same situation. The few people I have run into on the lake have the same tale. I, also, am new to this type of fishing but have had enjoyment trying the find something that works and being on the water. Based on most all information what we have experienced is the norm for this time of year and water conditions. Hope your luck changes for the better real soon.

[jb7725]

try lucky craft pointer 100sp it suspends..jerk it then pause sometimes for 5-10 seconds ...i find this works well in cold water

[bassinbob54]

ditto on what jb said..jerkbaits are the way to go if theres no jig bite in 45 degree water

[RandySBreth]

Suspending jerkbaits are tough to learn how to fish, but when you put it together, you can catch fish in cold water. Start reading the articles here and do a google search for how to fish these lures.

[stalking coyote]

If your fishing from a boat and the water is stained... and not muddy... another option and a technique that works well up north here is to fish spoons, little george's, and gay blades on the points, ledges, and steep drops... fish the little george's and gay blades like spoons vertically or short hopping motions across the points and on the ledges or drops... regardless middle to low 40's will be slow fishing... your fishing for less bites... 4-6 bites all day is not uncommon...

[Fish M4ST3R]

try lucky craft pointer 100sp it suspends..jerk it then pause sometimes for 5-10 seconds ...i find this works well in cold water

I have used Lucky craft pointers 100sp's before they are fair in cold water conditions but sometimes the fishes mood and apppitite will not give in to almost any bait they see cross their paths. Lucky Crafts seem to work better in large ponds or lakes and not sluggish rivers and creeks where the jig's performance can be disrupted.

[BigEbass]

Just yesterday was actually the first time I used suspending jerkbait - the rapala Xrap jerkbait variety - used a basic shad color - I had read that they are good for cold water - I probably made about 50-60 casts in total in a few different spots with it without luck.  I used a basic downward jerk jerk pause and varied cadence and speed - but no luck. 

I really like the suspending crankbait idea - the luckycraft you all mentioned - that is a good idea - I have a few xrap cranks that I could have tried suspending on those points - forgot to try that. 

My expectation was to kill em yesterday, but 2 bites would have felt like a victory for me - I knew going out the day after a big front (it snowed in Alabama 2 inches!!) and very cold water it would be tough, but I thought perhaps I would squeak out a few bites  :-X

Maybe next time with some more tactics - this was my first time EVER using a jerkbait, so perhaps I need to perfect its presentation....

Oh, I like the spoon and little george idea - I have a few spoons and a little george - just boght them this winter and have not broke em out yet - how does the bite feel when working these?

I spent a majority of the time workin the jig real slow, with no luck.

[Blade-Runner]

Live bait.

[Fishes in trees]

Another option, nobody has mentioned yet could be Slider worms.  Charlie Brewer Slider worms are kind of jig fishing, but different.  That's my next choice if finesse jigs or pointers aren't working.  Another thing to consider.

[sal669]

Besides what the other guys said, here is my input:

YOU MUST FIND THE FISH FIRST, THAN TRY TO CATCH THEM. You gonna spend time locating their wintering area. Good news: they gonna be in the same area every winter !!!

It's not uncommon for the bass to compleatly "shut down" for hours ,in cold water situations.

I know where their wintering area is in my home lake, so I was fishing the right area last fall, but wasn't bit for hours. Then the bites started and lasted for about half an hour to an hour. It could be 3-6 bites or a dozen; then everything shuts down and zero bites for the rest of the day.

In 40-50* water I fish only in the afternoon (water has time to warm up a degree or two). Most of the active periods happened between 2 and 5 pm. It is possible that there were other active periods during the day, like in the morning, but I wasn't there.

Most of my cold water fish are cought on jigs; a few on soft plastics, spinnerbaits, rattlers, crankbaits and jerkbaits. I fish these depending on the weather trend; if it's warming, I'll go with something faster. A droping temperature means "slow down" in my book.

Very rarely do I use a C-rig, even though I know it's a fish catcher in cold water. On this setup i will use a 8-10" worm, Crawfish, fluke or tube in fall. In spring, I'll go with a Lizard most of the times."French fries" deadsticked for minutes work in early spring.

Dropshoting might be a good option, too.

Live bait is a good option to make them reveal their location, then you could try artifficials.

Tight lines

[BigEbass]

Good tips for certain - this lake that I was fishing - it is realtively featureless - I am pretty sure that when it is this cold and sunny that they will be holding on either the 2-3 steep points or near the d**n - I trolled around for a while in the morning inspecting the bottom for stumps, trees, rocks - anything deep that might hold them - and nothing - featureless - so I stuck with the points and kept changing up my baits....but if what is said is true - that is that they only bite for a short period during this cold water temp then shut down, I think I may do better to stick with 1-3 baits and keep workin em slow until the bite turns on? 

I usually do not use live bait for bass - I like the idea to target them for sure - although a couple places me and my neighbor fish are private lakes and they have rules of no live bait - the lake on saturday is public though.

So the moral of the story is....stick with something like a jig after you find the right spot in order to get those few bites and hopefull boat a big one  ;D

Otherwise, can Alabama get warmer soon for heavens sake!!!

[Purpleworm82]

Sal is right, being in the right place at the right time is far more important than what type of bait you're throwing. Especially during the winter, when more than 90% of the fish population lives in less than 10% of the habitat.

[Fish M4ST3R]

when more than 90% of the fish population lives in less than 10% of the habitat.

great way to put it

[IwillChooseFreeWill]

First a fish finder would help things out tremendously, especially this time of year.

Second, when it is cold like this, slow to no movement is always best.

Third, you did good by sticking to the points, but it may have helped to move to where there is a spring or feeder creek shallows and trying some of the same presentations there.

Another thing I have learned especially in the deep south here, and with the stained water:

Go with a dark green Senko or Strike King 4-6" worm either wacky rigged (through the middle) or texas rigged, also 12-15" drop shot would help nicely this time of year too. Let it fall to the bottom or close to the bottom and just twitch the tip of the rod (moving it maybe 1/2" to 1" each twitch) so it just moves the worm slightly... when it is cold like this, bass want the easiest prey possible, and one that is not moving much is an easy target. Let it sit there for at least 10-15 minutes before trying another spot, it may take cold water bass that long or longer to decide to eat it, or in stained water that long just to find it.

I had one winter trip where the bass weren't biting, so I just tossed the drop shot rig with 5" Strike King green watermelon flake worm and left it there, and then also had the panfish gear so was playing with the panfish that were somewhat biting. Took an hour and a half but within 10 minutes, in the same spot I caught 4 bass off the same rig.

[BigEbass]

Thanks - good advice NWFL!  I will give it a shot - hopefully though it starts to warm up soon (doesnt look like it will)!

I think my greatest error on saturday was perhaps changing my tactics too much - next time when it gets that tough, i think I will stick to a spot that I know holds em, and keep pounding it - will try the drop shot - I have used it before and just didnt try it on saturday, probably would have been a nice bait to use as well - but I think it was just a tough day for the most part!  Looking forward to 50+ degree water really soon!!

Thanks everyone - any more advice, dont be shy!

[Hellbenderman]

Just before dark, find a tree, stump field, rock pile, whatever, in 15-20 feet and fish a lipless as slowly as you can, really slowly, so slowly you can't feel it wobble much. This has worked for me any number of times down state in Chambers County Lake in Feb and March...if you just have to do it!

[BigEbass]

ahh yes, good idea - I keep a good number of lipless cranks and fish then at various depths with good results....unfortunately I left at about 4pm on saturday...I got there at about 10:30 and finally gave up (had to be somewhere)....do you think at this time of year that at sundown, you will more reliably hit the active time for bass to turn on? I know from my experiencs in warmer weather that is certainly pretty true on the whole.

Thanks for the advice, I will give it a shot!