Cold Water Flippen

[bt fisherman]

I was just woundering what type of craw dad or creature bait you use in cold weather. I prefere using sweet beavers , but i was intereded in what you use.

[msolorio]

cant go wrong with strike king rodents. theyre a beaver style bait but have a bit more action to em and are softer so even the slightest rod twitch will have those "claws" movin. also zoom super hogs(my go to) jackall cover craws, wow. i really like the zman flappin crawz, rage tail craws, man ive used a bunch so far this winter and have caught fish on all of em.

[Vinny Chase]

In cold water I am throwing a very subtle, slow moving bait that will will entice the bass to bite. In most cases, I am throwing a sweet beaver, but the key is to have light line (10 lb) and a light weight (1/8 oz) so the bait glides in front of them.

Dont forget about tube baits

[Skeet22]

• Beavers or super hogs for me t riged with a 1/8 or 3/16oz weight. If its really tough same set up with a finesse worm or french fry.
  

[Hooligan]

I've switched to a Rage Craw as a standby in cold water. The more movement and flash a bait has in warm water, and I believe this firmly, only leads to the illusion of being alive in cold water as well. I've caught more jig fish in cold water as a result of this one thing than any other thing. I've become a complete convert and believer in "life" versus subtlety.

[Vinny Chase]

I would agree with you Hooligan if my all time producing flippin/pitchin bait didn't have "subtle" action to it

You have a good take though, there are times when it takes a jig/craw to get them to bite..there are so many variables that can come up on any given day that it is hard to provide a "right" or "wrong" answer.

[Fat-G]

I've switched to a Rage Craw as a standby in cold water. The more movement and flash a bait has in warm water, and I believe this firmly, only leads to the illusion of being alive in cold water as well. I've caught more jig fish in cold water as a result of this one thing than any other thing. I've become a complete convert and believer in "life" versus subtlety.

I couldn't possibly agree more. At the beginning of the cold season here (mid-November), I was convinced it was time to put away the Rage Lobsters and break out the Flappin' Hawgs. I didn't catch a cold water jig fish until I brought out the Lobster again.

Here's a link to a Big-O post that taught me the same thing. Made me actually think about it and realize the logic behind it rather than going with what is considered the "norm".

http://ragetalk.com/...hp?topic=3216.0

[jeremyt]

This is a great learning topic for me, I always assumed to use a bait with the least amount of action as possible in cold water to mimic natural forage. So now to try trailers with more action to gain more of a reaction strike.

[Hooligan]

I would agree with you Hooligan if my all time producing flippin/pitchin bait didn't have "subtle" action to it

You have a good take though, there are times when it takes a jig/craw to get them to bite..there are so many variables that can come up on any given day that it is hard to provide a "right" or "wrong" answer.

I was that way, too, Vinny until I broke away from my "norm." When I started fishing high action baits in cold water, I started catching noticeably more fish. Not just jig fish mind you, but T-rigging a Lobster or Monkey. I used to believe that creature baits were for warm water, let alone high action baits like the Space Monkey. I've even been catching fish (and our water temps are 34-32 here now) on Eeliminators.

[deep]

I couldn't possibly agree more. At the beginning of the cold season here (mid-November), I was convinced it was time to put away the Rage Lobsters and break out the Flappin' Hawgs. I didn't catch a cold water jig fish until I brought out the Lobster again.

Here's a link to a Big-O post that taught me the same thing. Made me actually think about it rather than going with what is considered the "norm".

http://ragetalk.com/...hp?topic=3216.0

Great reading. Thanks for the link.

[Fat-G]

deep - No problem man.

btfisherman - In all honesty I haven't really had much cold water luck in years past. I didn't really understand the concept of fishing slow, and even when I thought I was fishing slow enough it was still way too fast. I'm starting to catch on, and here's what I've learned so far:

- You don't have to fish smaller baits in the winter.

- Fish S-L-O-W. I'm usually taking up to five minutes per cast, and I still don't think it's slow enough.

- Every fish I've caught this winter has hit when the lure was not moving, except for one fish that had just hit the crackpipe and slammed a jig on top.

- Fish slow.

- If the water warms up some, fish an area that has shallow water close to deeper water with cover mixed in as well.

- FISH SLOW.

I only really need three lures in the winter:

Black/Blue Jig'n Lobster

Brown/Orange Jig'n Lobster ( We need a Bama Craw Lobster )

Lipless crank in two colors, a natural shad color and a red craw color.

EDIT: To answer your question, I prefer a big jig in cold water because I'm looking for one or two big bites a day.

[Vinny Chase]

I was that way, too, Vinny until I broke away from my "norm." When I started fishing high action baits in cold water, I started catching noticeably more fish. Not just jig fish mind you, but T-rigging a Lobster or Monkey. I used to believe that creature baits were for warm water, let alone high action baits like the Space Monkey. I've even been catching fish (and our water temps are 34-32 here now) on Eeliminators.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Paca's in cold water, but I was just pointing out that I have done very well on my sweet beavers and tubes and it all depends on the mood the fish are in.