Winter bass fishing can be a blast! A lot of people think that the summer time is the only time you can land a giant bass but it can be done in the winter just as easily. It just takes a different approach. Below are some things to consider the next time you get out fishing on a cold winter day.
Speed and Presentation
When fishing in the cold temperatures, you need a little more patience and a slower presentation. Fish are not typically as aggressive in the colder water temperatures. When fishing a jerkbait for example, a jerk-jerk-pause pattern works wells. Sometimes you may want to pause as much as 2-3 seconds. When fishing a lipless crank it helps to drag the lure through the water turning to your right or left and then pausing while you reel back to having the rod in front of you. Whatever your choice of bait, work it about half the speed or less that you would in the summer time.
Water Depth
During the summer months when the water is warm, the coldest water in the lake is down deep. The opposite is true in the winter as lakes will “turnover” due to water density. Water is most dense at 39 degrees so in the winter with water temps that cold, the warmest water is deeper. However, that doesn’t mean all the bass are deep. Many people think that fish are always in deep water in the winter but that is not always the case either. Fish can be found in shallow water in the winter in places like North Carolina where we live. As cover in the water like rocks and trees heat up, the fish tend to relate to that cover and can be caught in shallow water in the winter much the same way they are caught in the summer.
Cold Water Lures
Jerk baits and lip-less crank baits are baits of choice for us in the winter when fishing shallow, along with a drop shot in deeper water. The presentation is key as well as we mentioned above. For more on winter bass fishing, check out our Winter Bass Fishing at Jordan Lake! video on YouTube. It has been popular one! (All fish in the video were caught on a silver colored shad lip-less crank bait in shallow water.)
**Below are some links to lip-less crank baits that we like!
