dizzy5868

Ok here in NE PA We fish year round. Once the lakes ice over we fish the susquehanna river. Everyone is saying to slow down in cold water temps. That is not always true, For smallies on the river we fish fast moving jerkbaits in January in 50' of water. The key is to find the active fish. Largmouth are tougher to pattern but smallies are fairly easy, especially in rivers. The first thing you need to do is find out what the forage is at the time you are out. Water temps below 43 deg usually mean that the craws and insects have all but disapeered. So you will need to imitate baitfish. A tube jig is probably the best all around bait for this time of year. It will mimic both craw and baitfish. I have had 40 fish days in Jan and Feb doing this. Most of the fish are eager to bite and are the bigger fish of the year. You have to remember one thing, In warmer water conditions, the smaller fish have the advantage. they are faster and more aggressive, hence they usually get to the bait first. It's almost a contest for the food.There are always more smaller fish than big ones. In colder water temps the oppisite is true. the smaller fish are not as active and the bigger fish need to feed more and will chase a bait. There is nothing like a 4 lb smallie coming out of 30' of water to hit a jerk bait. On lakes, find the schooled up baitfish and you will find the bass. They will follow the food all over the lake. Verticly jigging silver or gold kastmaster spoons for these fish is the ticket. It may take a little while to get them to bite, but once they do it turns on the school and starts a feeding frenzy. When I do this, I will 4-5 rods rigged up the same way ready to cast. I have had fish on all rods at the same time. Hook one and get him to the boat and drop another spoon. This will last as long as 30 minutes befor the school gets spooked. Many tournaments are won this way. This also works well is the summer. Good Luck Rob Rosencrans Suskie Bassmasters