TriStateBassin106

If my life depended on it.

Yeah I mean there's probably a bass that will bite it if it's dragged very slowly but before yesterdays experiment I was always under the assumption that rage craw would go beserk at the slightest movement including very slow drags or hops. After reading all of the comments I realized that the rage craw not really moving as much could be a benefit in colder water. It still stands up in that iconic crawfish defense position like many other motionless chunks or beavers. I will throw this as a trailer during the spring and will experiment on the actual water with it instead of a fishtank hahahahaha.

Thanks man! Yeah I'm probably overthinking it hahaha I already have a bunch of chunks I ordered for the spring. Might save the rage craws for when the water warms up!

For finesse jigs or standard size?

Does the action stay the same though? The flaps barely moved when I dragged it slowly

Do rage craws flap when dragged slowly? I never tried them in the cold weather but today I tested some jigs cranks and other lures today after work in a empty fish tank I noticed that when dragged very slowly the rage craw doesn't really move it claws as well but is great at hopping and other faster movements. Does it matter if the rage craw barely moves when fished slow? Or am I just overthinking?

I fish stained water (2 to 1ft or less) of visibility and I think the fish like tandem better because it's a mix of both worlds.

This is pretty much the question I'm trying to ask. There's definitely two conflicting answers that don't have a very standard approach.

What would be some good beaver style baits I could throw on the jigs? Only one I really use in my arsenal is the sweet beaver by RI, I was thinking about trying some new ones or maybe even getting into chunks.

What do you think would be better in my situation? Using a chunk/beaver in the early spring or going with a rage craw? All the different answers are interesting.

Yeah I always thought the whole subtle thing was a result of cold water. I never thought bass would bite rage craws or other flapping baits in this cold of water, I guess even when cold it still attracts them just gotta fish it slower.

Woudn't the bass still be able to detect a beaver in muddy water? or would it overall have no effect on them?

The second retrieve you mentioned, that's basically just slow reeling with the rod tip down right? So the lipless bangs off stuff? That's awesome man, I've never caught a winter bass. Earliest bass I get is in April but this year I'm hoping to change that with fishing in march hahaha.

What's everyone's jig trailers of choice for the early spring in stained water? i'm conflicted on using something with dead action or with flapping claws. Which one would be better in this event? Would the bass bite more with something like a rage craw or a beaver trailer because the water is still so cold? Edit: My water clarity is 1ft or less most of the time.

This has happened to me before but with a spinning combo. I dropped the rod and just started pulling the line with my hands. After multiple cuts from the line later I managed to pull the fish in, 2.6lbs on a senko weightless.

This^ especially in post frontal conditions. I caught a bass last summer on a chatterbait that was deadsticked because I was browsing my phone and slowly moved the rod every now and then hahahaha

Chatterbait wins this round 10 times out of 10 for me. I understand people like colorado blade spinnerbaits and all but around here the "hmmmmmmmmmmmmm" vibration of a jackhammer going through the muddy water does wonders on the fish. I've never seen a bass so aggressively hit a bait like the chatterbait.

In regards to OP I would recommend reading up on how the pre spawn effects the bass and what basic lures to use, my recommendations are a jig and a lipless crankbait. Jig color depends on water quality but I would get a black n blue or green pumpkin. Also I would recommend fishing the senko. Below is another thread about senko fishing. Click on spring and you will learn a lot, Glenn and company put out a lot of great readings to assist anglers new to bass fishing. https://www.bassresource.com/seasonal-fishing-articles?field_category_target_id=42&items_per_page=20

Yeah I plan on going sunday, what colors would you recommend for lipless around here? Besides maybe red I was thinking about something with flash like a gold.

I hope so man, really want to benefit off the lipless bite when it's time. Just need the water to unfreeze already hahaha. What's the water temp up there? Upper 40s?

Wow they'll bite a lipless in that cold water?

Anyone have luck throwing these around in smaller lakes/ponds during the late winter/spring? This is my first year throwing lipless cranks in spring time and I want to know the basics. What water temp is best to throw these around in spring? What lipless retrieves work best for early spring bass? What cover should I throw these around? If there isn't any visible cover (rocks weeds etc) what part of the lake should I target?

My ponds are both about a foot 1/2 of visibility on a good day, it's better with polarized glasses but eventually it gets more dirty in the summertime because of its runoff from drains. (Both waterbodies have drains) here's a pic I took last year from the spawn on the rocky side and you can get the basic idea of the stained conditions if you look closely in the second pic you can see two bass spawning.

Not really, you know what I do fear? These. Especially when they stick your fingers deep.

What colors would you recommend for stained water? 80% of my pond fish are usually at the 1lb or slighty higher mark, if I had to generalize at least 3 of the community ponds I fish have bass mostly around this size