How do you guys fish it ? First I try my regular methods then if that don't work i'll start downsizing. I generally fish the same spots as I did before the front. Generally i'll do ok  by fishing the same spots by downsizing but not always.

 

Like to hear how you guys/gals fish a cold front and post cold front.

I don't change anything, just catch more in a single location than when they are roaming more pre-cold front.

I don't fish "spots", I fish patterns.

Spots= Structure... I ALWAYS fish spots and figure out what pattern they're on

I fish any kind of cover I can find. Me and my dad went to the lake yesterday and water temp had dropped 10-15 degrees from Thursday night, which was caused by the front on Friday. We just down sized our baits and slowed our presentation down. We tried fishing grass first thing and then lay downs which did not produce anything. Then we caught our first fish off a dock which weighed 6.13 so we just stuck with docks for the rest of the day. Normally after cold fronts I like to fish something i can fish slow like Texas rig, jigs, shaky heads, or dead sticking worms which caught all our fish. Fishing was tough but these were the best two out of five.

Nice bgraham... usually I down size my offerings if I don't get bit on my standard pre-front offerings. Today the blowdowns and rockpiles didn't produce (they always do) caught them on sand shoals today. Water temps feel 11 degrees since thurs.

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I don't fish "spots", I fish patterns.

So you choose a pattern and randomly cast ? Yup that will catch ya fish ! LOL!!!

So you choose a pattern and randomly cast ? Yup that will catch ya fish ! LOL!!!

 So you go to a "spot" and randomly cast?

 

I establish a pattern with my electronics before I make a cast.

I look for fish and fish for them when I find them. Then I check similar areas to see if fish are there. If they are, I try to catch them, if none are there, I go somewhere else with like features. THAT is pattern fishing.

I don't waste my time randomly casting where there are no fish.

Yup that works quite well. I've had a somewhat slow year with only 1,666 bass so far. I had caught about 2,300 bass by this time last year.

How is the " spot" fishing working for you?

We're in a post cold front after some heavy rains hit us. Now the nights are cooler and the daytime highs are in the lower 70's if that. I'm still fishing my old haunts so I'm certain the fish are there. The last trip yesterday morning my white 1/4oz spinner bait wasn't catching anything above the sight line in the shaded areas. As soon as I lowered the speed and my spinner bait was below the sight line the action picked up. The speed was the difference between success and going home after drowning my lures and practicing my presentations. I did switch to a #4 panther Martin spin fly in silver/yellow fly for one more bass. After the front day by day my number of fish caught is picking up. My average catch per outing is between 7 to 9 bass. With my fishing time being limited to 1 to 2 hours that's not bad. I don't rush when I'm fishing too. I read the water conditions first. I had a gutt feeling the white spinner bait and any inline spinner/spin fly was going to be the hot lure yesterday. As soon as the usual topwater and crankbaits didn't work it was a day I call "they wanted something spinning". They need that thump feeling. Ive seen these type of spinning days many times now. I'm throwing the same Mann's classic 1/4oz white spinnerbaits the big pickerel ripped off my line onetime. I think it has one Colorado gold blade with a gold Indiana blade also. I put on the blue glimmer skirt with a mister twister 4" split double tail grub as a trailer with a trailer hook. Next I'm stepping up to the 1/2 & 3/4oz Mann's classic white spinner bait setup the same way. I don't use bigger spinnerbaits from shore but it's time to break the norm and throw different size lures. Plus I read alot of guys bragging on how good the 3/4oz Mann's classic spinner bait really is.

i'm sorry you feel that way but wayne is completely correct....just pulling up to a spot and fishing a rockpile or tree or w/e is much less productive than pinpointing where fish are holding or what they are holding on and fishing those areas.

The spots that I fish  aren't  random spots theyre structure that holds fish. Of course not all structure holds fish. Waynes original responds to the OP was IMO useless in answering his/her question. He should explain further what he means by "patterns". For all I know or anyone eles for that matter, the OP could be a total newbie.

The spots that I fish  aren't  random spots theyre structure that holds fish. Of course not all structure holds fish. Waynes original responds to the OP was IMO useless in answering his/her question. He should explain further what he means by "patterns". For all I know or anyone eles for that matter, the OP could be a total newbie.

 

And as you move from piece of structure to piece of structure, you will find the subtleties as to why fish are holding on some and not others.   There lies the pattern.

And as you move from piece of structure to piece of structure, you will find the subtleties as to why fish are holding on some and not others.   There lies the pattern.

I agree subtleties or bait

To me it also depends how recently the front passed. If it's still cloudy, windy, rainy then I prefer to cover water quickly as the fish will often be biting aggressively. If it's a day or two later with high, clear skies I'll concentrate on high percentage areas, usually with some form of cover, and fish them slowly with a jig or texas rigged plastic. 

I don't fish after a cold front has moved through unless I have a tournament.

 

I wait a few days to let everything settle down.

Around here after a front rolls by the bass tend to want to stay close to wood, and the strike zone is almost nothing.  I look for wood that is in a creek bed or around a drop off first and then go from there.

To me it also depends how recently the front passed. If it's still cloudy, windy, rainy then I prefer to cover water quickly as the fish will often be biting aggressively. If it's a day or two later with high, clear skies I'll concentrate on high percentage areas, usually with some form of cover, and fish them slowly with a jig or texas rigged plastic. 

That's pretty much how I do it too. I will down size to small stuff only if/when I find my normal offerings are not getting bit. I often find cold fronts actually IMPROVE fishing depending on the season. In the spring, it will put the lake on lock down, but in the late summer/early fall it often gets things going, especially for brown fish.

Wayne,i'd like to apologize. That was a smart a$$ comment I made and it was rude of me. I'd delete the post but it's been quoted. So i'll apologize in the forum where I posted it rather than thru a PM.