This is the first season I'll be fishing winter. I've read everything I can on the topic and understand bait choice, presentations, and locations, but I still can't find a piece of information....

 

 

What kind of depths should I be looking in? Will they be held up in around 8-12 feet? Can I expect that as the day warms up they will come up to around 6 feet of water and be more willing to "chase" bait? I understand I should be fishing areas with shallow flats with deeper water nearby...that they will be suspended... but what should I be keying in on depth wise? Target the slopes, the flat deep water with structure, or flat shallow water with structure?

 

The lakes in fishing are mostly 30 feet at the deepest (except a couple areas that drop to 40/50ft). Most areas I've had my eye on are 25 feet deep and run up to 6 feet. Water temp. is around 50 degrees.

 

Any help is appreciated!

i just read a BR article where tommy biffle said that if the water is in low 40s look 10-20 feet

Sounds good to me. I keep an extra pair of clothes wrapped up in a beach towel and duct tape to be safe. Let us know how you do. We've got 30 degrees and snow, but come Saturday I'll be out.

With water temps around 50 I'd be looking for the first drop off near their normal summertime haunts. Bass will pull off to these spots so they can quickly move vertically if the weather changes suddenly. I find they seem to prefer hard bottoms this time of year, unless you can find an area with a soft bottom that still has clumps of live weeds. What depth will vary greatly but the 5-15 foot range is probably a good starting range, but you may find them in water just covering their backs or in 20' or deeper in that water temp. 

As for baits, it's really open in that water temp also. My favorites are a suspending jerkbait, spinnerbait, chatterbait, rattle trap, squarebill, or a jig. I'll usually start shallow and work deeper until I find the fish. A lot of fish will move to really vertical areas at times when the water cools also. One of my favorite areas to look for is stair step drops that have "steps" in the 5, 10, and 15 foot ranges. One of our local lakes has a textbook example of this kind of area an even though it's a very small area, it will produce dozens of bass at times in late fall/early winter when our lakes have those water temps. 

I can ususally fish all winter here in east tennessee and even with water in low 40's at times have caught em shallow early and later in day. Drop shotting out deeper in 25 feet or so is usually more consistant though. Always keep eye on the graph while throwing towards bank.

Thanks fellas... this is exactly the information I wanted!

Do not underestimate the fish catching ability of a lipless crank in cold water!

Do not underestimate the fish catching ability of a lipless crank in cold water!

What retrieve/ presentation do you use for lipless in the cold? Targeting suspended fish or on structure?

What retrieve/ presentation do you use for lipless in the cold? Targeting suspended fish or on structure?

What many anglers claim does not work with a lipless crank...kneel-n-reel!