Got my first bass tournament tomorrow and the weather looks like a challenge.  High of 40 with 1" of rain forecasted, cold front came through last night.

 

Any general suggestions on style of fishing to focus on?  I was thinking finesse and slow down but with the wind and rain that maybe difficult, has anyone had success fishing quickly in these conditions in the spring?  The lake was at 50deg and will be cooling down and muddy water flowing in from the creeks but it usually stays fairly clear on the dam end.

47 minutes ago, YogiB said:

Got my first bass tournament tomorrow and the weather looks like a challenge.  High of 40 with 1" of rain forecasted, cold front came through last night.

 

Any general suggestions on style of fishing to focus on?  I was thinking finesse and slow down but with the wind and rain that maybe difficult, has anyone had success fishing quickly in these conditions in the spring?  The lake was at 50deg and will be cooling down and muddy water flowing in from the creeks but it usually stays fairly clear on the dam end.

where ya at?

In southeast Missouri.

1 hour ago, YogiB said:

Got my first bass tournament tomorrow and the weather looks like a challenge.  High of 40 with 1" of rain forecasted, cold front came through last night.

 

Any general suggestions on style of fishing to focus on?  I was thinking finesse and slow down but with the wind and rain that maybe difficult, has anyone had success fishing quickly in these conditions in the spring?  The lake was at 50deg and will be cooling down and muddy water flowing in from the creeks but it usually stays fairly clear on the dam end.

what lake are you fishing? shallow/grassy? deep/rocky? 

It's lake of Egypt in So. IL.  It's fairly shallow and grassy, and it's also a power plant lake which throws another wrench in.

i would do some of both. if water clarity allows it throw a ned or put a TRD tubez. I would fish your main points & rip rap. Overcast should bring those fish out & if the rain isnt horribly cold the fish should move up. Does the water temp change around the power plant? I did a quick scan and navionics and would probably start downlake. If it's too stained down there go back up towards the dam and find clearer water. Hop around a silver buddy, or gold buddy if the water is stained

Yes the water temp is usually higher up by the plant (if they are generating power).  Do you usually use the TRD tube on a NED head?  Thanks for the input.

3 minutes ago, YogiB said:

Yes the water temp is usually higher up by the plant (if they are generating power).  Do you usually use the TRD tube on a NED head?  Thanks for the input.

i would focus on that warmer water area first. Yeah buddy, they work great

Most of my success in water under 50 degrees was with a chartreuse and orange Colorado bladed spinnerbait reeled in just slowly enough to either keep the blades turning or just enough to keep bouncing off the bottom in shallower water. Last year on a lake still half frozen over with 33 degree air temp, I did this right down the edge of the ice and caught a 4lber. 

15 minutes ago, Bass Ninja said:

Most of my success in water under 50 degrees was with a chartreuse and orange Colorado bladed spinnerbait reeled in just slowly enough to either keep the blades turning or just enough to keep bouncing off the bottom in shallower water. Last year on a lake still half frozen over with 33 degree air temp, I did this right down the edge of the ice and caught a 4lber. 

this big guy came off a slow rolled chatterbait sexy shad monday afternoon in 49.8 degree water, spinnerbait is a good choice. I wouldn't worry so much about your air temp, if it has recently been warm for the last week or so your water temp wont change that drastically overnight from one cold front. the fish that have already moved shallow should be still shallow or very close

Were you catching bass before the weather changed?

My advice when tournament fishing is stay within your skill sets and use lures and presentation your have confidence with.

The power plant area will attract a lot of competitors because during the pre spawn cold water transition period that is where more active bass will be located.

Tom

I was catching them prior to the front/rain on just about everything both shallow and off deeper banks.  Most were on a crankbait or A-rig. 

If the water temps havn't dropped the bite shouldn't change much in the same locations. Exception would be run off inflow of cold muddy water. It's usually a good idea to fish the transition where the off color cold water meets the stable water areas because the baitfish tend to move to those areas.

I would think crank baits and A-rigs run deep enough not to be affected by surface water changes unless high winds are mixing the water.

Tom

 

Power plant fish LOVE nasty weather typically. I'd be fishing moving baits and covering water. Squarebills, traps, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, don't fish slow moving baits until they tell you that you have to.