I've heard some of you all say it.  winter is big bass time.  why?

 

I am going to fish much more this winter.  I know where, I know how.   I am going to stare the skunk eyeball to eyeball and throw big jigs and bigger swimbaits.   just target the biggies.  I will wear a dry suit and just paddle out in the to cold. 

 

my PB came in November.  just unclear why and if it isn't just a myth that bigger bass are caught in winter.  

 

I do not have FFS.   those guys target winter bass suspended out deep right?

Fall feed in preparation for winter would be my guess.

Lakes are frozen here in the winter. Ain’t no one targeting bass through the ice either. 😂

@Darth-Baiter, February is the month to begin your quest and the Delta and Clear Lake should be at the top of your list unless you’re planning on going to Florida or Texas.

The only answer I can come up with is that big bass are big bass because they're smart/tough and simply feed more aggressively than smaller bass.

 

I catch my biggest bass from December to February, usually on a jerkbait.  My last 5+ # bass came in February '25.  My next biggest since was about 3 1/2 #.

Biggest reason winter excels - less fishing pressure, and the big gals are starting to feed up until the spawn. My biggest caught in Florida was in January and South Carolina early March. Both Lee-spawn fatties. They shrink after that lol.

You typically catch fish *at their heaviest* out of cold water not necessarily *the biggest bass* IMHO.

 

Not saying you can't catch the biggest bass in winter but I'm assuming she'd be much easier to catch not in winter.

All of the above ^^

 

I also believe that optimal feeding conditions exist far less frequently during the cold months than any other time of year. So when the big fish are "in the mood" to eat, I think they tend to be more aggressive, and less weary and picky.

 

As a side note, generally, I'm not reading reports during the winter. I'm reading the weather and looking for patterns of steady weather. That third day in a row of that same weather pattern is what I am looking for. 

I don’t know or care why but I thoroughly enjoy it 

The biggest largemouth bass ever caught in Mississippi weighed 18.15 pounds. It was landed by Anthony Denny on December 31, 1992, at Natchez State Park Lake while fishing in a john boat in 3 ft. of water.

All I know is a much higher percentage of fish that follow your lure (as seen on FFS) hit your lure.  They are ether dumber or less suspicious due to lower pressure.

Do the records confirm that the biggest bass are caught in the winter? And then we have winter in PA and MI compared to winter in CA and FL. So what are the true stats? 

lts not let facts cloud the conversation.

 

good question actually.  

 

The biggest bass we get here in the winter is from Kroger!

Winter bass fishing here is not good. March you can get on the pigs.

Why are big bass at their maximum weight during pre spawn ( January to March) is California? The bass have been feeding during Summer months with a wide variety of abundant prey and continue feeding during fall a time period the big females are developing eggs. 
Winter or the cold water period bass don’t stop eating they slow down because they are cold blood with cold body temps reducing their need for more food. As the water starts to warm the metabolism increases and the need for prey increases plus the eggs are still developing increase the females overall weight.

In the winter DFW plants hatchery raised Rainbow trout when the water temps are below 60 degrees so the trout can survive and this coincides with Winter to Pre Spawn period when the big bass need more protein for the Spawn cycle.

Hungry big bass are catchable during Pre Spawn increasing your odds greatly.

Tom

21 hours ago, Dogface said:

Do the records confirm that the biggest bass are caught in the winter? And then we have winter in PA and MI compared to winter in CA and FL. So what are the true stats? 

With time to kill during another of the incessant storm systems moving through Maryland, I did a very brief search revealing that 7 state records were caught in February, and 11 state records caught between Nov and April.  Several state records were caught during summer months.  I wasn’t being graded so I didn’t compare ‘cold states’ to ‘warm states’ and did not research all 50 states, but I suspect the trend favors the colder months.

Smaller bass are more affected by cold water than larger bass.  Larger bass have higher energy needs while at same time are able to function better in colder temps.  Their increased energy demands and the ability to meet them increase the likelihood they are the ones that get caught while the smaller ones remain less active.  

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Susky River Rat said:

Winter bass fishing here is not good. March you can get on the pigs.

 

Don't forget October on the Susquehanna. 

20 minutes ago, Dogface said:

 

Don't forget October on the Susquehanna. 

Ha!  I did see that and couldn’t decide if that should be considered ‘cold’ water.  Since you seem to agree, I’m now inclined to add it to ‘cold’ column which add support for the trend.

21 minutes ago, OldManLure said:

Ha!  I did see that and couldn’t decide if that should be considered ‘cold’ water.  Since you seem to agree, I’m now inclined to add it to ‘cold’ column which add support for the trend.

Oops.  I take that back.  I misread my own notes.  It wasn’t Pennsylvania I was undecided about.

But I’m pretty sure the Susky is in the mid to low 50s like the Potomac in October…getting cold.

@OldManLure depends on the year. I’ve seen it in the mid 60s close to 70.

 

@Dogface last year was the worse oct of fishing I’ve ever had. I think it’s because the river was so low and clear. Most the summer it was like that too. Add the warmer than normal temps it just didn’t happen.

1 hour ago, Susky River Rat said:

@OldManLure depends on the year. I’ve seen it in the mid 60s close to 70.

 

@Dogface last year was the worse oct of fishing I’ve ever had. I think it’s because the river was so low and clear. Most the summer it was like that too. Add the warmer than normal temps it just didn’t happen.

I remember.  Because the Potomac was so painfully low, a buddy and I considered visiting the Susky.  We called an outdoor shop in Harrisburg and were told it, too, was very low.  So I ended up doing a lot of wading and rock crawling last fall.

8 hours ago, Dogface said:

 

Don't forget October on the Susquehanna. 

 

I should have been more specific. During normal water conditions, October is a good time to be on the Susquehanna and I seem to catch bigger SM. 

Most of the big fish I've caught have not been in the winter.  My PB was caught in June.  The reason is I've spent much more time fishing in warmer months and the number of fish I catch in an outing is higher in those months.   What I find in the winter is the average size of the fish is much higher.  Sometimes in the summer I wonder where all the big fish have gone.  I've gone fishing in the dead of winter and wondered what happened to the fish under 3 pounds. 

Any stats to back up this claim?