When we move from fall into winter, does the specific crankbait really matter? Are there true cold-water crankbaits versus warm-water ones, or can something like a 6XD still perform well in winter conditions?

I like a crankbait that suspends or very slowly sinks when it starts to get really cold (surface temps below 50).  I don’t think action or color is that important as long as I can let it sit and then barely move it and then let it sit etc.

Coldwater for me as well. Our waters get waaaay too weedy by mid June. The technique @Pat Brown explains above is probably the best I've used in the past.

 

Great post Pat!

I agree with @Pat Brown. Suspending on the pause is key.  And in cold water pauses typically are longer.  Beware that some baits described as ‘suspending’ may tend to actually be slow risers which means after each extended pause you’ll have to get them back to your target depth before the next pause.  
Many jerkbaits also suspend, except in cold water I fish them like cranks, sometimes with intermittent ‘twitches’ (instead of jerks) before the extended pauses.

2 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

I like a crankbait that suspends or very slowly

I went Friday for what may very well be my last outing of the year. Fishing was tough but got a few on cranks along a riprap dam. Digging through my cranks I found an old "Excalibur Suspending Mystic Shad".  I thought for sure it would produce. I fished the entire dam with it , stopping it, twitching it and not a bite. It was a good idea though, just didnt pan out.

I fish with the same crankbaits year round.  The only difference is when the water gets cold, I slow up my retrieve.  I also don't pause the bait too long.  I don't want the bass getting a good look at it.

I like a flat sided crank in water 60 and below and a standard crank for 60 and warmer

I'm either doing a burn and pause in deep water or going slow and tapping the tips of rocks and structure in shallower water. 

You’ll hear it said that in cold water you must slow down..

 

It's not a hard and fast rule. Sometimes speed is still going to illicit a sudden strike response irrespective of cold water. 

I’ll go with a flat side regardless of depth once water temps drop below 55 degrees.

How soon we forget Tactical Bassin R2Sea DD crank bait.

Tom

Cold water to me means maybe downsizing my offering and/or the flatsides come out. Slowing down and suspending/slow rise can help get bites. With that said giving the reel a fast little 1/8 turn to make that crank flash has elicited some violent rip the rod out of your hand strikes. This is with 1.2/1.5 size round baits. I also think it's a timing/feeding window thing in cold water. I hadn't caught much if anything one late winter day. Got to my last spot close to sunset. Tossed my bandit 100 up on the ice shelf that was covering 3/4 of the eddy. Pulled it off and a crank or so later I had a well fed 15/16 inch smallie come out of the water a couple times trying to shake loose. 

It's funny that we always hear that you need a tight wobble in cold water, but one of the most productive winter time cranks around here is a Wiggle Wart/Rock Crawler, which has an extremely wide wobble and ideally hunts all over the place. 

 

I have my preferred cranks for cold water, which is about the only time I fish cranks anymore, but I've done very well with standard squarebills in winter and one of my biggest winter time bass was on a 5XD. 

 

 

 The Arbogast Mudbug use to be my preferred cold water crankbait. I threw it in the same areas Wiggle Warts are famous for.

1 hour ago, Bluebasser86 said:

It's funny that we always hear that you need a tight wobble in cold water, but one of the most productive winter time cranks around here is a Wiggle Wart/Rock Crawler, which has an extremely wide wobble and ideally hunts all over the place. 

 

In cold water I go with two philosophies.  

 

1. If fishing slow, got to fish super slow including how the bait itself moves.  Very natural colors are your friend here.  And little to no rattle.

 

2. Fish super fast eliciting a reaction strike and not giving the fish time to stare the bait down.  Burn deep divers in shallow water.

I bought some DT's, flatsided, and Shad Raps recently to try out this fall/winter.

 

Won't be throwing the XD's.

 

Hopefully I can get out on the water soon and test them out.

4 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

It's funny that we always hear that you need a tight wobble in cold water, but one of the most productive winter time cranks around here is a Wiggle Wart/Rock Crawler, which has an extremely wide wobble and ideally hunts all over the place. 

 

 

I've wondered that myself.

 

Do you have any Rock Crawlers? I'm wondering how they perform over others.

27 minutes ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

 

I've wondered that myself.

 

Do you have any Rock Crawlers? I'm wondering how they perform over others.

A bunch, they’re my favorite cold water, wide wobbling crawfish imitation. They cast much better than the old wiggle warts also. 

6 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

A bunch, they’re my favorite cold water, wide wobbling crawfish imitation. They cast much better than the old wiggle warts also. 

 

Thanks.

 

Might have to buy a few if Black Friday throws me a deal.

Same cranks I just fish them slower. Only crank I add is a Shadrap RS which suspends.

 

Allen

On 11/17/2025 at 2:33 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

A bunch, they’re my favorite cold water, wide wobbling crawfish imitation. They cast much better than the old wiggle warts also. 

Going to chime in since I like crankbaits but also cheap...the rk crawler is a nice crank but spro is proud of it and they are not cheap and lets be honest if your throwing them where the fish live they are going to get hung up, even when you have a retriever....anyway I fish dd warts and the rk but found a dang near duplicate of the rk crawler which is a headhunter fire craw they have a 300 size (wart) and a 400 size (rk crawler)..about half of the rk and you can sometimes find them on sale for even less, I like them just as much and my wallet likes them even better, lol.

I fish the Rapala DT series when the water gets cold in the middle of winter on my local lake.  It gets tough when the surface temperature dips down to 64 degrees in the morning.  I sure do miss ice fishing.

14 hours ago, bishoptf said:

Going to chime in since I like crankbaits but also cheap...the rk crawler is a nice crank but spro is proud of it and they are not cheap and lets be honest if your throwing them where the fish live they are going to get hung up, even when you have a retriever....anyway I fish dd warts and the rk but found a dang near duplicate of the rk crawler which is a headhunter fire craw they have a 300 size (wart) and a 400 size (rk crawler)..about half of the rk and you can sometimes find them on sale for even less, I like them just as much and my wallet likes them even better, lol.

I like the headhunter jerkbaits, but for some reason haven’t had any luck on the fire tail. It looks good and swims good though. I don’t know if it’s a color thing or maybe just confidence. I have no doubt they work just fine though.

22 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I like the headhunter jerkbaits, but for some reason haven’t had any luck on the fire tail. It looks good and swims good though. I don’t know if it’s a color thing or maybe just confidence. I have no doubt they work just fine though.

They look like a dang near copy of the rk and the smaller wart...dont get me wrong I like the rk just not the price, lol..

30 minutes ago, bishoptf said:

They look like a dang near copy of the rk and the smaller wart...dont get me wrong I like the rk just not the price, lol..

I find quite a few RKs because they’re popular around here. I probably have 15 of them but I don’t think I paid for 3 of them.