I started a thread a month ago about lures everyone should have in their box / bag as to see just what many of you are using or swear by.

Now im gona fine tune it a bit ... ID like to see what everyone uses in COLD water. please explain why it makes a good coldwater lure or why you think its better than somthing someone else is using.

Just an intersting topic I thought - maybe it would help some of us out who havn't gotten a Bass this Winter.

The same ones I use in warm water I just don't tell the bass there is no difference  

Down here there ain 't no "cold" water.

Here in North Carolina you should use a Booyah Pigskin Jig in Molting Craw color and a Pumpkin PinchIt! jig Trailer from Bass Snacks

Silver Buddy, because it works.

Cold water situations, bass aren't willing to go far to chase down a lure so you're best options are to go with a more vertical presentation such as jig/pig, stop and pause action like suspending jerk baits, a tighter cranking action such as a lipless crank bait, or slow rolling a spinnerbait off the bottom.  

Whatever the presentation you choose, remember to slow down in cold water conditions.

The only lure that works for me in cold waters are jerkbaits. I believe in the winter the fish's forage is primarily baitfish (atleast in the waters im fishing), this being said I don't want to imitate worms, frogs, or anything in that line. I just want to imitate baitfish. I also believe the fish's metabolism slows down, meaning it takes them longer to digest meals, I think in this case a small meal is the best bet, so I don't like to use large jerkbaits, I prefer small 1 1/2 - 2inch jerkbaits in the cold. My favorite cold water jerkbait is a rapala husky jerk, in the smallest size, which I believe is 2inches.

So, a suspending jerkbait does this pretty well, and I can fish it very slowly. I can give it long pauses, and short twitches. This is the only lure which I will use in real cold water.

Once the water warms up a bit come late march, I'll start throwing lipless cranks.

I have heard jigs work well in cold water, but I have yet to have any luck with them in these conditions so I don't list them in my arsenal as a cold water bait. Though im sure they work for many in the cold water, because of how frequently I hear about them in the subject of cold water baits.

The key is to fish slow. I use primarily big jerkbaits and jigs (I switch to hair jigs when it gets really cold). Although lately everything has been frozen so I haven't been throwing much of anything.

1-dropshot

2-hair jigs

3-lipless crankbaits

4-LC pointers

Definitely jerk baits... The key is looonnnnnggggg pauses, and finding the strike zone.  If you really believe there are fish there i have left it paused for 20-30 seconds, then give it a small twitch and let it sit for 20-30 seconds.  One thing to remember is they most likely will not chase it all the way to the boat so target an area and keep it in the strike zone.

Jig and real pork pig. Over the years in really cold water especially right after Ice out have been a proven winner not only for catching bass, but catching big bass. A light 5/16 oz jig with a #11 Uncle Josh pork frog falls slowly and can be worked in short hops or just crawled along the bottom and in most situations works perfectly. If I think there are some big fish in the area I go to as heavy as a 1/2 oz jig and use a #1 or a Big Daddy pork frog trailer. Both of my personal best Largemouths a 9.3 and a 9.1 have come on these baits.

FYI....for those Smallmouth fisherman this setup works great for Big Smallmouths right after Ice out as well.  Have lost count of the 6 lbers this rig has caught over the years.

I usually jig a Jigging Rapala with one rod and put a 4"-6" roach on a tip-up. Oh did you mean open water? ;D

40 degree water, Suspending jerks and nothing else.... may not catch 20 but they are usually bigguns.  

Cold water = a spoon, deep diving jerkbait and a jig