Blade Baits Explained: Colors, Gear & Techniques for Winter

All right, it's blade bait time. Yeah, when the water gets really cold this time of year, that's when I break out the blade baits because they catch a lot of fish. Let me show you what they are real quick. They're just this little thin, small body. It's kind of an unusual looking bait. Real thin, thin metal. You can see that. Just super thin. It's got a weight in the front. And they got these little tiny treble hooks on them. OK, thing about them, the way they're designed, which is really cool, you can cast them like a bullet. I mean, you can cast them super far even when it's windy, which we encounter a lot during this time of year. So they're great to get long distance casting out of them.

They fall like a rock through the water. They get to the bottom quickly, which is great. If you're fishing deep, which typically you are 20 to 40 foot deep during the winter time here, you can get to the bottom real quick. Or you know, if you're fishing current, it can get to the bottom before it gets washed away. Plus, these have a real tight, tight wiggle to them, and that tight vibration works the best in cold water. Really, it's what attracts fish. Those wide, wobbling crankbaits and movements work great in the warmer months, but in that cold water, real tight wiggle is the key to catching them.

Couple things about these baits. First of all, colors. Silver and gold is all you need, and that's not just because we got through with the holidays, but really that's just your staple that puts off a lot of flash even in deeper water and attracts those baths from further distances. But don't be afraid to experiment with painted lures like the fire tiger color or if you've got perch, you know, perch pattern color or that orange and chartreuse, anything like that. Can be really appealing to the bass so don't be afraid to experiment a little bit. But you got to have the silver and gold for sure.

Different weights for different depths. You can get from about 1/4 ounce up to an ounce really. You know a wide range of them. But typically 1/4 ounce, 3/8 oz is really all you need. Maybe 1/2 ounce to begin with. 

Couple things though when they come out-of-the-box. If you notice. You know. See this hole right at the very top? There's a little hole right up here. Don't tie to that. That's a surefire way of cutting your line because these baits are so thin it's going to cut your line. So instead get a snap and attach them to the bait. Like so see that if you could see it very well, but I've got a snap on there. And it allows the bait also to swing freely. And that gives it that vibration, it allows it to give it that tight vibration. So that's a key thing.

But also if you notice on these baits. Like on this one here. Easier to show. These treble hooks. Look at that, they attach right to the hole. You know, that allows the bass to give a little bit of leverage when you catch them. So I like to, you know, a lot of these hooks that come with it are kind of cheap anyway, so I just cut them off. Put on a split ring and attach good quality Gamakatsu round bend hooks to them and typically that really helps with the catch ratio. By the way, a lot of these fish sometimes when they hit them, they slap at them. And so having these two treble hooks, you get more, you catch more fish that way. Now if you're fishing in really deep water and you've got some, maybe some weeds down there, some lay down some debris and you're getting hung up. Swap them over to a short shank round bend hook. And you'll get hung up less. So just a couple ways you can modify these to be a little more effective.

Now you can use both spinning and bait casting outfits with this. So whichever 1 you prefer, knock yourself out. However, you got to have similar if it's not the same characteristics, particularly in the rod. The rod should be about a 7 foot 1 medium power fast action rod. Medium power because of those little treble hooks. If you have like a medium heavy rod, use this little hooks you you stand the risk of ripping them out of the fish's mouth because the rod kind of overpowers the hooks. So medium power is critical for fishing these baits. 

Line, I like to use fluorocarbon line, 12 LB fluorocarbon line, you have a direct connection, it sinks and it has a little bit of that stretch to it which works in concert with that rod and those treble hooks. So when the fish surges and fights, that line is going to have a little bit of give to it and help keep that fish pin. So I like to use fluorocarbon line.

If you're using spinning outfit, maybe a 10 LB. Fluorocarbon Lime Bay casting. I use 12 LB fluorocarbon line. Not too much of a difference there. And then you're reel. The rfl doesn't have to be fast action, but I like having a little bit faster fast action, faster speed. I like to have like a 7 to 1 reel because if you're fishing out deep, you like to reel it up really quick and make the next cast. That's just a personal preference. That's not a requirement. There really is no set rules as to as far as gear ratio. I just like a little bit faster. Other than that, you know that's basically the setup you need for phishing these baits.

As for fishing them, it's pretty straightforward. Make that cast and let that lure fall through the water column on a semi slack line. You want a little bit of connection with it because if a fish hits it on the fall you want to be able to feel it. So on a kind of a controlled fall, let it get down to the bottom and then let it sit. A lot of times the bass, they're aware of their surroundings and they see this enter their purview and it gets a curiosity up. They're going to come over and check it out. So give them time to come over and see where that lure is before you start moving it.

So pause it for a little bit, you know, 5-10 seconds. And then what you want to do is lift up on the lure with just your rod, not your reel, but lift up on it and then control, let it fall right back down again. When you lift up on it, you're going to feel it in your rod tip. That's what you want to feel. You feel that buzz and then let it fall back down on controlled line. That's really it. 

There's not a whole lot more to it, but. How fast do you lift up on it? How far you lift it up off the bottom, how slow you drop it back down and how long you wait between, you know, action, how long you pause it before you do it again? Those are all variables you're going to need to to experiment with each day until you find the right combination of what the bass want.

Sometimes they want you to lift it up quick and drop it quick. Sometimes they want a fast up up the bottom and slowly let it fall off the bottom. Sometimes they want long pauses, sometimes they don't want much of a pause at all. So you have to play around and then you'll you'll figure it out. The bass will tell you. Once you start catching bass, pay attention to what you were doing and try to replicate that and that'll be a key to success that day. Then the following week it'll all change and you got to figure it all out again.

Now where to fish them? Typically it's hard bottoms, rocky bottoms like a long point or rock piles, a drop off, an edge. That type of thing is what you're looking for. Those hard bottoms are the fish are going to hang out during the winter time. If you're fishing in a river, areas that have slack current or a back eddy with not a whole lot of current with the fish don't have to fight that during this cold water period. Those are the areas I would target. Even better if you can find those near spawning areas. The closer those are to spawning areas, likelihood of a higher concentration of fish there will be. Not always, but you know you can watch with your depth finder. Look for bait fish activity. If you can find all that all together in one area, man, park it because that's where the fish are going to be. So I would definitely be fishing those areas. With this bait.

So armed that information, you ought to catch a lot of fish on blade baits this winter. Hope that helps. For more tips and tricks like this, visit bassresource.com.