How To Find Wintertime Bass

All right, how do you find those winter time bass?

Well, let's first of all define winter time. That's typically when the water temps are in the low 40s or lower. That's winter guys.

And the best places to look for right now are going to be those sharper banks, those sharper drops, 45° or more. Long points, long tapering points are kind of out of the question right now. You want a sharper one that’s almost a vertical drop because the bass can move, they can change the depth that they're at by just moving up or down instead of traveling long distances. So that's key right now.

Hard bottoms with chunk rock, that’s like, yeah, because that absorbs the solar energy of the day and keeps the area a little bit warmer than areas around it. And those hard bottoms are what harbor things like sculpin and crawdads, another forage. So that's what the bass are going to be.

If you got a creek channel nearby, even better. Or some kind of drop off or ledge near sharp banks. Now you're talking, now we've got everything we want and those are areas I would target.

The bass are going to be very congregated this time of year, very concentrated. So this is the type of areas that you want to focus on and really not fish the areas in between. You're not going to be as successful.

You can go a little bit shallow in these coves and bays and banks. I would only go about halfway deep though. I wouldn't go all the way to the back where it's very shallow, except if you have a few days of warm weather. It doesn't have to be warm sunny weather either — actually rainy weather is better because that warmer water will be coming in the creeks and culverts and it will warm that area around there and those fish will move up shallow.

The bait fish will come up shallow. The bait fish are struggling to survive so they're going to try to find the warmest water they can find, and that's where it will be. And where the bait fish are, that's where the bass are.

So you'll have a little window — a feeding opportunity — after a warm couple of several days of rain. And even if it's not rainy, but typically warm rain’s even better. And you can get those fish now.

I understand, I just want to be clear, the bass aren't going to come from clear across the lake to that area. They're going to be in that nearby area and sense that temperature change, and they know the bait fish are there and they'll follow them. So it's going to be your localized area.

This is why you want to find all the different feeder creeks and different culverts and things that feed your lake. You can do this anytime of year — mark them on your GPS or on your map. That way when you do get this condition and it happens, you know exactly where to go and you just come from spot to spot to spot and do a milk run and catch fish that way. Take advantage of those feeding windows because they can be dynamite during this time of year.

Another opportunity, obviously, is if you have warm water discharge from a power plant. If you happen to be on a river or lake that's got that and you're lucky enough, you can fish those too — shallow and with faster moving baits — and it's almost like springtime fishing. You can cash in on that. They're not always going to be there — you know, fishing isn't that easy — but sometimes they’re there, and you can have yourself a lot of fun.

Baits work best this time of year? Well, ones with tight wobbles is really what you want. Those wide-wobbling crankbaits used during the summertime? Keep those at home. Right now those tight wiggles are what you want.

It's not because you're bringing it back very quickly. You're actually bringing the bait very slow, like a flat-sided crankbait or a Cicada or some kind of a blade bait like a Silver Buddy. Those have a real tight, tight wiggle to them, but you move them slow so you get that action out of them while moving it very slow. That's the key. That's what gets those bites.

And you can take these baits and you can jig them off the bottom like a rattle trap or something like that, and yo-yo it off the bottom very slowly, and it looks like a dying bait fish. And you can get a lot of bites that way. You can trigger a lot of bites.

There’s other baits to use too — a suspending jerkbait. A deep-diving suspending jerkbait. One that's like a 110, 110+2 — those types of jerkbaits. Get them down there where the fish are and then let it sit and bake. Just baste it and let it sit for 30 seconds, a minute, or more. It's painstakingly slow for us bass anglers who like to be on the move all the time, but this time of year, just let that bait soak and then give it a very slight subtle twitch and let it soak again.

A lot of times the bass will hit it while it's not even moving. And so that's the key to your presentation. You'll get more bites that way by doing less.

Plastic baits also work very well, believe it or not. The ones I like to use the most are tubes and grubs, usually on a drop shot because again, where the bass are concentrated, we’re working these areas very thoroughly, so that drop shot works very well.

But also I like to take a 5-inch white grub on a football head jig — like a 1/2-ounce football jig or 3/8-ounce football jig — and just crawl it on the bottom, especially in deeper waters, deeper than 25–30 feet deep. Why white? Light penetration.

There's not a lot of light penetration at that depth, and the colors wash out to shades of gray. So a white jig or a white grub is going to stand out the most against the bottom of that lake or river. So that works. Just drag it. Drag with long pauses in between. Looks like a little sculpin or some kind of a bait fish feeding on the bottom, and it works very well this time of year.

This time of year, you're having to deal with cold, frigid temperatures, and that requires a little bit of a different approach than what you normally do in the warmer months. For one, ice on your line guides and on the guide on your reel — they can build up. And when that happens, it can actually cut into your line. It can nick it, fray it, weaken it. So you've got to keep ice off of it.

The best way to do it, and easiest and cheapest way, is to pay attention. If you see it building up, just dunk your rod into the water and shake it off, and that usually melts it all away. You can go back to fishing. You might have to do it every other cast, but it's a lot easier to do that than to buy silicone spray or some kind of coating — I haven’t found that to be very effective. It's just cheaper and easier to dunk it in the water and melt it off and just keep fishing.

So you’ve got to pay attention to that though, because if you weaken your line, what are you going to miss? A fish of a lifetime, perhaps.

Other things — you’ve got to stay warm and dry. I mean, if you're cold and shivering or you're wet, you're miserable. You're not going to be on point. You're not going to be at your best as far as concentration goes. A lot of times the bite is very subtle, like I mentioned, and you've got to be alert and ready to capitalize on that bite. If you're cold and shivering, you're not going to be.

So dress in layers, dress warmly. Make sure your feet — you wear wool socks, wear insulated boots. You’ve got to wear fingerless gloves. If traveling down the lake on a boat, wear full-fingered gloves to keep your hands warm and dry. Wear a hat, a cap, a stocking-style cap — windproof is better. Put rain gear over the top because it's windproof. That’ll keep you warmer. Or better yet, get insulated bibs and a jacket designed for wintertime fishing. They’ll keep you nice and warm and dry and comfortable. And they don’t weigh a whole lot, I promise you.

You're going to hesitate at the cost of how much these items are. But once you're out there in the cold weather and you're warm and dry and comfortable, you're not going to be thinking about how much money you spent. So invest in some quality gear. Make sure you get some thermal underwear too. They come in a variety of different base layers out there. A lot of different manufacturers make quality ones. Simms is one of them. Pay attention to what they've got available and get some base layers — that really goes a long way toward keeping you warm and dry.

Other things you may need to deal with — rod lockers being frozen. If you're bank fishing, you might have docks that you go out on. Those docks can be very, very slick this time of year. Everything else can look dry, but you get on the dock and suddenly it’s a sheet of ice. So be very careful. You don't want to slip and fall in the water.

Wear life vests at all times you’re around the water, even if you're on the shoreline — but especially if you're in the boat. I like to wear the full-size vest because it offers a little more wind protection too, like I mentioned earlier. And you know what? They’re a little bulky and uncomfortable the first five minutes of fishing, but after that you kind of forget you have them on. They really aren't that uncomfortable, guys. Just wear them.

And honestly, if you fall in the water, it's a matter of survival at that point. It really is with the cold, frigid temperatures.

Go fishing with a buddy. Even better, go fishing with a buddy. I don't like to fish by myself during this time of year, just for safety reasons if no other. But a lot of times, hey — the bite’s slow. It’s long and few, you know, bites in between — and having a buddy with you, having a conversation, hey, it makes it all the better.

So go out there, have a lot of fun, catch some fish. And for more tips and tricks like this, visit bassresource.com.