Once the cold weather sets in every year, it’s time to change things up to continue to catch bass. One thing is to adjust your clothing and wear things that will allow you to stay out there longer, but the other change in thinking is the gear you use. Many baits work well for cold-weather bass, but some of the best options when things get frigid are ice jigs, hair jigs, and metal baits like spoons, blade baits, and tail spinners. Here’s a little more about each of those baits and how to get more out of them this winter.
Ice Jigs and Hair Jigs
As they sound, these jigs are technically made for ice fishing, but they’ve been a secret for bass anglers for many years that fish them in open water. There are several different baits on the market, but the most popular is the Rapala Jiggin’ Rap, which comes in several sizes and features a unique single hook on each side of the bait and the option for a treble hook under the bait. There are plenty of good colors to choose from, and they work very well in cold water.
Fishing these baits is often a vertical approach, with a jigging motion that gets the lure to dart from side to side, often in an unpredictable matter. They are great for fishing for suspended bass, and there’s a reason they work so well in open water and through the ice. The action from the bait gives the bait an excellent baitfish look that will trigger even the coldest bass.
While not true ice jigs, the Berkley Power Switch and Finisher each have similar actions as they dart back and forth. The Power Switch is a series of soft plastic baits with great action when fished with a regular cast or jigged vertically. The same can be said of the Finisher, a hard bait designed for use with forward-facing sonar. It works well when the water is cold because of the darting action, but you can fish it anytime.
With all these baits, seek places where bass congregate in winter. These "wintering holes" vary based on the lake, but some likely areas are on deep main lake points, bluff walls and ends, humps, shoals, and deeper holes with less current on fisheries that are impacted by flowing water.
For some reason, the natural flowing action of hair and jigs made of hair like the Punisher Dale Hollow Hair Jig works wonders when the water is cold. They can be fished above the bottom and swam or right along the bottom like a standard jig. Unlike some very lightweight hair jigs, they come in more sizes up to 3/8-ounce. Since the water is cold, use a trailer with minimal action and flapping, such as a Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver or Z-Man TRD BugZ.
Metal Baits
Some of the best baits you can use during winter are made of metal. In hand, they do not look or feel very lifelike, but the flash and vibration from these baits is critical when the water temperatures dip. Each of these three, spoons, blade baits, and tail spinners, are slightly different in how to fish them, but they all work great this time of year.
For vertical jigging, it’s hard to beat a jigging spoon. There are many styles of spoons, but some of the best are compact and heavy, such as the Nichols Duh Spoon, Hopkins Shorty, or Berkley Vibrato. They work great when fished right below the boat for fish you see on your sonar screen and can be fished at any depth.
Tail spinners are another great choice in the winter months, and they can be fished right along the bottom with a lift and drop motion. Each time you lift the rod, the blade will thump and vibrate and attract the attention of the bass, and then let it fall back down on a slack line. Many bites will happen as the bait falls, so pay close attention when a bass strikes. There are many different tail spinners to choose from, but the best for fishing this way is with the blade connected to the bait by a swivel, such as the Jackall Deracoup or Lunkerhunt Big Eye Tail Spin Jig.
Like tail spinners, blade baits shine when the water is the coldest it will be all year. They also excel with a lift and drop method, and the vibration and flash from the bait trigger bites from even the most lethargic fish. They come in many different sizes, but a ½-ounce size is a good all-around size that will cast a mile and fall to the bottom quickly.
Some good blade baits are those from Norisada Custom Tackle and homemade versions with Do-It Molds. These two are all metal, but some more options include the Deps Circuit Vibe, which has a circuit board lip with molded lead around it. The Circuit Vibe has a high-pitched sound, a smaller profile, and a different look, but it catches plenty of cold-water bass.
Some ideal places to throw blade baits and tail spinners are deep flats, the ledges leading to drop-offs into river channels, and long points extending into the main lake or river channel. Bass tend to migrate to these areas when the water gets cold and often group up, making them a great place to cast a blade bait. One good thing about these baits is how quickly they get to the bottom, so fishing them in depths of 30 to 50 feet of water is no issue.
Fishing during winter can be cold, but it can be great with the right baits. These baits are perfect for fishing in the middle of the winter and catch plenty of bass every year.
