
What is your limit when it comes to bass fishing? I look at this as somewhat of a loaded question. I live in the Upper Midwest, so I have a slight problem being able to bass fish all season long. That problem, when you break it down, is ice-covered lakes; I’m limited a little in the time that I can spend on open water every year. But I can tell you this: I’m on the water chasing bass every chance I get from ice out till ice up. I would compare the conditions we face in our late season months of October – late November; it’s some of what the South faces in their so-called Winter months. Anglers are faced with falling water temperatures that reach the bottom for about a month or a little longer, but bass get settled in what they are relating to area-wise and adjust to one main factor: food. They will stay close to that food source if they want to eat.
Let me explain what I do during the cold water period, and maybe that will help you transfer some of these tactics to your bass fishing in your part of the country.
Crankbaits
You have to find the bass before you can catch them, and to do that, I’ll grab a crankbait and get to work. A crankbait lets me cover water a lot quicker than many other baits. With this crankbait choice, you have to make a few adjustments to get it to work in these cold water conditions.

When targeting deeper water, you’ll trigger more bites if you can get your bait to make contact with the cover you’re fishing. If it’s weeds, try to make contact with the deeper weeds on the weed edge. To help my bait dive deeper quicker, I’ll put a Storm lead strip under my baits' bill. This changes my bait's dive angle, resulting in my crankbait reaching deeper faster. This adjustment helps get your bait to tick the weeds on its descent. Often, it’s what will trigger bites as your bait descends. If you feel the bait hit a weed, act like you’re setting the hook; this will break your bait free and swim again. If the bite is active, I’ll keep my bait moving when it’s free from the weeds trying to generate a bite. If the bite is off when I break my bait free, I’ll give my reel handle a turn or two but pause the bait for a 1, 2-second count before I start to reel again. Be ready; you may have a bass at the end of your line when you start to reel, so be prepared to set the hook if you feel a bite.
I will also carry a mix of mid-depth and deepwater crankbaits in the late season. I match my bait selection to the location of the bass. If the bass moves out of the weeds, I’ll throw a deepwater crankbait targeting hard bottom areas outside the weeds. I’m trying to make contact with the hard bottom and work my crankbait across these open water areas to see if any bass are still targeting craws in these areas. Vary your retrieve speed and cadence to see what the bass want that day to help trigger bites.
Jigs

When the bass transitions between weeds and open-water bottom areas, I use a few more lures to see if I can generate bites. Jigs will be my number one choice in this category, as I can do so many things with a jig through the stages or adjustments.
Arky Heads
An Arky head will be my first jig of choice when the bass are in the weeds, out on the edge of the weeds, or on hard bottom areas. I can easily get my jig through the weeds and rocks when required. At this time of the season, the Arky jig will get most of the water time.
Ball Head Jigs
Like the Arky head, a ball head can be fished on the edges of the weeds and across rock areas. A ball head jig will have a different action than the Arky Head and can imitate a craw scooting across the bottom. I found this out when the bass are keying in on smaller bait and craws on the bottom.
Football Jigs
When the bass is out on hard bottom areas looking for food, there is no better jig to throw than a football jig head. The football jig is the best at imitating a craw in the rocks with its back-and-forth walking action. When it comes to skirts, try to match the color of the crawfish and baitfish in your area at this time of the season. If you do a little searching on the internet, you can get a general idea of what that color makeup should be or you can put a bass or two in your livewell and see if they spit up any craws. If yes, examine the color of the craws and match these colors as best as you can with your jig skirt.

Pay special attention to the skirt material you use during the season. Natural rubber skirts will act better in cooler water temperatures than silicone. This added movement can result in more and better bites during the cold water part of the season. Play one against the other to see what works best during your time on the water.
The same goes for trailers. I’ll fish a few different-sized craws on my football jig head. Let the bass tell you the preferred trailer for that time on the water. I also use Spike-It dye to accentuate my bait's craws. I’m adding an accent color as an attraction and scent at the same time. This tweak will put more odds in your favor and help you generate more bites.
Carolina Rig
This is going old school. How many of you even throw a Carolina rig anymore? I picked it up over 35 years ago and have never put it down. It’s one of my sleeper presentations all season long, but it excels when you have to soak a bait for bass bombarded with stock presentations all season. My choice of bait is a 6" Berkley Power Lizard. Use a lighter wire hook to let the bait float behind the sinker and slowly hover above the bottom. Also, the biggest key in today’s rigging, which gets me more bites along the way, is using a mono-line dropper on my setup.
Many fishermen are now using a fluorocarbon dropper line. Fluorocarbon sinks. In the past, we all used a monofilament line dropper; the characteristic of mono is that it floats. So, I purposely still use a mono dropper line when making up my Carolina rig. This minor tweak keeps my bait up and off the bottom and gets me more bites during my day. It’s a go-to and will get you bites late into the season when bass are turning away from other presentations.
Ned Baits

You have depended on Ned baits all season, so don’t take them off your list now. Why have you turned towards Ned’s all season? They will get you bites when other baits won’t. That is still the same later in the season. There is something about a small bait sitting on the bottom daring the bass to "Eat Me.” We are the same way: put a small bowl of peanuts or candy on the edge of your desk; how many friends stop in their tracks and take a step back to grab a piece of candy or a few peanuts? Bass are the same way. They usually won’t pass up this offering if you put a small bait in front of them. So, your goal is to put them to the challenge.
There are a few keys that will lead to more bites. First up, offer a few different looks. Include more baits than just small Ned worms; include craws and flukes into your presentation mix. This gives the bass a few different baits to key in on. I’m also a believer in Elaztech baits or other materials that have a floating quality. These baits will stand up on the bottom, allowing the bass to easily see them better. This will lead to more strikes during your day on the water. It also keeps your hook off the bottom, which leads to better hookups. Once again, give the bass both looks of standard plastics and a hybrid plastic, and let them choose what they prefer at that time.
I hope these tactics will assist you in triggering more bass to bite when the conditions are extra harsh on your waters. You have always been told to slow down and keep your bait in the bite zone. I have successfully used these tactics for many years, but I’ll push that envelope occasionally and have learned that I could get bites doing something different. Often, to be successful in this sport, you have to push the envelope and take a chance.