Bass Fishing in Winter
By: The Bass Doctor (Charles Stuart)
Fishing for bass during the late fall and winter
months can be a daunting task. During the regular season, you have
identifiable structure to fish, vegetation is in bloom and the sun
offers you shaded areas, which will produce fish during the heat of
the day. Winter however does not give you any of those visible signs.
So what do you do? Well once again, you must turn to your
understanding of the bass and its lifestyle during these "lean
months". When I use the word lean, I am referring to the food
chain which can be drastically reduced by the elements. Exceptionally
cold weather can kill smaller fish and aquatic life leaving the bass
only a limited diet for three or four months. You will often hear bass
fishermen talking about the "big feed" prior to winter, when
bass will eat anything and everything to carry them through to spring.
Bait selection at this time is critical. In
very cold water, a bass will move only a minimal distance for food.
The bait of choice has to be something that is equal or greater than
the energy expended.
Compare your own lifestyle during the winter
months, you store up food and fuel for the winter to avoid unnecessary
trips to the store. And you really hate clearing the driveway and
brushing the snow off your vehicle if it's not absolutely necessary,
correct? Well it's the same for a bass. Why should the fish dash
around for small items of food when it will not compensate for the
energy expended to chase down and catch it?
The use of large, slow moving baits is the key.
Don't be afraid to throw 10-inch or 12-inch plastics, like the new
Uncle Josh™ "Incredible Creature™" and "Incredible
Lizard™" range of lures, where you once threw a 4-inch
offering. Slowly retrieve these baits, inching them back to shore.
Large jigs tipped with 3- or 4-inch pork trailers maneuvered in a
similar fashion will produce fish, you just have to be patient.
During summer, that smaller bait should be in
and out of the water in thirty seconds. However, with the winters'
climactic changes, you must now leave the larger bait in the water for
as long as three minutes!
A good tip here is to keep your baits warm. I
place a few imitations into a plastic bag and keep them in my pocket.
This keeps the bait flexible and will work well in frigid water
temperatures. Remember small attention to details like that will
separate you from the rest of the fishermen, and you will catch more
fish.
The key to winter bass fishing is patience.
That's not an easy thing for my fellow New Yorkers! But you should
give it a try.
Bring some hot coffee and plenty of food for
your energy. Remember to dress in layers. Hypothermia is very nasty
and is a condition, from first hand experience, I do not recommend!
Tight Lines!
Contact Charles at LIFisher@aol.com
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