As winter months proceeds and the water obtains colder, big baitfish are sturdy adequate to make it through the cool water, but smaller baitfish such as threadfin shad and also young gizzard shad begin succumbing to the freezing water.
During this shad die-off, a bass ‘diet changes as the fish begin targeting the simpler meals of smaller shad that battle to maintain swimming. Matching the dimension of the passing away baitfish comes to be a key to capturing bass during this time, so I downsize my
lures to activate even more bites. A bass ‘metabolic process reduces means down in the winter season, so the fish can go a few days without consuming if it puts away one huge baitfish.
The lakes around my residence are generally clear during the wintertime which is one more reason to downsize my attractions and also take on. The lakes additionally seldom freeze over so there are winter season tournaments almost every weekend break as well as some of the event rivals are also exercising throughout the week. This added fishing pressure makes winter season bass even more particular as well as motivates several fishermens to downsize their lures.
Winter weather also asks for scaling down baits to coax inactive bass right into biting. After a wintertime storm travels through, the following cold spell featuring bluebird sky days as well as frigid, calm weather condition creates bass to suspend over winter months refuges and also wait for a warming pattern to start feeding once again. Little appeals that suspend or gradually sink are the most effective bet for appealing these inactive fish.
Right here are 2 lures I recommend for downsizing when bass are keying on smaller baitfish in clear water.
Putting On Hold Jerkbaits Crush
These appeals are my all-time faves for catching wintertime bass due to the fact that the baits suspend at regarding the same deepness as the fish are placed in the water column. When the stickbait reaches its optimum deepness, I can allow it rest there in front of a bass for as lengthy as 30 secs to a min. A number of refined twitches of the attraction mimics a shad having a hard time to swim, which is a simple meal for a bass to catch.
Throughout most of the winter months I prefer a 4 1/2- or 5-inch suspending jerkbait I throw on baitcasting gear with 8- to 10-pound fluorocarbon line. When the winter drawdown goes down the water degree to its lowest point on my house lake of Lake of the Ozarks, the water is likewise near to the freezing point as well as there is typically ice in some of the coves. Bass become exceptionally sluggish then and also often tend to neglect my bigger stickbaits so I downsize to 3-inch versions, particularly on the calm, sunny days after a cold spell.
The brief, light-weight stickbait is difficult to toss with baitcast gear so I tie the little appeal on 8-pound monofilament and also cast with rotating deal with. I favor monofilament for my spinning reel because it streams off the spool slowly and also efficiently whereas fluorocarbon line often tends to embark on the rotating reel spindle also rapidly as well as develops a lot of line tangles. The brief stickbait has a long bill that permits it to dive to the exact same midsts as the larger models. After cranking the lure down to its maximum depth, I stop it and after that try either a twitch-twitch-pause retrieve or gradually move the lure and also stop it to cause strikes from put on hold bass.
Underspin For The Win
A heavyweight football or casting jig functions wonderful for bottom-hugging bass yet these appeals fall also quickly with the strike zone of put on hold bass. Incorporating a 5- or 6-inch swimbait and a 1/4-ounce underspin jig is an efficient means to catch suspended wintertime bass, yet when the water transforms extremely cold smart fishermens downsize their lures. Several of the Table Rock Lake guides I understand scale down to 1/8- or 1/16-ounce Roadrunners or other horsehead jigs to capture non-active winter season identified bass.
They utilize either a horsehead jig with a marabou body or match the little underspin jig with a curly-tail plastic grub or 2- to 3-inch swimbait. During a recent journey with Table Rock Lake guide Pete Wenners, we caught suspended spotted bass on his residence waters with a 1/8-ounce jighead and a 3-inch swimbait that we let gradually fail the fish.
Match the light-weight underspin jig with a medium-action spinning rod and a reel loaded with 6- to 8-pound line. The risk of a huge bass damaging the light line is lessened when targeting suspended fish since you are generally angling in open water and also the sluggish fish generally have much less deal with in them. See to it you establish your drag loose sufficient to enable the fish to pull out some line if it surges to prevent line breakage.
Cast the underspin jig to bluffs where bass will be put on hold 10 to 25 feet deep. Count down the appeal as it falls to the deepness you determine bass are suspending and after that draw in the jig at a slow-moving, stable pace.