Wintertime Bassing Strategies

[TRUMAN BASSER]

Some of the best fishing can be had during the winter months. Wintertime fishing typically isn't a numbers game. A lot of times you get a couple of bites a day but they are usually some nice fish. There is always that chance though that you can hit it right and load the boat in minutes. Typically my wintertime fishing centers around four different baits. The jig, jerkbait, dropshot, and a wacky rigged senko.

I like to fish a jig a lot during the winter months. Some of the areas that I like to throw a jig are on rocky channel swing banks, channelswing points, bluffs, and rocky bluff ends. In the wintertime if you get a nice sunny day don't be afraid to flip shallow cover adjacent to deep water as well. Bass like to move up in the shallows if you get a good amount of sunshine. As far as jig size you'll get a ton of answers on what weights are most productive in the winter. Some will tell you to use a lighter jig in the wintertime because of the slow fall for inactive bass. I like to go with a heavy jig because I want to do two things. Get the jig down to the bottom as quickly as possible and make sure it stays in contact with the bottom. I typically use a 1/2 oz or 3/4 oz Thunderstruck Football Jig. I like to trim the skirt down a lot ot make for a smaller profile. I get a lot more bites using a smaller jig in the wintertime. In the wintertime the bass usually are feeding on shad so I like to use a smoke or white jig with a white twin tail trailer to try to mimic shad. If I am fishing around a lot of rock I like to use crawlfish imitators. Usually a pbnj color works. As far as retrieves go slow is usually the best. I like to shake my jig a lot and try to give it some action without really moving it too far. I use 10 to 12 lb test for my jig fishing and a 7 foot medium heavy action AiRRUS Co-Matrix 457 rod. The rods very sensitive for feeling light biters and gives you the power to set the hook on deep bass. If you can spend the extra money get some flourocarbon line because it is more sensitive and gets the jig down quicker than mono.

I never really cared much for throwing a jerkbait. Most of the lakes I grew up fishing on the IL side are heavily stained and don't have the conditions for spectacular jerkbait fishing. Just this past year I started fishing the jerkbait a lot more and I have increased my confidence in this bait enormously. I still keep it pretty simple with jerkbaits. I like to throw the Smithwick Rogues, the Rapala Husky Jerks, and some of the BPS suspending models. My most productive color to throw has been the clown color. It seems to work good even on the lakes that are not super clear but have some visibility to them and I can catch them on it everywhere. The other color I really like to throw is a table rock shad color the one with chartruese sides and a purple back. Line size is very important when it comes to jerkbaits. Typically I like to use 8 to 10lb test. When you use a heavier line you throw the action off a lot and you don't get the bait down enough it seems. It seems like I catch a lot more on the jerkbait when I throw that expensive flourocarbon line. I know some guys who like to throw a jerkbait on a spinning rod. You can get a longer cast in usually on a spinning rod which helps you get the bait down and keep it in the strike zone. I still stick with the baitcasting gear. I like to use a 6 foot 6 inch rod just because its easier to work a jerkbait with. The longer 7 foot rods don't let you get the snap in like a shorter one will. The best areas to fish a jerkbait seem to be mainlake points, secondaries, channelswing banks and bluffs. Also its hard to beat a suspending jerkbait when your wanting to cover the flats. The colder the weather sometimes the slower you have to work your jerkbait. Usually 15 to 20 seconds is all you need. Sometimes you can get away with working a jerkbait a little faster than you can a jig so its a great search bait for wintertime bass.

The dropshot is a very productive method for catching wintertime bass. The strike zone gets a lot smaller in the cold water and there is no better method than dropshotting to keep the bait in the strike zone. You can take a dropshot rig and throw it up to deeper docks or on points and just shake it for minutes in one spot or just tighten up your line and deadstick it. My favorite plastics for the dropshot are a zoom meathead in watermellons seed, a Zoom jr fluke in pearl or watermellon seed or just a plain ol Zoom 4 inch finese worm. The best hook I've found is the Gamakatsu dropshot/splitshot hooks for this rig. I like the number 2 size. The most critical part of the rig is the line. I like to use 6lb test. I've throw it on all kinds of line sizes and this is what I've setteled on. When using light line spinning rods have the best drags so that is what I use for this technique. Make sure you get a rod with some flex in it. Most of the time your just shaking the slack in the line not actually moving the weight. You can get a lot more line movement with a limber rod. I'd recommend a 7 foot AiRRUS Ultra XL medium spinning rod for this setup.

A wacky rigged senko can be dynamite in the winter. I like to put a small spitshot about a foot and half up the line. The key is fishing it really slow. I like to throw it out on points, dropoffs, bluff banks, on deeper docks anywhere that winter bass lurk. The retrieve is pretty simple. I like to throw it out and let it get down on the bottom. Pay attention to you line. It will go slack when it finally gets down there. They I like to reel up the slack and sometimes you'll have a fish on so be ready. Then I'll give it a couple of twitches and let it go back to the bottom. You might want to count to 20 or so in between twitches. I like to throw this setup on a spinning rod as well. The same one I'll throw a dropshot on. If you throw a wacky rig on a baitcaster you have to worry about the bait comming off and getting a backlash so I've just settled on spinning. As far as colors go the gray shad patterns work really well and the green pumpkins. Just mimicking the shad and the crawlfish populations. Another thing you can add to your plastics is some scent. When your trying for a bite here and a bite there why not try to put the odds in your favor as much as possible.

[Basscrazie]

Great info.I hope this helps me some.I hate the jig but i have been fishing it more.

[BigBassin144]

I don't do much wintertime bassin, unless it's through a hole in the ice, but I do 3 of these 4 things come ice out. Good info.

BB

[abu4600]

I have done good slow rolling a spinnerbait with a big colorado blade along grass lines close to creek channels.

[REDBULLCUBAN]

great info, i have to get into jiggin myself.