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Old 04-09-09, 08:13 AM   #1
ejvesper
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Default Cold water help...

Just wondering what some of you guys who live in cold weather climates would use for lures when the water temp is around 35 degrees and there is still a little ice on the water....I've tried jerkbaits and jigs the last couple of times with no luck.....any retreive advise would be appreciated too
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Old 04-09-09, 09:18 AM   #2
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When the water is this cold a lot of times your only going to get a handful of bites a day. If your water is clear enough a dropshotted worm works pretty good under those conditions. You just have to be patient. Find some bluff ends and channelswings and start watching your graph. Under those conditions you should be able to find some bass there.
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Old 04-09-09, 11:59 AM   #3
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Not that I am an expert or anything, but from doing some research, Spinner baits with big blades, or a buzz bait can get the fish agitated. Its just finding where the fish are that is the hard part because they are often in the deeps, and my problem is that i dont have a boat to get out into the middle of the lakes I fish.

Thankfully though, by me (in central NJ) its starting to warm up.
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Old 04-09-09, 01:35 PM   #4
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I have heard and seen some videos where the pros goto a suspension bait in those situations. The logic is that the cold water will affect the baitfish most. In the video I saw, the angler would jerk the bait and allow it to pause for 5-8 seconds before moving it again.
Like I said this was a video on it since my water does not reach those temps.
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Old 04-10-09, 09:10 AM   #5
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A lot of the time a big spinnerbait slow rolled along the bottom will get that strike you are looking for , the colder the water the less active the bass will be so you really have to entice them into going after your bait , and when you think you are presenting it slow enough slow it down some more I mean fish it painfully slow , and like truman said the bites will be few and far in between but they are worth the effort when ya get them .


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Old 04-10-09, 09:42 AM   #6
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I'll try the spinnerbait next time....the water is up a degree or two around 37 to 38 now...hopefully this weekend...still looking for first one....
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Old 04-10-09, 09:45 AM   #7
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Suspending jerkbaits are currently working in the NY reservoirs with water temps at about 42 degrees. My buddy was also having success with black hair jigs.

Best to All,
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Old 04-10-09, 10:00 AM   #8
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Soft plastic jerkbaits and the dropshot have worked best for me in cold water.

As for retrieves on anything in cold water, if you think you can't fish any slower, fish slower.

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Old 04-10-09, 10:06 AM   #9
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I've found that 35 degrees is a much different story than say 41-42 degrees. When the water is that cold, you need to look for the steepest drops and breaks. Structure is really the name of the game. This is a time of year where it is critically important to be on the move with your boat, constantly graphing the drop offs and breaks with your sonar looking for baitfish (and maybe bass). If you aren't marking baitfish, you probably won't catch fish. Don't have any heartburn over spending 2-3 hours idling around points, channel swings and anywhere else you get vertical structure.

Contrary to what most believe, bass will feed quite heavily in winter. But they won't feed all day long, and the baitfish are confined to very small portions of the lake/river with the most vertical structure. Find those areas holding baitfish and you'll find bass.

Under about 43 degrees, you really do need to slow down your retrieve when fishing deeper structure. Bass are right on the bottom at that time of year, and will rarely move horizontally to attack a lure, but they will come up in the water column to strike. That's why steady moving lures tend to not work as good in 35 degrees (though they'll work good in 45), and those lures that you can kill for 20-30 seconds and deadstick are often more effective.

Hair jigs, drop shot, football jigs, small tubes, blade baits and suspending DD jerkbaits are good choices. Anything you can move very slowly or deadstick in one place for 20-30 seconds at a time.

The most important thing to remember is finding the vertical structure with the baitfish. Without a sonar, you're really handicapped. So get out there and don't be afraid to idle all over the lake looking for bait. Find the depth they're hanging around and get your lures down in that zone and keep them there.
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Old 04-10-09, 11:00 AM   #10
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Great advise Kevin....between you and the posts from other members I think I'll be good....I've been confined to fishing from the shore the last couple times I've been out as the ice had been still covering the majority of the lake. Now, however, although the water is still in the mid to upper 30's, the ice is pretty much out.

I had been fishing from the shore next to a bridge and trying to get deep with a jig and suspending jerkbait with no luck.

I'll be able to use my boat now and will use your advice....keeping my fingers crossed...
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Old 04-10-09, 06:48 PM   #11
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Great advice from kevin, as always. I fish ice cold water in spring for smallmouths and have the best luck crawling hair jigs on football or pill heads on steep structure. If im not gettting bites I will try vertically jigging a blade bait. I use slow rips and then semi-slack line the bait back to the bottom and let it sit a few inches up for about 30 seconds. It may take a while in the same spot to get a bite, just fish the spots that are most likely to hold fish.
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Old 04-10-09, 07:02 PM   #12
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I need some help! I dont know how to post a new question. Any help would be verry nice thanks in advance.
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