am i missing something here?

[bigjim]

ok, ive read that a slower presentation in cold water is key, since the bass are somewhat lethargic and using a jig will potentially trigger more strikes, but then ive heard/read in early spring when the water is cold burning a Rat L trap is a great producer for catching Bass...so which is it? slow or fast?

[Marty]

I'm no expert, but it could be both. You might need slow to elicit a feeding strike, but fast for a reaction strike.

[BassMoJo]

What Marty said....your fishing that jig slower and covering less water a bass may or may not move to eat it. With the trap your covering more water run it by her head and she won't have much of a choice nothing but a reaction bite.

[joedog]

I find the Rats work better Yo-yoed or similar retrieve better in cold water as opposed to burning them.
Again, just me.

[matt3mckee]

we did really well this winter on the traps. 1/4oz Red Eye Shad in Clear Ghost Sexy Shad. That ghost belly was hot this winter into the early spring down here in TN. They have came off of it a little bit and we have changed to the chrome and blue now but the Red Eye is on of my favorite baits in the box love them things. Oh and I mixed retrives between moderate speed to burning. Not much yo yoing and that one is new to me but since I have seen it talked about on here I will be trying it out this weekend in our Habitiat for Humanity Tournament on Loudon.

[hdmoorefootball]

in the spring time when the sun gets up, the bass get more active because the sun is warming up the water. That little period where the water is cold at night but warms up during the day is when that works.

[3dkicker]

Originally Posted by bigjim

ok, ive read that a slower presentation in cold water is key, since the bass are somewhat lethargic and using a jig will potentially trigger more strikes, but then ive heard/read in early spring when the water is cold burning a Rat L trap is a great producer for catching Bass...so which is it? slow or fast?

How cold are we talking???? 30's??? 40's??? 50's???

If the water is in the 50's I'll be using a crankbait or trap. High 40's maybe. Low 40's and below I'll switch to the slower presentation. BUT......you should always try different things because the fish don't read the magazines......

[bigjim]

Originally Posted by 3dkicker

How cold are we talking???? 30's??? 40's??? 50's???

If the water is in the 50's I'll be using a crankbait or trap. High 40's maybe. Low 40's and below I'll switch to the slower presentation. BUT......you should always try different things because the fish don't read the magazines......

not really sure how cold the water is, im guessing mid to upper 40's maybe 50 at most...as far as retrieves, ive been mixing it all up, burning it, slow, stop & go, yo-yo'ing it,been trying every imaginable presentation, just havent gotten a hit yet. been using the Red eye shad lipless crank & my original traps.

[Crankbait]

I look at it like this….when the fall is rolling over to winter the bass metabolism is slowing down….. do the bass no this???maybe maybe they know they don’t need the food or if it’s something natural. Now when spring comes they now what’s coming….mating warmer weather and higher metabolism. My thoughts

[Raul]

I remember when somebody in another forum asked about the same question and I replied: you can fish at arthritic snail pace or you can burn the water, reel in like mad as fast as you can, got a lot of heat for the second part, cuz it went against conventional/popular wisdom, but bass are bass and one of the things that I´ve learn about bass is that they don´t know about conventional/popular wisdom, and if they knew well... they don´t give a dang about it. This feller did what I suggested, burn the water, he´s now a believer.

You´ll never know until you try.

[kiddelicious]

There is a general consensus that slow is key in cold water. However there is no rule that states you have to fish slow in cold water. If you arent getting bites dragging a jig then trying ripping a bait. The best advice i can give you is dont let others dictate the speed at which you fish. Let the fish do that. You are the one out their fishing in your area. They arent.

[the pyromaniac]

I've always been a big fan of a yoyo retrieve for Rat-L-Traps and similar baits. That erratic dying action really seems to get hard reaction bites, especially in the cold.