Winter lures....Finesse or bigger?

[WaffleJaw]

I hear alot of guys who always drop down to slow finesse fishing in the winter....Now thats it actually starting to get colder in TX..Im thinking of cold strategies....For some reason it makes sense to me to go bigger in lure and plastic size...I mean the bass arent gonna be as active.So why would they chase a small size snack that wouldnt replenish the energy it used to grab it?
Im sure small lures still work..but I think bigger my be better...Opinions?
Ive never fished through a cold winter before,so Im trying to get a game plan...

[nofearengineer]

Waffle...fish use very little energy compared to land animals. The primary reasons for this are they expend almost no energy fighting against gravity and maintaining body temperature. Even a small minnow is worth the energy required to catch it. In addition, it is likely that smaller food digests much more efficiently for their slow cold-water metabolism, with less "dwell time" in their gut. I would also think a small morsel is much less likely to injure the bass. Just my two cents.

[WaffleJaw]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Waffle...fish use very little energy compared to land animals. The primary reasons for this are they expend almost no energy fighting against gravity and maintaining body temperature. Even a small minnow is worth the energy required to catch it. In addition, it is likely that smaller food digests much more efficiently for their slow cold-water metabolism, with less "dwell time" in their gut. I would also think a small morsel is much less likely to injure the bass. Just my two cents.

I always thought bass use quite a bit of energy.Isnt using the oxygen how they maintain thier metabolism? Oxygen slowly dissolves in water,and isnt very abundant.So I would think that it took a bit of energy to just stay alive...If I knew for sure ,I'd be making more money as a wildlife biologist...haha.

I guess what Im trying to figure out,if they dont use that much energy as you say,
Why do they suspend and become so inactive in the winter?...Isnt a reason is to conserve energy?

Im going go fish here in a bit with a big and small lure of the same pattern...Well see what happens...(I'll probably get skunked on both)

[Raul]

Once may moons ago in a forum when such question was asked I said: you can use any of these two approaches .-

1.- Slow down and retrieve your bait at arthritic snail pace
2.- Burn the water and cast as much as you can and reel in fast as you can.

All the "experts" said that approach two was almost idiotic because the water temp, the methabolic rate, yadda, yadda, yadda , well in theory conventional wisdom says you should slow down, but since when bass follow "rules" ? all the time you think you have bass figured out they just love to prove you wrong, so somebody somewhere with a more open mind read it and must have thought: "this guy may probably be right" went ahead on a freezing winter day ( and it was snowing ) followed my advice and guess what ? ---> he became a believer of approach number two.

You never now if you don´t try, you ain´t gonna loose nuthin´ but time, if it works ---> kool, if it don work ---> no problem, all you lost was some time, besides, you were mentally willing to try approach 1 for starters.

[nofearengineer]

Originally Posted by WaffleJaw

I always thought bass use quite a bit of energy.Isnt using the oxygen how they maintain thier metabolism? Oxygen slowly dissolves in water,and isnt very abundant.So I would think that it took a bit of energy to just stay alive...If I knew for sure ,I'd be making more money as a wildlife biologist...haha.

I guess what Im trying to figure out,if they dont use that much energy as you say,
Why do they suspend and become so inactive in the winter?...Isnt a reason is to conserve energy?

Im going go fish here in a bit with a big and small lure of the same pattern...Well see what happens...(I'll probably get skunked on both)

Cold-blooded animals can survive for very long periods with little or no food. Look at turtles, alligators, and snakes. They can sometimes go a year or more without eating.

Strictly speaking, bass are not conserving energy in the winter. They simply don't need much energy...it's why they tend to fatten up, However, when it's cold, their metabolism isn't capable of providing a lot of energy quickly. They can do short bursts of activity, but they will need to rest. (There are differing views of this subject on the board...this is my theory, and I'm sticking to it).

The level of oxygen in water, while much, much lower than in air, is only a limiting factor on the bass' behavior when the water is very warm, i.e, the bass' metabolism outstrips its ability to take in oxygen necessary to complete metabolic processes. Late summer bass are almost always the skinniest, right?

When a bass is suspending, it's because he's not looking to eat anything, he's fat and he's not hungry any more, or he's distressed because of some other water/weather condition. He might still be tricked into a reaction strike, but his plan is just hanging out (literally) for a while.

[WaffleJaw]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Cold-blooded animals can survive for very long periods with little or no food. Look at turtles, alligators, and snakes. They can sometimes go a year or more without eating.

Strictly speaking, bass are not conserving energy in the winter. They simply don't need much energy...it's why they tend to fatten up, However, when it's cold, their metabolism isn't capable of providing a lot of energy quickly. They can do short bursts of activity, but they will need to rest. (There are differing views of this subject on the board...this is my theory, and I'm sticking to it).

The level of oxygen in water, while much, much lower than in air, is only a limiting factor on the bass' behavior when the water is very warm, i.e, the bass' metabolism outstrips its ability to take in oxygen necessary to complete metabolic processes. Late summer bass are almost always the skinniest, right?

When a bass is suspending, it's because he's not looking to eat anything, he's fat and he's not hungry any more, or he's distressed because of some other water/weather condition. He might still be tricked into a reaction strike, but his plan is just hanging out (literally) for a while.

See thats what brings me back to the point of bigger or smaller lures...Why bother with a small chase when the payoff isnt going to be that rewarding?

Anyway,I got skunked...I started with a small white/shad patterned chatter...(Had to break it off).....Then to a 7'' purple u-tail...Then to a blk/blue one....Then finished off by pitching a green/red flake sweet beaver into structure piles....It was cold and I didnt feel like retying my finesse rig........Yea Im a puss.

[nofearengineer]

Ask yourself this Waffle...who can swim faster and for more distance...small or big fish?

That should let you decide which sized meal is the better investment to chase.

[WaffleJaw]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

Ask yourself this Waffle...who can swim faster and for more distance...small or big fish?

That should let you decide which sized meal is the better investment to chase.

How does that apply to the cold,when fish arent racing?...We were just discussing how they are very inactive.
Unless your talking about the ''bait'' fish...In that case,the bigger fish moves slower,especially in colder water further fueling my theory on bigger baits since they'll be easier to catch
haha....You know Im just messing with you on that one,right?

I get what your saying...I just gonna try different techniques and log them into my composition book..Thats all I can do.

[bassinbob]

No fear is right about food rotting in their gut in the winter. However, I believe if a big bass is hungry and a large bait presents itself in a manner that a big bass can ambush, it will. A big bait is no bigger than 5 or 6 inches as opposed to a small 2in crankbait or similar. Also, just because it's winter doesn't mean that a big bass doesn't eat. There are plenty of large bass caught through the ice. Is it Maine or Mass. state record which was caught through the ice? My 2cents worth.

[Basscrazie]

The fish will hold tight to cover after these cold fronts...Fish slow with what you have confidence in...There is fish that stay shallow all year even in the hottest water..After a front fishing sux for the most part,just remember to slow down which i have the hardest time doing and the rook in the back will catch fish cause he is fishing slow compared to me..I always struggle in cold water..I am gonna fish a tourny this weekend and will go big to start for big fish,keepers here are 16" on the lake i fish.Good luck

Red will be working on cranks real soon.LL TRAP IN RED and cover water.

[TravisRush]

In winter, I use 1 oz. football heads almost religiously and catch good sized smallmouth. The hula grub here is one of the main staples of a tournament repertoire and is used all year round. One of the guys who is consistently finishing high in tournament here uses a 6 inch GYB hula grub and a 1 ounce football head.

[Bob Smith]

Originally Posted by WaffleJaw

How does that apply to the cold,when fish arent racing?...We were just discussing how they are very inactive.
Unless your talking about the ''bait'' fish...In that case,the bigger fish moves slower,especially in colder water further fueling my theory on bigger baits since they'll be easier to catch
haha....You know Im just messing with you on that one,right?

I get what your saying...I just gonna try different techniques and log them into my composition book..Thats all I can do.

Well, coming from your part of the country I can pretty much relate to your delimma (SP?), or quandary (LOL)! I don't believe there is a tried and proven theory on this one. I have heard that big bass don't eat much but when they do they want a real meal. But then again, digesting that real meal consumes more "energy", the big bass find it easier to eat the smaller bait that are dying in the colder water temps because it is easier to digest.
Personally, I have caught big fish in North Texas during the winter on Big Jigs and drop shot 4" finesse worms, On big Castaic Perch swimbaits and 1/4" rattle traps after a few warm days. I would bet that even the biologist down at the Athens hatchery would probably avoid this conversation!

[danielbasspro]

Well it doesnt get that cold here but when I think its cold i use a shaky head with a finesse worm when nothing else works or i go flippin. A shaky head will almost always catch a fish.

[BassinID]

Here in idaho we are on a pretty early cold season, but I may have a little insight from the fall season that could prove usefull. I read an article that I can't find at the moment that talked about baitfish(bass food). the article suggested that many mature adult shad or other such bait will expire in the fall(not all, but that is the time when the majority of mortality occurs). the article suggested that imitating a dying baitfish moving towards the bottom in an erratic motion could produce good strikes. To test the theory I threw a drop shot and a white jig until I was blue in the face with very poor results. The next morning out I had a fun little idea. I pulled out a strike king sexy spoon and jigged it over the first school of bass i saw on the screen. I never moved all day, at least not to speak of. I cough dozens of fish (smallmouth) in the two to five/six pound range in a matter of hours. Unfortunately I have not been back out to try my fun little technique out again and we are now facing sub zero temps so I think my season is over, but maby I will get a wild hair and go up north for some cold water largemouth experimentation.

[pig n jig]

I am with Raul on this subject.Many times I have caught bass burning rattle type baits back in cold water.It goes against everything you might think but I know most people fish a trap way to slow in colder water.Ivan

[bassintom]

I've been catching a bunch of bass on rattletraps in 44-45 degree water.

[pig n jig]

Originally Posted by bassintom

I've been catching a bunch of bass on rattletraps in 44-45 degree water.

I love fishing the trap when they're working.

When it doesn't,I down size and present the lure at a snails pace through the water I'm fishing.A boo bug or bitsy bug jig or a small 4" handpoured paddle tailed worm or a Lake fork baby craw, or baby paca craw.Fish so slow to the point of wondering if your just standing out in the cold or whether your actually still fishing.

Fish really fast for a reaction bite or downsize and fish incredibly slow. Ivan

[Rebbasser]

Simple solution: Try both. Let the fish tell you what works. I've had days where they wouldn't touch a slow moving finesse bait but hammered a fast moving bait in cold water. And I've had the opposite happen.

PnJ, good to see you, buddy!

[bassintom]

Wow, 3 old timer posts in a row!..

[Backwater Charlie]

Bass are not going to be as hungry in winter time, so they won't be hitting bigger baits. You can try the bigger baits but I'm not guaranteeing anything. If I were you I'd use a 4" plastic worm.

[BeaverIslander]

I know a few people up here that are throwing crappie lures in the weeks before ice-up. One guy swears by the Beetle Spin, minus the spinner. Thats 1" max.

I would try half of a 4-5" Senko rigged like a jigworm on a mushroom jighead, and do mostly a straight retrieve with a few twitches and pauses.

[rodnreel]

Waffle, I suggest you try just about anything and everything you have. Here's the reason I say this: I went out fishing on Saturday morning in 27 degree temperature with snow falling around me. I wanted to toss around a new Strike King series 3 crankbait (chart. sexy shad) I hadn't used yet and wasn't planning on catching anything. This is not a bait that would be conventionally thought of as successful in winter. To my surprise I found a bass that was willing to bite. I switched immediately to a big chart. shad LC pointer and caught another one.

So in my opinion, the bigger baits, even though they aren't seen as conventional winter fishing tools, can still yield good results. I'm coming to find more and more each time I fish that the key is to keep an open mind. Don't be afraid to throw unconventional lures at unconventional times. Sometimes it can pay off like it did for me this weekend.

[Acm4bass]

I fish a deep clear resevoir in California. The top list of effective lures 3/8-3/4 Brown/purple Football jig (I like Berserkbaits jigs), Tubes on darter head, Weightless senkos, ripbaits ( staycee 90 V3) and the best is drop shot with a MMIII robowrm.

I am also learning to fish spoons...but I'm learning.