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Nothing slows bass down like
cold water, after all bass are cold blooded. Bass still have to eat
just not as often and being in the right place at the right time will
convince you of this and probably keep the bass boat out of storage
during those cold winter days. Largemouth bass and especially
Smallmouth Bass still feed daily. Some argue that bass go days
without feeding in the winter but as an angler it seems there is
always a good bass bite sometime throughout a day of wintertime bass
fishing.
One great presentation and
one that is often overlooked for wintertime bass is the crankbait.
During the winter bass primarily target dying shad and crawfish and
both can be represented well with a crankbait. Crankbaits are so
versatile and can be fished slow or fast deep or shallow. You can
pause a crankbait to not only allow the lethargic bass to catch the
crankbait but it will also trigger a bite as bass know that the
energy gained from the food he consumes has to equal or surpass the
energy expended to catch that prey.
Wintertime bass go deep.
Fact or myth? Well again from an anglers perspective many would argue
that lots of bass stay relatively shallow in the winter moving up to
feed in even shallower water when it is time. Many would argue that
once the water temps are stable bass pretty much resume a normal
routine you might find in the spring or fall just at a much slower
pace. Now it has been shown many times that bass go deep when water
temps fall but there are still shallow bass to be caught. For those,
like me, who are still patiently attempting to learn and gain
confidence to pursue deep water bass and relinquish the shallow
techniques for those deeper bass all is not lost and many anglers are
proving that lots of bass still prowl the shallows in search of prey
and can be caught even on fast moving crankbaits.
Whether a lipless crankbait
or a conventional crankbait you can work shoreline cover and
underwater structure with the same results in the winter as any other
time. The feeding period will be much smaller and you have to be on
the water to take advantage of this time. Sometime after noon is
often the best bite for crankbait slingers as water temps rise. Even
just 1 or 2 degrees can turn bass on and provide a flurry of fish in
a short span of time.
Look for grass as this water
will tend to be a bit warmer already and bass love to hang in there
waiting for a shad or crawfish to swim by or in your case a
crankbait. You need to penetrate the weeds a little ripping the
crankbait through the grass. Even lethargic bass will be jolted with
an energy boost by something ripping by them and you can cover lots
of water this way in search of the active bass.
Rocks and solid cover can be
great places to fling your crankbait. Locate cover near deeper water
say 12 to 15 feet and you have a great place. Crank your crankbait
fast and ricochet it off the cover causing the crankbait to swim
erratically and changing directions sharply. This will trigger the
bass the same way ripping the crankbait through the grass. A good tip
is to pause your crankbait after you feel it hit something and hang
on as this is oftentimes when the bass will engulf your crankbait and
quickly attempt to return to the cover in which it came.
Wintertime bass fishing can
be tough at times but there are plenty of bass still willing to
cooperate in the winter if you just get out there and give a
crankbait a try and experiment with the crankbait tips you read right
here on RAMBLING ANGLER and you too can enjoy a longer season bass
fishing and join many other anglers in dispelling the wintertime bass
fishing myths.
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