Here’s a key point to remember when you are fishing in the cold of winter. Fish tend to slow down and become much more lethargic than most anglers realize. It is at this very time of the season where you must approach the fish with much more subtle tactics and techniques. When the water temperatures in below 50 degrees, the metabolism of the largemouth bass is greatly reduced. Thus they feed drastically less during the winter months than they do in the summer.
Another consideration is the time of day they feed and how long they spend finding forage. Largemouth will live in the deeper haunts but move up the shallow water to chase prey for at most one to two hours during the early afternoon period. This is the time when the sun is at its highest and the water surface is warming its quickest.
A great tip for these cold and often blustery conditions is to find deep-edged channel breaks or banks where fish can hide in deeper water and move up shallow during the warming parts of the day. Lures such as slow jigs and deep diving crankbaits tend to perform better than fast moving lures such as Rat-L-Traps or chatterbaits.
Spinnerbaits should not be part of your arsenal as baitfish are not moving that quickly. If you are slow-rolling spinnerbaits, then you may be able to produce, but otherwise, stay away from spinnerbaits. Pay close attention to weather patterns and look for cold and/or warm fronts approaching your lake. Often with a warm front, high pressure systems drive bass shallow and tend to increase feeding activity and plankton.
Largemouth bass fishing can be described as tough throughout the many parts of the country. However, you will need good bass fishing gear to succeed in your winter fishing trips.
