Early Winter Baits and Tactics

[cortman]

I'd be glad to hear from anyone, but particularly people roughly in my latitude- central MO, where it isn't northeastern iced-over cold yet, but isn't 70+ degrees daily like in the South.
What are your preferred baits and ways to fish them this time of year? When the fish are experiencing the first 45-50 degree water temperatures since last winter. I'm looking to expand my ideas and options for bass fishing this time of year.

[Mike Cork]

I spent a couple years in Missouri before I joined the Air Force. I learned more about jerkbaits in those two winters than all my fishing combined. So that would be my first choice. However we played with sink and raise rates, even the attitude that the bait sat in the water seemed to be important at times (even if only in our confidence). More often than not, the pause rate was more important than anything. Let it sit 10-15 seconds and nothing but let it go 25-30 and catch some very nice bass. It's so hard to let a bait suspend for 20 plus seconds but doing so in the winter can produce some fantastic bass.

My next choice is slow rolling a spinnerbait. Again we played with a lot of things. Blade shape and size depending on how deep we wanted to fish them and what size we felt the bait fish were. I would start the day with 3 or 4 different spinnerbaits before I settled on one.

Spoons can be a lot of fun and will catch anything that swims. I like to use them in a vertical presentation. Find baitfish and fish chasing them along a ledge and then put the boat over the top of them and vertical jig the spoon in their face while watching my electronics.

Lastly and I hated going to it unless it was a good bite, is a jig (simply because it was cold and I wanted to be moving for warmth LOL). The jig can be phenomenal in your neck of the woods. Ole Bo James used to kick our butts with it all the time. But he is also doesn't fish it one particular way. He might hop it, crawl it, soak it, or even swim it in 25 feet of water. Again he let the fish and bait fish tell him what to do.

The hardest thing for me to learn when fishing lakes like Truman, Stockton, Pommey, Table Rock, was that 5 solid keepers was a good day in the winter. Occasionally everything would come together and you'd find an active school and catch a bunch more but if I could catch 5 solid fish I learned to be happy with the day.

[Princeton_Man]

Suspending jerkbaits are one of my favorites. I used to be pretty decent at deadsticking a jig and soft plastics too. It usually takes me half a season slow down to the point I need to catch fish.

I've added some spoons to my cold water tackle but have only used any of them more than a time or two to find the right rod.

[rb-nc]

Try dragging a Hula Grub on a football head.Great bait in cold water

[Oldfart9999]

M-80s weighted to get to the correct depth!
Might be a good time to learn the Ned Rig. I've also done fairly well dragging a "T" rigged tube or a tube on a jig.
Rodney

[flowerjohn]

I'd be glad to hear from anyone, but particularly people roughly in my latitude- central MO, where it isn't northeastern iced-over cold yet, but isn't 70+ degrees daily like in the South.
What are your preferred baits and ways to fish them this time of year? When the fish are experiencing the first 45-50 degree water temperatures since last winter. I'm looking to expand my ideas and options for bass fishing this time of year.

In that temp range I agree. Slow down the approach and look at a more vertical presentation. Electronics will help locate fish that are not as prone to move as prolifically as they will in warmer water. Also, you will get over bigger bunches of them in smaller areas. I love the spoons too Mike. We go to them in the autumn and stay on them even when the ice is on. They produce. And on the topic of taking time to adapt your approach we have quick fix for that here and it consists of looking down a hole that is eight inches in diameter and just accepting that that is the fishing ground for the next few months. Good luck and have fun out there. J.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cortman]

So far I've been using the Ned rig a good bit, with decent success, as in I can usually count on one or two small bass over a lunch break's worth of fishing.
Up until a couple weeks ago I was catching them on a Texas rigged beaver bait, but the water was closer to 50-55, and haven't had any bites on that for a while.
I'd love to fish a jerkbait, but I have a hard time getting my mind around it. Aren't the fish typically hugging the bottom when the water turns cold for the winter? If they're not suspending why would they expend all the energy to get off the bottom and attack a jerkbait?
I had good success with them in the early spring.

[coldfront]

I used to be pretty decent at deadsticking a jig and soft plastics too.

I'm thinking of how hard it can be to dead-stick something (in terms of motor skills, not patience!) versus skipping a jig on baitcasting equipment.

'...you mean all I have to do is 'nuthin'?...'

[cortman]

Another technique I'm having some luck with, that I've never really fished before, is a carolina rig. 1/2 oz. weight, 2' leader, same Netbait B-bug. Going to try a Zoom Centipede today.