Winter Bass Fishing???

[redshad]

I am curious on how many of you guys fish in the cold winter months and if you have much luck when you go?  I don't fish much during the dead of winter, one, I am a little thin blooded and, two, I haven't had much luck when I do fish when the water temps get into the low 40s and upper 30s.  I hear guys talking about really smacking them in the middle of winter.  Is this just talk or can you really catch them in that cold of water temps?  I would love to hear about your experience in cold water and what areas do look for to fish and what baits are effective.  Any thoughts??????

Jeff

 

[Flysmallie]

I have had some of my best days fishing in some of the worst winter weather conditions. If it's cold and snowing or sleeting then it can be awesome. It can also suck too.

Baits? Could be anything. 

[fishinwrench]

Early Winter and Late Winter are fabulous.  Mid-Winter usually sucks unless you know of a select area (or two) where fish occasionally get active, and learn through trial&error when to hit them. 

A couple of the spots I know about are "community holes" that get hit pretty regularly.  Everyone that hits them will usually catch one or two, but the guy that is there when the real magic happens will load the boat almost effortlessly.  

After over 25 years of living here I can't explain when that time is, but with one specific spot sometimes I can just feel it, and more times than not I am right. Total gut instinct type stuff, it makes no explainable sense whatsoever.

 

[dan hufferd]

I like being on the water in the "off season"it's peaceful, it's definitely worth trying it a couple times. 

[Jmontgo1246]

I plan to fish during the winter a little more this year since I'm keeping my boat down there in storage now.  Have fished a little the past winters in late January and February when water is low to mid 40's.  Usually just fish a jerkbait in the mid-lake area...drag a finesse jig around some as well...have had decent luck but no big fish.  Plan to try a-rig a little more this year and expand to try some new areas besides my normal stuff.  Have seen pics and reports of plenty of 6-8 lbers out of Stockton in the winter...trying to figure out how to catch a couple of them big girls!

[Hammer time]

In my experience whey water temperature goes below 46 it's gets really tuff.

When temp climbs up to 48, clown suspending rouge and smoke gitzit on channel banks and rip rap can be deadly on 5-8 pounders. 

Generally around late February and early March.

[Skeeter ZX190]

I love bass fishing in the winter except when the temperature gets down below 40.  I really struggle after it gets below that.  I fish mainly between the dam and State Park.  Best banks seem to be where the channel swings in close to the shore in the larger creeks.  I mainly throw a jerkbait and I am partial to the Megabass 110 and the 110+1.  You have to go SLOW!  One of my best days was on President's Day in February several years ago.  Caught 33.  22 of them came on one short stretch of bank in Orleans Trail out by the buoy line on the north side of the cove.  They were really stacked up!

[Ham]

I'm all about it until the water temp drops below 40 degrees. I'd rather trout fish then spend the day looking for a handful of bites. 

[kjackson]

Your mileage may vary on this as this is from the Pacific Northwest. A guide buddy of mine prided himself on catching the first bass of the year by going out January 1--or close to it-- and locating a spot or two where springs kept the ice at bay. He usually caught LMB by casting to holes in the ice.  He also would head out when the ice was leaving and cast a topwater in the open water between the ice and the bank.  

Another friend turned my onto a bite that I've played with on the east side of Washington state. He was from Iowa and said that he and his friends would catch smallmouth when the water temps were in the low 40s by  using small crank baits. I played with it in the Columbia system and did very well fishing in late winter. The coldest water I caught smallies in was 34 degrees. The deal was to find areas where the bass would roam and feed. Ideally, it was a flat of some kind that would let you cast a long way and burn the bait back. The strikes when doing this were extremely vicious, bending the rod all the way to the cork.  

I got to fish Tenkiller once when it was cold--air temp was close to zero when we fished (-10 when we left the hotel in Ft. Smith). When we finally were able to get the rod lockers open, my friend fished a tube, and I fished a crank bait.  We fished a flat between the overwintering area and the spawning area and did really well. We caught quite a few smallies in the 2 to 3-pound range with maybe a 4 thrown in.  

I'm looking forward to playing with this a bit this year.

[Old plug]

I used to do sme but as you get older your circulation is not all what it was. My hands turn to ice even with gloves now days.