Bass in the Big Chill

Photo by Outdoor Life Online Editor

If you have to use a snowmobile to get
across your favorite lake in winter instead
of a boat, chances are you're not too
keen on fishing it for bass then. Yet
in some parts of the country -- the South,
the Southwest and California in particular
-- the coldest part of the year means
anything but a temporary end to casting
and winding a lure. Where it's never so
frigid that lakes freeze over, anglers
who consider chilly temperatures a minor
annoyance rather than a major obstacle
catch some big bass and heavy stringers.

Granted, bass fishing in cold weather
poses a different set of problems. You
might look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy's
kid brother with all the clothes you'll
have to wear. And those layers still won't
seem like enough when you're zipping across
a lake at 50 miles an hour or so. Your
line guides might clog up with ice after
a few casts and you'll have to clean them
occasionally. Most bass won't make a big
effort to take your lures, so you may
have to slow your retrieves to a point
slightly above dead still.

On the plus side, bass are less pressured
and you won't have to wait in line to
fish a promising location. Many anglers
forsake their fishing tackle for hunting
gear this time of year. Some fishermen
just won't go out when it's cold enough
to put a skim of ice on the water in a
livewell.

That just means more bass for you. If
you're fortunate enough to live in an
area where fishing can be a year-round
proposition, or plan to travel there soon,
keep your tackle handy. Here are some
proven techniques to try when you get
to the water.

Beat the Banks
A couple of years ago, during a bass tournament
on Lake the Ozarks in Missouri, the
air temperature never made it out of the
30s and it snowed through much of the
event. Yet the most productive fishing
pattern involved retrieving buzzbaits
along banks lined with dark chunk rock.

"The
harder it snowed, the better the bass
hit," remembers Scott Rook, a professional
bass fisherman from Little Rock, Ark.,
who participated in the event. Rook admits
that working a buzzbait across the surface
of a lake in cold weather is a bit off
the wall, but it worked in this instance.
What was more important than the lure
was the circumstance. The best stringers
were caught from along banks where a feeder
creek channel meandered fairly close to
the main lake's rocky shoreline.

"Most
largemouths don't go as deep as people
think in cold weather," notes Rook. "They're
liable to be in water two feet deep when
the water temperatures are in the 40s.
They will go where they have to for food.

"A
second thing to remember is that largemouths
will move out to main-lake creek channels
in the winter, but they like to hold where
a creek swings in toward the bank so they
don't have to travel far to get from deeper
water to shallower water to feed."

When he's trying to establish a wintertime
largemouth pattern in a big Southern impoundment,
Rook looks for places where a narrow flat
separates a creek channel from a shoreline
that's covered with riprap or chunk rock.
His go-to lures are small, deep-running
crankbaits or jigs with a pork trailer.

"I
like Rapala Shad Raps (No. 7 or 8) or
Storm Wiggle Warts in crayfish patterns
when I can get the fish to hit a crankbait,"
says Rook. "I'll get them down to the
bottom and just work them fast enough
to keep them there. Bass may be at the
edge of the creek, somewhere on the flat
or next to the bank -- I cover it all."

If bass are too lethargic to chase down
a crankbait, Rook switches to jigs with
pork-frog trailers. Black and blue are
his favorite colors for stained water,
while pumpkinseed is his top choice for
clear water.

Rook's methods are repeatable in any large
impoundment. Using a topographic map,
find the areas where feeder creeks meander
along the impoundment's bottom in large
bays and coves. Then make note of the
places where the creeks creep in toward
the bank. Fish these areas first.

Spotted Bass Down Low
While largemouths may be holding in virtually
any depth of water during the winter,
spotted bass are easier to locate in Southern
impoundments. Start looking for them along
channel drop-offs, adjacent to deep points
with cover and near submerged trees that
once grew on the edges of the creeks and
rivers covered by the lake.

Standing timber was the ticket for Mickey
Bruce of Buford, Ga., in a December tournament
at Lake Lanier near Atlanta in 1994. Fishing ok. "I'll get them down to the
bottom and just work them fast enough
to keep them there. Bass may be at the
edge of the creek, somewhere on the flat
or next to the bank -- I cover it all."

If bass are too lethargic to chase down
a crankbait, Rook switches to jigs with
pork-frog trailers. Black and blue are
his favorite colors for stained water,
while pumpkinseed is his top choice for
clear water.

Rook's methods are repeatable in any large
impoundment. Using a topographic map,
find the areas where feeder creeks meander
along the impoundment's bottom in large
bays and coves. Then make note of the
places where the creeks creep in toward
the bank. Fish these areas first.

Spotted Bass Down Low
While largemouths may be holding in virtually
any depth of water during the winter,
spotted bass are easier to locate in Southern
impoundments. Start looking for them along
channel drop-offs, adjacent to deep points
with cover and near submerged trees that
once grew on the edges of the creeks and
rivers covered by the lake.

Standing timber was the ticket for Mickey
Bruce of Buford, Ga., in a December tournament
at Lake Lanier near Atlanta in 1994. Fishing