Flip Cold Weather Bass During Winter Warm Fronts
Last week my area was graced enough to have been given some outstanding weather that saw some clear skies and air temperatures reach into the low 70’s. With such great weather I was not only able to cut out some underbrush in my yard, but I was also able to hit the water and manage a few nice fish with National Bass Circuit’s Potomac Division Tournament Director and friend, Rodney “Tank” Mosley. With that being said, here is a tip to help you catch’em when extended warm fronts roll through during the cold weather months.
As you may already know, during the stout cold of winter, bass like to move deep and if they do any feeding it will mostly be off of the bottom. They do not have to use as much energy to chance down prey on the bottom. For this reason, jigs become tough to beat. Just remember to use them slowly as I described a few weeks ago. While this is usually your best bet for catching some big fish, it’s not the only way.
Learn to love warm fronts during the winter season. When given clear, sunny sky situations for 2-3 days, the shallow banks of a lake can become warm to a bass who has been sitting deep in 45 degree water. When this happens, you can often find bass throughout the day on the bank soaking up some rays. Try to find banks that have cover on it such as wood or rock. These things will also help absorb the heat of the sun and the bass will hold tight to it for the extra warmth. While you may find a bank with a stretch full of lay downs and rock on it, I prefer to look for a stretch with the steepest drop-off close to it and the fewest amount of wood and rock cover. This allows me to target the area more thoroughly. If you have a 100yd. bank with a 15 foot drop-off on it and one big lay down, chances are that multiple bass will use that lay down to hold tight to. While they are not looking to feed, it is a bass’s opportunistic nature to take it if it lands right on top of its head.
My favorite presentation is had with a 3/8 jig in a brown/green color for clear water and black and blue for stained water. I’ll use a 7 foot MH American Eagle Rod with 17 lb Vicious Fluorocarbon line on a Quantum Tour Edition PT reel. The fluorocarbon line will help give you better sensitivity and abrasion resistance when throwing around the cover while the MH action of the AE rod has plenty of a good tip to get distance on your pitch as you keep far back away from the cover and lots of back bone to get them up and out.
So next time you are given the opportunity to thaw your boat off in the sunny skies of a winter warm front, be sure you grab your flipping stick to try and beat up the banks with.
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POSTED IN: Miscellaneous, Tips/Tactics
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