Winter fishing varies greatly depending on where in the country you’re trying to catch a bass. In our northern states, you have to drill a hole in the ice to present a bait to bass. You can launch your boat farther south, but the water temperatures may be in the low 40s. In our most southernly states, the water temperature is relatively warm.
I just spent three mid-December days fishing in my home state of Texas. The water temperatures on the two lakes I visited were in the 50s, which is typical here at this time. Although that isn’t frigid water, the bass were in their winter doldrums.
The most important thing you need to know to be successful in wintertime is that the bite windows are very small. In April and May, you can catch bass somewhere on a lake at any time of day. The bite window then is virtually 12 hours. In December, with the water temperature plummeting, the bite window shrinks significantly.
Over the past 20 years of winter fishing, I’ve learned that you typically get two bite windows a day, and they only last for an hour or so. They usually happen in the late morning and in the late afternoon. I have no idea why that happens; I just know from experience that it does.
Baitfish activity you see on your electronics and feeding birds are clues as to when a bite window is happening, or when one is going to happen. You need to be ready when one occurs. Even then you may not get a lot of bites. But the bass seem to inhale whatever lures you choose to use at these times. And, there’s a good chance that they will be fish you can brag about.
That’s what I experienced over those three December days here in Texas. I caught only two bass, but I couldn’t be happier. One was a 6-pound largemouth. The other was a 5-pound smallmouth, which is saying something in Texas. Both bass were fat, healthy and in beautifully pristine condition. That’s often the case with winter bass.
I always want to be throwing shad imitations when the water temperature is in the mid-50s. Over the past three days I fished a 7-inch Bass Mafia prototype swimbait exclusively. We are still refining that bait. I might have gotten more bites with smaller baits. But, as you probably know, I’m addicted to swimbaits.
Besides taking advantage of winter’s short bite windows, I have four more tips that should help you during the cold months.
1) Slow down your retrieve speeds.
2) Fish a swimbait and a jig. Winter bass will typically go for one or the other.
3) Fish a hard rock bottom or cement.
4) Fish shallow.
One of the biggest misconceptions about wintertime fishing is that you have to fish deep. I caught those two big bass only 5 feet deep. You can catch them deep, of course, but go ahead and check those rocky spots in shallow water as well.
