Catching bass during the winter fishing season can often be described as a grind for many anglers. After all, a majority of the time during the winter, bass are in a lethargic state and barely even move–let alone eat a lure tossed at them. Despite this, there are some ways to make the most out of the winter bass fishing and catch some trophy bass. The pros at Outlet Bait & Tackle are sharing our four best tips that will help you catch a winter bass next time you hit the water!
Winter Bass Fishing Tip #1: Throw natural baits
It's not uncommon for bass to eat crazy-looking baits during the summer and fall months. Some anglers, like KVD, claim when the bite is tough, throwing a bright pink lure gets bites. Even though this is a valid claim in some cases, during the winter months we believe the key to getting more bites is throwing natural colored lures. As mentioned, bass are very lethargic this time of year, so throwing something that mimics bait in your waters is a lot more likely to get bit than an abnormal bait like the bright pink color we mentioned. It is good to experiment with colors, but to start, we recommend throwing green pumpkin in clear waters and black and blue in stained waters.
Winter Bass Fishing Tip #2: Downsizing baits
With the cold winter weather also comes a decreased appetite with most fish. Typically, bass will only eat a few small things a day instead of constantly gorging themselves like they do in the fall and summer months. Due to this, downsizing your lures is one of the best ways to increase the number of bites you get during the winter. We recommend throwing small-profile lures like the blade bait, ned rig, and tube, but other lures can be used as well. Big lures can work at times, but it has been proven that smaller baits tend to get more bites and bigger fish during the winter months.
Winter Bass Fishing Tip #3: Fish the right areas
One of the most common mistakes that we see during the winter fishing season is when anglers fish in the same shallow waters where they had success in the fall. Despite the logic behind this, once winter comes, bass move out into deeper waters, leaving anglers confused as to why they aren’t catching anything up shallow. In other cases, anglers will move out to deep waters but have little to no success because they chose a random spot. One of our biggest tips that winter fishermen find helpful is to fish deep areas that have a steep transition. What we mean by this is areas in your body of water that go from shallow to deep very quickly. Bass will usually stack up in these areas because it’s easy for them to go from shallow to deep water in a short period of time.
Winter Bass Fishing Tip #4: Be patient!
None of the tips listed above can be applied unless you as the angler are patient. Many anglers throw small baits and fish deep transition areas but are met with the frustration of not catching anything after an hour. Like we said, winter fishing just isn’t the same as the summer bite, so you have to have some patience and experiment with different lures and locations more than you would in the summer.
The winter bite is tough, but with these tips, your chances of hooking into a trophy bass are much more likely! We hope one of the tidbits mentioned today helps you out on the water, but remember that patience is key anytime you are wetting a line!
