Winter Bassing?

[racfish]

Do Bass hibernate? They must still have to eat somethings. What do people use fror winter bassin? Do retrieves need to be slower? Thinking they may get lethargic in colder weather.Im thinking of taking my boat out this weekend in Lk Wa. Just wondering what to offer fish.

[tnj8222]

Drop shot. Jigs with hula grub. Look for fish in about 50 +feet

[Amx]

Do Bass hibernate? Not really, sometimes they get real slow so you think they are.


They must still have to eat something. What do people use for winter bassin? Jigs, drop shot will work. Spinnerbaits and cranks baits at time and some places.

Do retrieves need to be slower? Yes, very slow lots of times with just letting it sit will works too.

Thinking they may get lethargic in colder weather.

I'm thinking of taking my boat out this weekend in Lk Wa. Just wondering what to offer fish.

Good luck, I've caught winter fish on Washington in years past, but haven't gone for a few years.

[Bigbass Dez]

Hey Racfish ,
It would benifit you to watch the winter bassfishing video that we shot on lk washington 2 years ago , there are some great tips in there . !!

[Fish-N-Fool]

Hey Racfish ,
It would benifit you to watch the winter bassfishing video that we shot on lk washington 2 years ago , there are some great tips in there . !!

I'd like to see it too,
Where would one find this video?

[Jay K]

Well, I'm catching largemouth through the ice, so I'm assuming they'll bite in open water too. Probably jig small like we do on the ice. I've been catching 'em with a 1/12oz kastmaster jigged vertically w/ a fake maggot.

[Anonymous]

The vid is in the collection of vids on the vids pages. :-)

Look above in the menue for the videos.

click features

then click fishing videos

[The HAWG HUNTER]

A few years back a buddy wanted to go fishing in FEBRUARY it was cold and I told him it would be tough to get bit so with that in mind we went for it. I gave him a power bait craw with orange claws and it produced 3 LMB in the 2 lb range. I tried this bait with no luck. When his bait was pulled off the hook he asked for another. Like any other fisherman thats getting skunked I said that was it,but here try this; knowing that the bait had never done any thing for me. A culprit red shad 7.5 BAM! he landed another. In a state of fishing shock I said we had to go. Long story short yea they bite all year around. Slow down and let the bait just sit there. Every now an then give a bump. This was in Kitsap befor the rules on bass are what they are today. In a place called morgens marsh. The water temp that day was 42* sunny mid day. If you can take the cold go fishing. You might get bit.

[basser90]

racfish, I was out there yesterday. For me winter fishing is tough because I don't like to fish as slow as is usually takes to get bit. For me nothing beats time on the water. I don't care what time of year. I believe there is always something to learn just by being there. I might experiment with wieghts, line, baits, different rods, drop the camera down and look at areas that produce in other seasons and just explore. My friends thought I was nuts yesterday, but Ive never felt more alive. Stick with football heads and drop shotting. I've got more deck space because I'm not throwing reaction baits this time of year on Washington. (but a crankbait will catch some pretty nice trout) I had the lake pretty much to myself also. Stick with it.

[FishTank]

Well, I'm catching largemouth through the ice, so I'm assuming they'll bite in open water too. Probably jig small like we do on the ice. I've been catching 'em with a 1/12oz kastmaster jigged vertically w/ a fake maggot.

I think I may make my way out there to Eloika. Been hearing really good reports. Are there a lot of open holes?? I've been ice fishing Silver and Hog Canyon without needing to own an auger.

[The Jigmiester]

Racfish. Catching bass in the winter can be a daunting proposition, but they can be caught. As for hibernation, they don't as much hibernate as the cold water period slows down thier metabolismg. Largemouth Bass tend to feed most frequently in water temperatures above 60 degrees with 72 degrees being thier optimum. In winter, after the fall turnover period, the warmest water is near the bottom of the lake. In warmer months, the water stratifies in deeper lakes, with the mid depth thermocline being the pereferred temp zone for most bass. An important occurance happens in the fall for all fish, when colder water temps kill off the summer weed growth and baby baitfish from the previous spring have grown to about 4 or 5 inches long have no more summer weeds to hide in from predators. Bass and walleye feed heavily during this time. They have too...if the winter sets in and thier stomachs are empty, the Bass may die because they are too cold to chase baitfish and feeding times are often short lived. In winter, bass tend to hug wood structure like fallen logs and standing timber. They'll gravitate around available forage like schools of yellow perch. Ice fishermen on Eloika lake near Spokane periodically catch largemouth bass thru the ice on the same jigs that they catch panfish. I like to throw smaller versions of the same lures that I use in warmer weather. A case in point, where 4" hula grubs catch smallmouth like crazy in May and June, I'll scale down to a 2" crappie critter double tail jig in winter, using a 1/16th oz jighead instead of a 5/8ths oz. Its the same when fishing Senko type worms. In early summer a 5" Senko rules but in winter I will use the 3" size. Sometimes a 2" pearl or smoke colored grub inched along a rocky bottom, around mid lake points, tapering into deeper water will produce when nothing else will. Another option is throwing a crankbait like a Perch #5 Rapala Shad Rap on medium steady retieve. Remember that spider jigs like a black/blue Stanley, or a green pumpkin Strike King Bitsy jig in the smaller scaled down size will catch bass in winter time. Make sure to use lots of scent like smelly jelly crawfish on your plastics. Keep your eye on your depth finder for the warmest water you can find. This warmer water will usually be in the northwest corner of the lake, in shallower dark bottom bays. Cocrete retainer walls, boat slips and boulder chunk rock tend to warm up quicker and Bass will often move up near that structure and hang out just under the surface during late winter. Keep your presentation slow and methodical. Bites will tend to be "mushy" feeling. I hope this helps...Jiggy

[coretron22]

I said the same thing to him..."watch the 2 winter bass vids on walakes.com". Seriously Racfish, they are really educational, and you know the lake well enough, you might recognize where they are in the vids.

There are 2 vids, 2009 and 2010 trip.
Awesome vids!

great info jigmeister, thanks.

[G-Man]

Well I've caught a few this winter on a Brad's mini cutplug and a Needlefish. When I picked up the smallies I was trolling them right near the bottom in 25' to 50' of water using snap weights. I know the entire east channel can be productive this time of year, I've never really tried the area around Seward Park with this technique.

[Bigbass Dez]

Racfish. Catching bass in the winter can be a daunting proposition, but they can be caught. As for hibernation, they don't as much hibernate as the cold water period slows down thier metabolismg. Largemouth Bass tend to feed most frequently in water temperatures above 60 degrees with 72 degrees being thier optimum. In winter, after the fall turnover period, the warmest water is near the bottom of the lake. In warmer months, the water stratifies in deeper lakes, with the mid depth thermocline being the pereferred temp zone for most bass. An important occurance happens in the fall for all fish, when colder water temps kill off the summer weed growth and baby baitfish from the previous spring have grown to about 4 or 5 inches long have no more summer weeds to hide in from predators. Bass and walleye feed heavily during this time. They have too...if the winter sets in and thier stomachs are empty, the Bass may die because they are too cold to chase baitfish and feeding times are often short lived. In winter, bass tend to hug wood structure like fallen logs and standing timber. They'll gravitate around available forage like schools of yellow perch. Ice fishermen on Eloika lake near Spokane periodically catch largemouth bass thru the ice on the same jigs that they catch panfish. I like to throw smaller versions of the same lures that I use in warmer weather. A case in point, where 4" hula grubs catch smallmouth like crazy in May and June, I'll scale down to a 2" crappie critter double tail jig in winter, using a 1/16th oz jighead instead of a 5/8ths oz. Its the same when fishing Senko type worms. In early summer a 5" Senko rules but in winter I will use the 3" size. Sometimes a 2" pearl or smoke colored grub inched along a rocky bottom, around mid lake points, tapering into deeper water will produce when nothing else will. Another option is throwing a crankbait like a Perch #5 Rapala Shad Rap on medium steady retieve. Remember that spider jigs like a black/blue Stanley, or a green pumpkin Strike King Bitsy jig in the smaller scaled down size will catch bass in winter time. Make sure to use lots of scent like smelly jelly crawfish on your plastics. Keep your eye on your depth finder for the warmest water you can find. This warmer water will usually be in the northwest corner of the lake, in shallower dark bottom bays. Cocrete retainer walls, boat slips and boulder chunk rock tend to warm up quicker and Bass will often move up near that structure and hang out just under the surface during late winter. Keep your presentation slow and methodical. Bites will tend to be "mushy" feeling. I hope this helps...Jiggy

Great insight jigmiester !! Your gonna be an asset to the bass forum this season IMO:salut: