Hello all fishermen, did you know, bass have been fattening up for a winter’s catch? Winter’s cool waters and this pleasant weather we’ve been having this winter cause’s bass to feed and it also gives an avid fisherman a reason to enjoy a day of fishing. If you’re one of those who fishes all year, get out your rod and reel and take along your bait and try out catching some big bass.
All of you readers who have read my articles are aware of the love I have for fishing. Yes, I’m a trout fisher-person first, but I also like catching other species of fish too. I never truly knew how bass moves to shallow waters to feed in the fall of the year and offers a fisherman a chance to locate their shallow spots until I read an article in the Virginia Game and Fish Magazine, Volume 2011, No. 8, by Ronnie Garrison, October 2011 Issue here recently.
This article also indicated using the right types of bait is of utmost importance and it will make a fisherman have great results in catching some fine bass. Did you know the water is a lot clearer during this time of year; thus, making bait more enticing to bass because they can actually see the bait? Don’t get fooled by this though, it’s important to provide natural bait which looks like food to the bass fish too.
The article also expresses how bass loves to hide in rocks, docks, piles of brush, and blow-downs for the winter where they feel their hiding and finding food at the same time. They like feeding on crawfish or baitfish which causes them to store fat for the weather ahead. It’s important to use bait that mimics the foods they are used to eating.
In the article it also stresses that bass loves soft plastic baits in these types of conditions, choose colorful bait that you’ve had the most success with before but be sure to select good size bait that the bass will eat. Try using soft plastic jerk bait like a Zoom Fluke because it’s a hard bait to beat during this time frame.
The article also suggested fishermen could also use jig head’s or a bullet weight ahead of it. By using this type bait, it will sink to the bottom so you can hop it along the rivers bed or crawl it along. This is a good bogus to make the bass think it’s baitfish feeding off the bottom of the rivers bed.
The article also mentions that for some unknown reason, there are days in the clear water when bass will want to grab hold of small bait. Not only does small bass eat a small worm but big bass inhales a finesse-type worm if they believe it is a meal. These baits are great for hopping or crawling along…they can become irresistible to bass. These type baits also work well around brush and blow-downs. A fisherman must work these baits in different manners to crawl them over limbs and branches.
This article also gave some excellent insight into using a Carolina rig which is a small worm behind a heavy sinker for fishing with in the wind or if you’re a person who likes for the bait to move faster. If you are fishing in a wood cover, use a short leader of a foot or longer maybe the best. This causes the lead to stir up the bottom; thus, making noise which attracts the bass. It also causes the following soft plastic worm to look like a quick meal.
In the article it also suggests to try putting a small worm on a jig head and try fishing it on light line. This can be an excellent choice of bait in clear water. Many times when you’ve tried everything and nothing got you a bite this will.
May I say, there are different types of colorful worms, rigs, etc. to cause a bass to want to strike, I suggest you should try various colors and different types of soft plastic bait…who knows what a bass will strike, we do not know until we experiment a lot with different shapes, sizes, types of bait, etc., a good fisherman will not give up before experimenting with many types of baits and colors.
I’ll let you in on a little secret, my brother won a bass tournament by using a green bean as bait…I couldn’t believe it, and I must admit, I was a little envious.
Source:
Virginia Game and Fish.Com, Volume 201, No. 8, by Ronnie Garrison, October 2011 Issue