Try This Two-Lure Approach For Cold Weather Bass

Editor’s Note: While spring is arriving early in much of the southeast, bass anglers in many areas of the nation are still challenged by chilly water. Here are some tips for connecting from noted B.A.S.S. Elite pro Bobby Lane.

Yamaha Pro Bobby Lane Alternates Jigs and Crankbaits in the Same Water

By most standards, Florida-based pro Bobby Lane would be among the last to say he enjoys fishing cold winter water, but just the opposite is true. The veteran Yamaha Pro has developed a two-lure approach that has nearly taken him to victory in the last two Bassmaster Classics,® both conducted in extremely cold weather.

“The two lures I use are a tight wobbling shad-imitation crankbait and a jig,” explains Lane, who used this combination to finish second in the 2015 Classic® on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell, and 11th last year on Grand Lake in Oklahoma. “The crankbait allows me to cover water, and when I do catch a fish with it, I switch to the jig and work the immediate area more carefully.

“In cold water a lot of bass suspend, but at the same time they still move up in the water column routinely to feed. This is when they become more accessible, and these are the fish I’m looking for first with the crankbait. For the most part, I concentrate in water only about 10 feet deep, and traditionally it seems I have my best success early in the morning, even when it’s brutally cold.”

Lane’s crankbait is a suspending model he fishes on either spinning or baitcasting rods, normally using a slow but steady retrieve.

If he does stop reeling, which he does occasionally just to make the bait look more natural, the lure remains at that depth instead of rising to the surface. He targets deeper points, creek channel bends, bluff walls, and even boat docks when he can find the right water depth. He often visits the very same spots several times each day.

“The crankbait stays in the potential strike zone anywhere between five and 10 feet deep, and since I can fish it slowly and stay at that depth, bass will hit it because it looks so natural,” continues the Yamaha Pro. “I’m not crawling the lure through rocks like I might do in summer, or digging along the bottom the way I do in the fall months. I’m just casting and slowly reeling back, and not really trying to make contact with anything. I may not get very many strikes during the day, but I am covering water where I’m always expecting a strike.”

When Lane does catch a bass this way, he changes to his jig to work slightly deeper water. He knows winter bass gather in schools but not all of them move up to feed at the same time.

“I’m really going after the same fish,” he says, “because the jig will appeal to those bass that just aren’t as active at that moment. Not only can I fish it slower, I can also work bottom cover more effectively with it. I’m fishing it only a little deeper, maybe down to 15 feet or so, and in the same places I fished the crankbait.”

Lane’s favorite jig is a compact 5/16-ounce model, and he adds a small plastic trailer for added action and a more lifelike appearance. As well as having a completely different appearance than the crankbait, the jig also has a different presentation, two factors Lane believes take on added importance in winter fishing for either largemouths or smallmouths.

“While the crankbait looks and moves like a shad, it’s not going to attract every bass that sees it,” emphasizes the Yamaha Pro. “I do know that when I catch one fish with it there are almost certainly others nearby, which is why changing to another lure that looks and acts differently may be what triggers one or two of them to strike. It looks good and they don’t have to spend any energy chasing it, so they bite it.”

For the past five years, Lane has used this two-lure combination in competition on lakes all over the country, and one look at his record certainly proves that it works. Even though he loves the warm water in his home state of Florida, the crankbait and jig have made him just as comfortable in cold water, too

Fall River Bass
By Chip Leer, Fishing The WildSide
from The Fishing Wire

In rivers across the Midwest, smallmouth bass make a fall migration from their summer ranges to deep wintering holes in the main channel. Along the way, they stop at predictable places to rest and feed, offering savvy anglers some of the year’s best bass fishing.

One of my favorite fall fishing areas is the tip of a firm-bottomed, sandy bar bordered by softer substrate and vegetation such as wild rice. Depths of two to four feet are ideal.

I use a two-pronged attack to catch the most bass possible from each spot.

First, I cast a diving crankbait like a LiveTarget Threadfin Shad Magnum Crankbait (http://livetargetlures.com/freshwater/threadfin-shad-crankbait1) tight to the weed edge and quickly crank it down, then slowly bounce it along bottom. Occasionally, I pause to throw slack in the line, which causes the lure to turn and often triggers a strike.

Casting crankbaits is a great way to pluck aggressive bass off the spot. After the initial flurry dies down, I toss a Carolina rig into the hot zone. My typical rig consists of a pegged sinker, 24-inch, 12-pound monofilament leader, 3/0 hook and either a creature body or Northland Fishing Tackle IMPULSE Fatty Tube (http://shop.northlandtackle.com/soft-plastics/impulse-fatty-tube/), rigged weedless. You can slowly drag the rig or let it rest in place, allowing the river’s current to activate the soft plastic.

I use 13 Fishing’s 7′-11″ Envy Black Crankenstein (http://www.13fishing.com/envy-black/) casting rod with 10-pound mono for crankbaits, and their medium-heavy 7′-1″ or 7′-4″ Omen Black (http://www.13fishing.com/omen-black-omng215/) casting rod with 30-pound Northland Bionic Braid (https://shop.northlandtackle.com/line/) mainline for Carolina rigs.

Bouncing from one high-percentage spot to the next with these two tactics is a great way to enjoy banner days for hard-fighting bronzebacks. The action often lasts deep into November, meaning there’s still time to get out and enjoy this exciting rite of fall.

Based in Walker, Minnesota, noted fishing authority and outdoor communicator Chip Leer operates Fishing the WildSide, which offers a full suite of promotional, product development and consultation services. For more information, call (218) 547-4714

Early Season Jerkbait Bass

Lessons learned in cold, clear waters

By Steve Pennaz
from The Fishing Wire

Mandy Ulrich and TV host Steve Pennaz

This past February, on a bitter cold morning better suited for hot coffee and a roaring fire, I met Elite BASS Pro Chad Grigsby at a just-opened Perkins to outline our plans for taping an episode of “Lake Commandos.”

The air temperature was 22 degrees when we finally launched the boat, and water temp on my graph varied from 36 to 42 degrees depending on our location on the river.

The Commando format is simple: Each angler picks a pattern before getting on the water, and then we see who catches the most fish. For this particular show Chad picked a great year ’round smallmouth pattern: 3.5-inch Berkley Power Tubes while I picked jerkbaits, specifically the new Cutter 110+.

For the next three hours we struggled to put a fish in the boat. I had one fish hooked on the tube, but lost it, and after we switched to jerkbaits it was clear we were doing something wrong.

Cutter 90+ in Chameleon Vapor pattern

A series of tweaks fixed that.

Our first move was to downsize from the Cutter 110+ to the 90+. Secondly, we dropped anchor so we could slow our retrieves. The final tweak was the final puzzle piece: we cast downstream or quartering and slowed our retrieves to a crawl.

And we started to catch smallmouths…a lot of smallmouths. But the funny thing was, I was catching small fish and Chad was catching big fish.

What Chad had figured out was key: cast directly downstream and allow the current to work the bait. He’d jerk it two or three times to move the bait forward and then he’d let the current wash it back on a semi-slack line. As a result, he was getting the big fish – 3s, 4s and 5s – while I was getting the 15 and 16 inchers. The big fish simply weren’t going to chase a faster retrieve.

At one point, Chad put his rod down to net a fish for me, leaving his bait to essentially wash in the current a bit. When he went back to pick up the rod, there was a fish on it!

This should have been a lesson for me to slow down, but at that point it was too late in the day, and we wrapped the show. I caught more fish, but Chad whipped me in total weight.

Another lesson learned: There are times when you can fish a bait wrong by fishing it too fast – especially jerkbaits.

Steve Pennaz

Lesson #1: Down, down, down!

Some anglers have the tendency to fish jerkbaits by moving the rod horizontally, even vertically. Actually, its better to fish jerkbaits by moving the rod tip in downward sweeps from roughly the 3:00 o’clock to 5:00 o’clock position. Quick rips at the beginning of your retrieve will help your bait reach your target depth zone sooner, and subsequent strokes and pauses will keep the neutrally-buoyant bait more or less on a horizontal retrieve toward the boat.

Lesson #2: Slack is good

Introduce slack line between the lure and the rod tip before you start the actual jerk-stroke down and immediately after. The introduction of slack line produces more erratic lure action and allows the bait to glide naturally after the stroke. You want to hear “tsst, tsst, tsst” during each cast.

Lesson #3: Cadence

I quickly learned that the right cadence and stroke combination is key to jerkbait fishing. During our filming, water was cold and bass did not want the baits fished fast; the pause was key, those moments in the retrieve when the bait would just sit in the water column, neutrally buoyant. Instead of a pop, pop, pop, and pause – or even two pops and a pause – it was a single stroke followed by a pause that got bites.

Lesson #4: Painfully long pauses

As a general rule of thumb, the colder the water, the slower you should fish a jerkbait. There may be times when you need to pause 10, 20, 30, or even 50 seconds between jerk-strokes. It’s painful to fish that way—and I hate it—but sometimes that’s the only way you’re going to get bit in cold water. Other times, fish may want the bait fished more aggressively.

Lesson #5: Apples and oranges

The best way to fish a jerkbait can also depend on target species. In this particular tournament we were targeting largemouths, and I mention that because smallmouths and largemouths seem to react differently to how jerkbaits are fished. In some cases it can really be apples and oranges. My experience is smallmouths typically want the bait fished with more aggressive strokes, while largies prefer jerkbaits fished slow. Still, on most days, you’ll need to let the fish tell you what you what they want.

Lesson #6: Rod Length

I’m 6′ 2″ and I fish out of a Ranger 620FS, so I’m a little higher off the water when I’m fishing off the deck. So, depending on your height and your boat, the key is to look for a rod that is long enough that you can fish the bait with a downstroke without the rod tip getting wet. My go-to rod (an Abu Villain) measures 7 feet and features a soft tip. I like a long rod; I can pick up line faster, and it gives me a little more control of the fish during the fight.

Lesson #7: Rod power/action

For larger jerkbaits, I prefer a medium-power baitcasting rod, which is 90% of the time. But for finesse situations in clear, heavily-pressured waters, I will step down in bait size and use a spinning rod. But no matter which you choose, the rod should have enough backbone to move the jerkbait. I like a 7′ medium-action rod with a softer tip, which allows slower bait movement at the start of each rip (doesn’t seem to spook as many fish). A softer tip is more forgiving with hooked fish; you’ll land more fish.

Lesson #8: Line choice

I’m usually throwing jerkbaits on 8-, 10- or 12-lb. Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon. First, it’s a little stiffer than mono to prevent the bait from hooking itself on your line. Secondly, because fluorocarbon sinks, that little extra weight can help keep baits down. Lastly, the near-invisibility of fluorocarbon puts the odds in your favor on clear waters. Fish that move 10, 20, 30 feet or more to hit a bait can be line shy.

The exception to the rule comes when fishing long pauses. There may be times when heavier fluoro can cause certain baits to nose-dip. In those cases, I may switch to neutrally-buoyant monofilament to keep baits horizontal.

Lesson #9: Examine how fish are hooked

Cutter 110+

Which jerkbait hook you catch the fish on can tell you a lot. If you’re catching bass barely hooked via the rear jerkbait hook, chances are fish aren’t in love with what you’re doing. So, you may want to look at your presentation. Are you fishing with the right color? Am I fishing it too fast? Not fast enough? The best bites are those when the front or front and rear hooks end up in the bass’ mouth. I’ll start by trying different colors if I get several fish on the back hook.

Lesson #10: Colors

In clear water, I like more natural patterns, those translucent finish options in silver or natural forage patterns. But there are times when it seems smallmouths react better to bright baits with chartreuse and oranges. So, start with more natural patterns and see what the fish prefer.

Lesson #11: Bait choice

There are a lot of great jerkbaits on the market, but I’m most excited about Berkley’s new Cutter Series, designed by David Fritts, and fished by pros like Justin Lucas, Josh Bertrand, Gary Klein and Scott Suggs.

Unlike most jerkbaits, the three baits in the Cutter Series feature a coffin-style bill—a complete departure from traditional jerkbait design—for an action all their own. It’s almost like an underwater walk-the-dog with a slight side-to-side roll. And bass crush ’em.

The Cutter 110+ is a beefy, standard-size jerkbait; the Skinny Cutter 110+ has a similar length but thinner profile; and the Cutter 90+ has only two treble hooks — the perfect jerkbait for finesse situations. Each comes in 12 finishes and features Berkley’s new Fusion 19 hooks, which are sticky sharp.

My go-to bait is the 110+ but there are times when downsizing to the 90+ is simply the best way to get bit.

Parting Thoughts

Skinny Cutter 110+

Really, the best way to learn how to fish a jerkbait is to leave the dock with a small sample of jerkbaits – and commit to yourself to fish only those baits for the day. It’s even better to have two anglers in the boat: one fishing fast, the other fishing slow; one fishing natural colors, the other bright colors; one fishing a larger bait, one a smaller bait; and so forth.

What will happen is you’ll start figuring out little patterns in the patterns.

Finally, although we’re focused on early-season cold water right now, keep in mind that jerkbaits are incredibly versatile. Sure, they’re a great spring, fall and winter bait, but can perform in warm-water situations, too!

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About Steve Pennaz
Steve Pennaz excels at finding and catching fish on new waters, a skill developed over 30 years of extensive travel in search of giant fish. His television series, Lake Commandos, Man vs. Lake vs. Man, helps anglers understand the steps to building successful patterns on the water.