winter bass fishing
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', 'images/emoticons/sealineiconemo1.gif')Dr halibut hoffman
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With difficulty haha
You will get ten times more bass in the summer when the water is warm, in the cool part of the day or deeper when it is warn at midday but in winter different tactics are required. Looking for deep structure and fishing plastics slowly and feeling very carefully for takes.
I have about zero luck in the winter and give up till summer and fish other stuff, but I have mates who are bass fanatics and they get their fish. They generally get fewer but larger fish in winter. But they really know their stuff.
You will get ten times more bass in the summer when the water is warm, in the cool part of the day or deeper when it is warn at midday but in winter different tactics are required. Looking for deep structure and fishing plastics slowly and feeling very carefully for takes.
I have about zero luck in the winter and give up till summer and fish other stuff, but I have mates who are bass fanatics and they get their fish. They generally get fewer but larger fish in winter. But they really know their stuff.
Dr's comments basically sums it up; you need to fish deeper and much slower - you can also use smaller plastics.
Baits I have consistently landed fish on during winter are Curly Tails, Senkos and Super Flukes. All fished very slowly with a lot of small twitches and pauses when you retrieve. I have even had pick-ups after leaving the bait motionless for up to 5 mins after casting while having a smoke - so you really can't go too slow.
Baits I have consistently landed fish on during winter are Curly Tails, Senkos and Super Flukes. All fished very slowly with a lot of small twitches and pauses when you retrieve. I have even had pick-ups after leaving the bait motionless for up to 5 mins after casting while having a smoke - so you really can't go too slow.
@X2B
Finesse fishing is a great technique for winter bass fishing.
Weightless plastics. You can fish it extremely slow or deadstick the bait. Yamamoto D-Shad & Zoom Finesse worm are good winter baits for me.
Shaky Head & Dropshot are great presentations for the colder months.
As mentioned, search for deeper structure & place your bait in there. The bass are lethargic in winter & I have found that you need to cast to the same area multiple times as they are not going to move far to get the bait, so a few casts to the same place may put the bait a bit closer to the fish & could result in a hook up. Generally the pick up is very soft, so a braided line with a light leader to max sensitivity also helps.
Try Fischers Haven on botleray road, they always had semi-decent fishing in the winter. But I have not fished there in quite a while.
Good luck bud!
Finesse fishing is a great technique for winter bass fishing.
Weightless plastics. You can fish it extremely slow or deadstick the bait. Yamamoto D-Shad & Zoom Finesse worm are good winter baits for me.
Shaky Head & Dropshot are great presentations for the colder months.
As mentioned, search for deeper structure & place your bait in there. The bass are lethargic in winter & I have found that you need to cast to the same area multiple times as they are not going to move far to get the bait, so a few casts to the same place may put the bait a bit closer to the fish & could result in a hook up. Generally the pick up is very soft, so a braided line with a light leader to max sensitivity also helps.
Try Fischers Haven on botleray road, they always had semi-decent fishing in the winter. But I have not fished there in quite a while.
Good luck bud!
i'm in gauteng and have no knowledge of small mouth bass but i do agee with the info above. the only only things i could add is to look deeper water with ledges or vertical faces nearby, look for rip raps or dam walls. large mouth need to move from the deep to feed but prefer the shortest route, mainly vertical than a slow gradient. also with areas where the sun burns most. my magic depth is 5m deep but have caught fish as shallow as 3 meters deep. make sure you dress warmly for the days fishing, its not nice fishing while shaking, you nedd to feel and see the line for movement.
and have fun
and have fun