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Your top winter tactics?
- Thread starter JasonG
- Start date
What monster said - also try topwater poppers in between structure in the late afternoons. Problem is that bass in different locations does not react to topwater baits in the same manner.
If they live in an area where food supplies include many topwater "prey" like frogs and such then it makes it much easier.
If they live in an area where food supplies include many topwater "prey" like frogs and such then it makes it much easier.
Little Green Fish
Sealiner
so does 3kg's of SEMTEX on 8lbs of fireline....:clow
JasonG
Let me share with you what has worked for me over the years. By no means do I say this is the best or the only techniques but they have been working for me for a while now.
The first thing I would like to share is the approach to the water that you probably mostly fish in summer time. You need to understand how the struture relate to the deeper water and what type of structure you can find in slightly deeper water. By deeper water I mean 10 - 15 feet of water. Needless to say this also depends on the types of structure you find in the water you are about to fish. If you are fishing grass it is ussually easy to find grass patches in 10 - 15 ft of water. If you are fishing a dam where there is a lot of stumps/rocks/reeds that is harder to find in deeper water your approach should be different and the focus should be on accuracy. A typical example of this would be the Vaal River, in winter pin-point pitching and slow fishing is key. By pin-point I mean 4 icnhes is not good enough you have to be on the button with your casting. Slow fishing is also relative, your slow and my slow will be different. Dead sticking is a very good technique in winter.
The lures, a lot of people have a lot motives and strategies they apply in this space. What I do is I don't change the type of lure that I know works for me in summer time. The only thing I change is color and a slight change on the weight. I always approach a winter day with at least 2 what they call re-action lures and my favorites here is Rattle Traps, Crank Baits and Spinner Bait. With the plastics I change my weights to lighter weights irespective of what rig. The reason why I do this is to get a slower drop on my lure, because of winter the fish don't like moving to fast slower drop allows the fish to get to the lure in it's own time. I would use darker colors in winter my favorite colors is black and junebug.Also remember the fish do not eat a re-action bait because they are hungry they eat it because it irritates them. One last lure I like to use in winter time is a jig, easy to let sit for a long time in a small space and can be fished very slowly.
As mentioned earlier these are techniques that work for me, they might not work for you or the next guy. The only way to learn what techniques will work for you is to spend time on the water and have patience with the different techniques you are trying. Your first objective should always be to find the fish in winter time!
I see you are from Midrand and I imagine you fish places like RDW,Harties,Bronkies,Vaal River and Witbank. These techniques work in all these dams.
Hope this helps
Let me share with you what has worked for me over the years. By no means do I say this is the best or the only techniques but they have been working for me for a while now.
The first thing I would like to share is the approach to the water that you probably mostly fish in summer time. You need to understand how the struture relate to the deeper water and what type of structure you can find in slightly deeper water. By deeper water I mean 10 - 15 feet of water. Needless to say this also depends on the types of structure you find in the water you are about to fish. If you are fishing grass it is ussually easy to find grass patches in 10 - 15 ft of water. If you are fishing a dam where there is a lot of stumps/rocks/reeds that is harder to find in deeper water your approach should be different and the focus should be on accuracy. A typical example of this would be the Vaal River, in winter pin-point pitching and slow fishing is key. By pin-point I mean 4 icnhes is not good enough you have to be on the button with your casting. Slow fishing is also relative, your slow and my slow will be different. Dead sticking is a very good technique in winter.
The lures, a lot of people have a lot motives and strategies they apply in this space. What I do is I don't change the type of lure that I know works for me in summer time. The only thing I change is color and a slight change on the weight. I always approach a winter day with at least 2 what they call re-action lures and my favorites here is Rattle Traps, Crank Baits and Spinner Bait. With the plastics I change my weights to lighter weights irespective of what rig. The reason why I do this is to get a slower drop on my lure, because of winter the fish don't like moving to fast slower drop allows the fish to get to the lure in it's own time. I would use darker colors in winter my favorite colors is black and junebug.Also remember the fish do not eat a re-action bait because they are hungry they eat it because it irritates them. One last lure I like to use in winter time is a jig, easy to let sit for a long time in a small space and can be fished very slowly.
As mentioned earlier these are techniques that work for me, they might not work for you or the next guy. The only way to learn what techniques will work for you is to spend time on the water and have patience with the different techniques you are trying. Your first objective should always be to find the fish in winter time!
I see you are from Midrand and I imagine you fish places like RDW,Harties,Bronkies,Vaal River and Witbank. These techniques work in all these dams.
Hope this helps
ryan - I blanked but dont feel to bad.... only fished for 3 hours / C4C the day before / winter with a cold front. So didnt expect to much... hehe. Also had my lady with, where i have to talk to her and keep her company (sheesh, hard work when you trying to catch a fishy in tough conditions and the wind is blowing you all over.)... so drove around alot and chowed cheese and crackers, really stuffed around! haha...
I nearly drove over a bass with my trawling motor. does that count?
But i tell you what, i felt a certain approach to the conditions on sunday. Im usually a plastics man, but for some reason i felt that i needed to cover alot of water with a flashy bait to pick up on reaction bite's. I felt i needed to fish deep ish, like 8-10ft in the weeds with something that flashed and wobbled but stayed in the same spot for a while, then flashed it abit, and pause again. (worms sink, normal cranks float up)
This made me feel like i needed to throw a suspending stick baits, like a x-rap with those flashy holographics. I felt confident if i had thrown that for a couple of hours i would of picked up a keeper or two? you know, in those deeper weed pockets.
You think that could of worked? well i went out and bought a small x-rap shad, and going to go back and twitch and suspend that in about 8ft of water inbetween weeds. what you guys skiem?
oh yes, we refering to RDW's weedy area's.
Thanks for advice hennieS. can you post a pic of your 5.9kg from hearties? you know, for some extra motivation? haha
I nearly drove over a bass with my trawling motor. does that count?
But i tell you what, i felt a certain approach to the conditions on sunday. Im usually a plastics man, but for some reason i felt that i needed to cover alot of water with a flashy bait to pick up on reaction bite's. I felt i needed to fish deep ish, like 8-10ft in the weeds with something that flashed and wobbled but stayed in the same spot for a while, then flashed it abit, and pause again. (worms sink, normal cranks float up)
This made me feel like i needed to throw a suspending stick baits, like a x-rap with those flashy holographics. I felt confident if i had thrown that for a couple of hours i would of picked up a keeper or two? you know, in those deeper weed pockets.
You think that could of worked? well i went out and bought a small x-rap shad, and going to go back and twitch and suspend that in about 8ft of water inbetween weeds. what you guys skiem?
oh yes, we refering to RDW's weedy area's.
Thanks for advice hennieS. can you post a pic of your 5.9kg from hearties? you know, for some extra motivation? haha
JasonG
Talking about RDW, do yourself a favor fish a watermelon red or junebug fluke on an no0 mojo weight about 6 inches above the fluke in 10 - 12 ft of water. Garunteed to get a fish. Also rattle trap ripping through the grass again in 10 - 12ft of water. Also try the bay on your left at the river inlet, ussually good in winter time. Depth at RDW is important anything less than 10ft you will struggle in winter.
Unfortunetly the 5.9 was before the time of digital camera's and cell phones, I have tried scanning a bad quality photo a few times but it just doesn't work!
Talking about RDW, do yourself a favor fish a watermelon red or junebug fluke on an no0 mojo weight about 6 inches above the fluke in 10 - 12 ft of water. Garunteed to get a fish. Also rattle trap ripping through the grass again in 10 - 12ft of water. Also try the bay on your left at the river inlet, ussually good in winter time. Depth at RDW is important anything less than 10ft you will struggle in winter.
Unfortunetly the 5.9 was before the time of digital camera's and cell phones, I have tried scanning a bad quality photo a few times but it just doesn't work!