Hi everyone. I am origanly frome the north so the idea of fishing in Jan. or Feb. is out of the question, unless you like to ice fish which isnt for me. But now I live in MS and I can fish all year. But I don't know how!! I have know idea how the fish act in southern winter conditions or what they will react to. So this Q is for all you southerners out there who can catch that winter bass. How do you do it?????
[signature]
Welcome to bigfishtackle.com. You'll get some excellent advice and info. here. I can't answer your question with any authority, but wanted to welcome you to the board [cool]
[signature]
The trick to the winter bass in the softwater is to have a very sloooooooooooooow presentation.
Match the hatch and slow it down.
Crawdads, crawfish, mudbugs or what ever you want to call them are the 2nd favorite of the bigger LMBs.
You can "Whacky" rig them just like you would a worm. That helps keep them alive longer and they get a chance to move around more freely.
No live bait??? Not a problem. Storm lures have an answer for the Mudbug question in any state. It would be helpful to know the color of the Mudbugs during the season that you are planning to fish with them.
There are different colors of Storm lures as well as other manufactures of soft plastics.
1st choice of the LMB in that area would be young snakes. Therefore, the Yamamoto or Senko type baits. The color will depend on the clarity of the water and time of year.
Holler back if you need anything else.[cool]
We will all be glad to help where we can.
[signature]
I prefer a broken back, suspending rapala. Also, a 6" floating worm rigged with only a hook. Twitch it along shore lines and in structure. Just give it a little twitch, let it sink, and twitch it again. I prefer a white worm rigged with a red Gamakatsu worm hook.
Don't make a couple cast to one area and move on either. The fish's strike zone is cut down over half. You basically have to put the lure right infront of his noze, unless you get a freak warm day, and they might turn a little more aggressive. With that said, make a more close casting pattern so you don't miss a spot.
Also, are you fishing a lake, pond, or river. Describe the body of water. Depending on size, depth, and clarity; the location of the fish will vary.
[signature]
[black][size 3]Hey mijmils5,[/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]Welcome to BFT. [/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]You will enjoy fishing down south - there are lots of opportunities.[/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]Like TubeN2 mentioned, slow is the answer for winter fishing. What ever your presentation is, slow it down when the temp goes down. [/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]Also, as Tarpon4me pointed out, the strike zone of the fish has shrunk to almost nothing. You will need to basically put your offering right in the fish's face.[/size][/black]
[black][size 3][/size][/black]
[black][size 3]I also like to use plastic worms. White, pearl and clear speckled work well. Rig a floater wackey style and stick a light 1/4 or 3/8 inch finnishing nail in one end of it and let it slowly drift to the bottom while giving it tiny micro twitches. When it gets to the bottom, the worm will stand on end and wiggle just like the real thing. Bass in particular seem to love it, but it works for almost every fish as well. Try it out at home first in your bath tub or fish aquarium to get the worm/hook/nail size/weight ratio just like you want it, and, to see how the rig works. [/size][/black]
[signature]
Thanks for the help everyone. I will have to try all your sugestions. Just one more question though. In the rivers and streams to the bass tend to stay in the usual areas since the water temps are not that low or do they go deep and down stream? and for the lakes and ponds do they go deep a well or do they stick to the shallow structures???
[signature]
All I can say is it's nice to meet someone who asks as many questions as me. [
]
[signature]
This time of year I go deep for holes or deep drop offs. Good Luck. I've had good luck 4 weeks ago with a silverbuddy fished veeeery slow.
[signature]