DON’T BOTHER STAYING IN ONE PLACE TOO LONG. PHOTO: MIKE ERNST
WORK STRUCTURE WITH A SLOW RETRIEVE, BUT
COLD WATER TACTICS GUARANTEED TO CATCH BIG BASS [TACTICS]
LUNKERS IN WINTER
The reason a largemouth bass has a large mouth is because it likes to eat a large amount of food. His big mouth doesn’t freeze shut in winter. Three keys to finding a cold-water bucketmouth are to fish any remaining structure, use larger lures and cover a lot of water. I combine finesse fishing and reaction lures to completely cover an area. Only work a spot for 15 minutes before moving on. RICHIE MOSCHELLA
BLADE BAIT
Even the coldest largemouth bass can’t resist a blade bait shimmering and twitching over a grass bed or rock pile. I keep one medium-light spinning combo spooled with eight- pound monofilament and rigged with a Binsky blade bait. It is critical to drop the blade bait directly below the kayak and jig vertically and then let it sink slowly. On a trip last winter, I dropped my blade bait and immediately hooked up with a small bass. A couple more small bass and I switched to a chatterbait to look for bigger fish.
CHATTERBAIT While winter bass might be lethargic, you can still make them angry. To really piss off a cold bass, throw a chatterbait at him. A chatterbait is a jig or soft-plastic tail with a metal blade on the jighead. I can use a steady retrieve like a crankbait, buzz it on the surface like a spinnerbait or bounce the chatterbait off the bottom like a jig. This is great for quickly and efficiently covering the water column. I like to cast the lure out and let it sink to the bottom then jig it back to the kayak. This alerts bass on the bottom that a meal is in the area and suspended bass can still see it.
FINESSE WORM
Everything is cold in winter. Bass and bait both take on slower, more subtle moves. Nothing imitates a frost-bitten bait better than a soft- plastic on a small jighead. I look for a jig tail that floats so it sticks up when the jighead is resting on the bottom. I make very slight bounces with the rod tip to twitch the tail like a baitfish calling in a bass for a bite. When the fish strikes, it is important to set the hook immediately. Cold weather makes bass fishermen slow, too.
SUSPENDING JERKBAIT Every winter angler should have a selection of jerkbaits in his arsenal. This hard-plastic baitfish imitation is designed to hover in the water column and give a spastic twitch when the angler yanks the rod tip. The key is to work the lure slowly. I put five to 15 seconds between each twitch. Alternate the length of the pause to find where the fish are responding.
www.kayakanglermag.com…29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76