Fall and Winter Bass Fishing Q & A’s

Fall and Winter Bass Fishing Q & A's.

Q. A lot of people mention down-sizing their tackle in the cooler months…using smaller lures, lines, etc., why?


A: Well, in winter, many of the reservoirs up here in the Northeast are pulled down to “winter pool” and held at a relatively constant elevation. So the water is often much clearer in fall and winter…as opposed to spring when there is a lot of rains. As a result your presentation is much more visible.

But it is also true that the vision of fish improves as the water gets colder. The colder the eye, the greater the visual acuity and sen¬sitivity of vision becomes. A simple bass fishing secret that you might not have known about. That allows the fish to go deeper into darker water and still retain ex¬cellent vision. This is important because sight is a bass’ pri¬mary sense in feeding. It might also be smart when fish¬ing the cold water months to use lighter-weight line, because sci¬entific evidence shows fish see better than we ever thought.


Q. What is the secret to fishing in the colder months of the year?


A: It’s a proven fact that bass are not going to chase a lure very far — if at all — in water below 45-degrees, and if they do they will target smaller fair rather then attempt to chase a larger prey. Under­standing this is the key to winter fishing in many areas of the country, especially here in the North East where we can have some drastic temperature changes in a shot amount of time.
When you’re fishing cold wa­ter, you really have to con­centrate on what you’re doing and what your lure is doing (Presentation Presentation). Most impor­tantly, you have to think “slow!” The idea is to fish a lure as slowly as you can, and even then, you’ll probably still fishing it too fast, espe­cially when you’re not catch­ing much.

Q. Do cold fronts always have the shutdown effect that most anglers expect for bass fishing?

A: Cold fronts are perceived as one of the worst things a fisherman can experience. Fronts affect some waters differently than others. A front can have much more influence on a clear lake than a stained or muddy one, yet a lake can be much more affected than moving water or a river or creek. Tributaries with a current flow are considerably less susceptible to drastic changes, than still water.

 Q. How long does it take for fishing to get back to “normal” after a major front moves through?

A: Post-front fishing is always hard. Remember that cold fronts typically do not affect deep-water fish as much. The cause of it all is the sudden change in barometric pressure (fish detect this by way of their swim bladder). It sends fish into panic mode. They need assurance and a return to comfort. Normally, this comes via a couple of days of stable weather.

 Watch that barometer closely, by the way. A slow-rising barometer is best, and a fast falling barometer can be good. An extremely high barometer most often translates to poor fishing. Stay tuned for more Fall and Winter Bass Fishing Q & A's.