When the cold wind blows off the water in the winter and you’re wondering what I can do to get a bite, here are a few tips to think about! One thing I have always believed is that bass eat in the cold winter water when it’s easy, they lack energy as their body is slowed down from the cold water, getting them to bite many times means hitting them in the head with your bait to get them to bite. I believe downsizing can make the difference when it’s tough out there on a cold, winter rainy or windy day. With todays variety of baits and the endless amount of choices just about any bait can be downsized from swim baits to jigs or jerk baits and even A-rigs.
Let’s start with the most obvious, if you have been fishing a big monster worm and getting no results, downsize to a small finesse worm the change in size will be an easy meal for a lethargic bass. Baits like jerk baits, crank baits, swim baits can all be downsized you can go from larger bodied jerk baits to ones with smaller profiles. You can change from wide wobble crank baits to tight wobbles with small profiles and so on.
We all have sat near a bridge and watched someone fishing for crappie catch a big bass, the reason is simple their fishing small jigs with small profile baits on the end of the jig. This process is simple, a crappie fisherman sits under these bridges and slowly bounces a 1/32 oz crappie jig off the bottom. To bass this is an easy meat in relatively deep water and it produces winter bites and is a testament to the down-sizing process for winter bass.
One of the best winter baits over the last few years is a rattle bait; most of us throw a ½ oz. to 5/8 oz. bait, but this bait can be downsized easily to a ¼ or even a 1/8 oz. allowing you to present the same bait, color and action in the winter yet smaller in profile. Cold winter days require patience and small baits cannot be worked quickly or they won’t be effective; good winter fishermen understand the need to be precise with small baits.