One of the best early winter fish catching techniques for me has been dead sticking a Senko. I have found over the last few years that the fish become fairly lethargic after the first real cold spell and working a Senko has had some real advantages. The slow movement of the dead stick bait offers an easy prey for the largemouth bass to feed. The back and forth drop of a senko seems to be irresistible. The key to using the dead stick method has been to find the grass that is still holding on and around drops and deep-water edges. The bass like to be close to deep water in the winter and the grass helps hold the bait for some period of time into early winter, so the bass come and feed and you benefit from it.
The senko in the 5-inch size is perfectly sized to the baitfish that the Guntersville bass seem to prey on in early winter. Work it slowly, be patient and you ll catch fish.
All the different dead stick baits deserve some thought during the early winter; I have found that they seem to all have a slightly different drop in the water and sometimes one that falls a little slower or a little different is just the key it takes to create a bite. So don t be stuck on one version of a dead stick bait; try many and I believe you will get different results and that might just be the difference you need to catch that winning bag.
Try it you just might like this slow methodical fishing technique as it has offered some great winter rewards. This pattern has worked for me for several years now. Last year our first cold spell came in the middle of December, and I can tell you that dead sticking produced some great numbers and quality fish on several trips in the month of December.