Winter Fishing: Top 5 Baits for Cold Water Bass

With winter fast approaching most lakes have turned over and the bass have headed for warmer deep water haunts. "Deep" is a relative term that varies lake to lake but when bass head for the depths a lot of anglers lose confidence.

In this week's video we break down our favorite baits for seeking out those deep water bass. This list may be missing some baits you expect but when the going gets tough, these 5 options are consistent producers.

1) A Football Jig: Tim and I vary a little on our specific choices. I lean toward a 1/2 oz or heavier Dirty Jigs Finesse Football (Give "Go To" or "Super Matt Brown" those colors are deadly). Tim takes it a step further and will occasionally go as light as 3/8 oz with his Dirty Jigs HP Football Jig. Why go with a light weight in deep water, you ask? With the lighter weight comes a smaller hook, allowing you to drop to lighter line and even throw the jig on a spinning rod if conditions require.

2) A Drop Shot: Tried and true, this bait is deadly in deep water! Tim likes to downsize, often using a size 2 Owner Mosquito hook with a small tungsten weight. He insists that the light hook allows his bait to have maximum action in deep water. As for baits, he uses a wide range of options but a 6" Roboworm Margarita Mutilator is a proven winter time color.

3) Ball Head: The ball head is such a simplistic way to fish and consistently catches quality fish in the cold water months. Much like a darthead, you should thread the worm on so the point of the hook is left exposed. The difference between a ball head and virtually every other head design is that it has almost no action of its own. This is a drawback most of the year but when the water is cold that "dead action" drives the fish crazy. Tim and I both agree, a 5" senko is your best option with this presentation. Day in and day out, it gets a significantly larger bite than smaller worms.

4) A Jigging Spoon: The spoon is a deadly bait throughout the fall but don't lose faith as cooler temps take over and the bass become lethargic. Using a very subtle flip-flop approach, keeping the jig on bottom at all times, is a phenomenal way to get a big bite in winter. Matt prefers the Blade Runner DUH spoon for its ideal weight, size, and color schemes.

5) The Small Swimbait: I prefer the 6" Basstrix or the 4.8 Keitech coupled with 1/2 oz Matt Allen Signature Swimbait Head. With an exposed lead head its very easy to maintain bottom contact. From rock to gravel, sand to mud, you'll feel every change in contour and the bite will be unmistakable. For this method I maintain constant bottom contact and swim the bait as slowly as I can stand. It presents a sizable but slow moving meal to the bass that is hard to resist.

This Winter, consider not getting your boat winterized. Instead, head for the lake! The bass are still there and they still need to feed. You may be surprised to find that some of your biggest bites of the year come when the water temperature is below 50 degrees.

Info
Comment
Written by matt allen On In , , Tagged , , , , , ,

Swim Jig Season

The swim jig is a great bait throughout the year but it really shines in the spring! As the bass are moving off the beds  and beginning to feed again the swim jig stands alone as a bait that can be thrown into virtually any cover. Aside from the way it comes through vegetation, the secondary action is what sets the bait apart.

We've been on an awesome swim jig bite the last few weeks using a two-pronged approach. First, we're using the California Swim Jig around spawning beds. The defensive fish can't resist a bluegill color! The second pattern is to target the post-spawn fish that have begun shifting into their summer patterns. As the fish pull out into the grass beds to recover from the spawn We've been able to draw the fish up out of the grass with shad colored offerings.

Instead of filming a whole new video about throwing the swim jig we decided to replay this video on the California Swim Jig. This bait revolutionized swim jig fishing, catching giant bass from coast to coast after this video hit youtube. Understanding why the bait works works, how it works, and when to throw it, will have a huge impact on how you target bass during the post-spawn season. Good luck out there!

Info
2 Comments
Written by matt allen On In Tagged ,

Simplify Your Jigs and Save Money

In the past we've talked about fine-tuning your jig fishing to catch bigger fish. We discussed using accent colors and different skirts because fine detail matters, especially with wary bass. Today, we want to turn the tables and talk to you about simplification.

Both methods have merit. While its true that extreme attention to detail is sometimes needed to fool the GIANT bass, not all anglers are interested in spending every last dollar on fine-tuned equipment. The weekend warrior, even most pros, doesn't have the time (or money) to purchase dozens of jig colors to adapt to every changing situation. That's why I want to talk to you about simplification because its okay too. Both methods can work.

Let's break jig colors into 4 basic categories. Those categories are black, brown, green pumpkin, and watermelon. By choosing a basic jig in each of these categories you can cover virtually every situation the water can present. In the event that fine detail is needed, you can add it by changing the color of your trailer instead of completely changing the jig itself. This is an inexpensive alternative to owning 100 different jig styles and colors. To get you started, we'll  recommend a few colors.


Black Base: "Black/Blue" (This particular black blue is a fairly complex color and can be accented very well)

Brown Base: "Supermat Brown" (This is Matt's favorite color day in and day out. Its a brown base with purple and green pumpkin accents)

Green Pumpkin Base: "Go To" (Go To is a simple green pumpkin/brown jig that works well with any trailer color)

Watermelon Base: "Watermelon Red" (This jig is a basic color that accents well with every trailer you own)

Not every base color will work in every situation but one of them will. Once you have your base color, experiment with trailers like the Sweet Beaver, Double Tail Grub, or speed craw to fine-tune what the fish are looking for. We hope this helps you keep things simple and use trailers you already own instead of spending countless dollars trying to own a jig for every situation. Good luck out there!



Info
2 Comments
Written by matt allen On In Tagged ,

How to Catch the Fish of a Lifetime

I recently had the opportunity to do two seminars at the International Sportsman's Expo in Sacramento. From swimbaits to jigs, even going so far as fishing a chartreuse spinnerbait with willow leaf blades at night, I laid out my tricks for fooling big Winter and Spring bass.  There was a great turnout and a lot of positive feedback. There were also quite a few requests from anglers that live outside the area, that we record the seminar so they could listen and learn as well. The show was extremely loud and there is some background noise but Tim did everything he could to bring you the complete seminar.

From start to finish, here it is! Below you will find a breakdown of the various baits I discuss in the seminar with quick links to see them on Tackle Warehouse.

We hope you're able to glean some knowledge from the seminar and put it to work on your local fisheries. If you have any questions, we're here so feel free to ask.

The following baits were used in the tank:

Photo Courtesy of Sean Moffett

Info
1 Comment
Written by matt allen On In , , Tagged , ,