Bass Fishin': An All-Weather Sport

Some Like It Hot...

Some Like It Cold...

Some Like It Anytime,

Even If We're Old.

Regardless of how you like it, the fact of the matter is that water temperatures on the North Landing were hovering in the 50s last time I was on the water, and that, coupled with the calendar, tells me it's once again time to put away the shorts and flipflops for a spell. And, yes, I realize there are those who wear that summer attire year-round. When your skin gets as thin as mine, though, you opt for something warmer...or dearly wish you had.

All that aside, I plan to run some posts dedicated to cold-weather bassin', starting with the following article by MLF Pro Keith Poche (left), who shares how he catches fish this time of year.

"Winter is one of the toughest times of the year to catch fish," he said, "but you still can catch bass in winter weather with the right approach.

"These fish normally drop down in the water column to stay safe from drastic cold fronts that chill the surface water to near freezing at times. As these fish stage in the depths, they tend to bunch up together. They will suspend at a certain depth or gather around structure, if available. Even though these fish don't eat very often, they still are catchable."

Poche has two ways he likes to catch bass in winter weather: extremely slow or extremely fast.

As he explained, "You either drag a Carolina Rig painfully slow, with a Berkley Power Worm, or work a Berkley Cutter 110 Jerkbait so slow you might want to set your rod down between jerks. This presentation is to allow the bait to sit in the fish's face for a period of time to aggravate him or give him time to slowly swim to it and strike the bait."

This MLF pro's preferred method is extremely fast. He explained it this way.

"A bass has an aggressive instinct in their DNA that tells them to attack, no matter what, if something is moved by them quickly. I like to throw a spoon while sitting in my boat over the top of them and watching them on my Garmin depthfinder. I rip this spoon vertically in their face to get a reaction bite. Next, I like to yo-yo a lipless crankbait, called the Berkley Warpig. The constant jerking up and fluttering down will trigger a lot of strikes.

"Winter weather can be challenging," said Poche, "but if you put in a little time and patience, you will be surprised how good winter bass fishing can be."