Bob Smith
bob@bassinbobs.com
Pensacola
Blue
Angels
Bass Page
hook.
com
"BOBS LOCAL RIVER REPORTS"
Local Reports and Fishing Articles
Winter On Top
Winter has settled in and the weather is on the cold side.
A tremendous number of bass anglers have their tackle stowed in the garage and the boat put up. The coastal rivers are nearly
vacant of bass anglers. At home, dreams of the springtime and a resurgence of bass catching opportunities fill the minds of those dormant anglers.
It doesn't have to be that way. Bass can be caught all year long on the tidal rivers, if you know what to do. No, you'll not have 100 fish days, and will even encounter some totally fishless ones, but you can still catch them.
Deep jigging, slow rolling spinnerbaits, painstakingly slow crankbait presentations: these are pretty standard ways of catching cold water bass. Standard yes. Fun, sometimes.
What if you could still catch fish on topwaters?
Topwaters? Am I out of my mind?
Regardless of the waters temperature there are always some bass shallow on the coastal rivers. And, when you can find shallow bass you generally can entice them into hitting a
topwater bait.
Strikes will be fairly widespread with a lot of casting practice in between the average size of a cold water topwater bass is much larger than those of summer. This winter my average topwater bass weighs around 3 pounds.
So where can you find these shallow winter bass?
Main river areas are usually not going to produce well. Look for shallow coves or sloughs off of the main river body. The water here will have reduced current, which is paramount to
finding productive winter areas.
Look for laydown logs, branches, docks, or green weeds in water no deeper than 3 feet. Many of my larger bass have come from water only a foot or so deep. Having deeper water
somewhere nearby makes the odds a bit better.
The bait you decide to use must be one which can be fished slowly. Like any other lure presentation in cold water you have to move the bait along as slow as possible while still maintaining some action.
Among the more productive winter topwater baits are the floating jerkbaits (such as the Rapala, Bomber long-A, or Allen Lures TP3) and small buzzbaits. The jerkbait will generally
catch more fish, but the size award would definitely go to the buzzbait.
Run the bait as slow as you can along the edges of the cover. A very slow jerking action, more of just a twitch, is all you need apply once the bait is in the cover. Pop it under a few inches
and let it float back to the surface. Slowly move it back to the boat. Once the cover is cleared, or the bait is in more than three foot of water, bring it back and try again.
Little buzzbaits, like an eighth ounce, work very well along grassy banks. Keep the bait in about two foot of water, lift the rod tip high, and reel just fast enough so the blade turns.
Strikes will not be explosive, normally. So be alert for the faintest signal that a fish as taken the bait. In addition, hesitation is important. Unlike summertime fish a lot of your strikes will be short. Make sure that you give the bass enough time to actually have the bait. The best way to do this, and the hardest way also, is to wait until you feel the fish on the end of your line before setting the hook.
One winter a friend an I were fishing the mouth area of the Escatawapa River in Mississippi. It was a sunny, frigid, February day. We fished Rapalas along the grass most of the
day. The total catch between the two of us approached 100 bass. Most were small, but they were fun. While the large numbers is extremely unusual it does prove the effectiveness of the topwater bait on wintertime bass.
Another example happened just the other day. While running the little buzzbait along a grassy bank off of Blackwater River, Florida, I picked up three bass for the entire day - 5.2lbs., 6.5lbs and a 4 pounder! Not bad for topwater bait in cold water.
Naturally the weather will have a tremendous impact on you success during the short days of the year. Sunny skies are preferred over clouds and calm days are a bit better than windy
ones. If a warming trend has persisted for a few days so much the better.
We are not looking for feeding bass. With the water temperatures being low, the fish's metabolism is at the all time low for the year. The low metabolic rate means that they need to feed very little. What we are doing is searching for the most active of the inactive fish. After we find them we are endeavoring to solicit reaction strikes.
There is no need to sit home dreaming about catching bass. Hook up the boat, dress in warm cloths, and head out to the river. A few warmer days any you can be in for some exciting
winter topwater bass catching action.
Let Me Know How You Do,
Bob
