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Coldwater Spinnerbaiting for Bass
Pro bass fisherman Terry Butcher of Talala, Okla., catches his biggest wintertime bass by slow-rolling a spinnerbait in water as cold as 47 degrees. The prime time for this tactic is after a sunny warm front has baked the surface water for a few days. This draws bass up from deeper water and puts them in a feeding mode. Carefully casting to fallen trees is the key.
The Tackle In most situations, Butcher slings his spinnerbaits with a 7-foot medium-heavy American Eagle baitcasting rod matched with 50-pound braided line. The exception is in crystal-clear water, where he goes with 14-pound fluorocarbon. "Braided line is so sensitive I know instantly when I bump a limb or get a strike," he says. "The bites can be light when the water's cold."
The Lure A 3/4-ounce chartreuse-and-white Booyah spinnerbait is Butcher's winter workhorse. He favors a small, nickel Colorado blade ahead of a gold No. 7 willowleaf blade. The big willowleaf lets him crawl the spinnerbait at the slow speeds that appeal to sluggish bass hanging 5 to 12 feet deep.
The Technique “I catch most of the big ones by slow-rolling the spinnerbait across the limbs at a 45-degree angle,” Butcher says. “I let the bait sink to the depth I want to fish before I start retrieving. If the bass are less than 5 feet deep, I switch to a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait.”
The Location Butcher's spinnerbait plucks winter bass from main-lake windfalls on steep, rocky banks. Here, the bass can quickly move shallow or deep in response to the weather. When they swim up after a warm front, they typically suspend in the outer limbs of the fallen trees. They'll readily nab a spinnerbait swimming above them.
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Comments (11)
yeah only problem, how am i guna do that on 10 inches of ICE!?
haha, yeah, we have 5 inches of ice on our lake!
Move to the South gentlemen! This is one of my favorite tactics for fall and winter time bass fishing on smaller ponds. I have found that a smaller spinner bait seems to work better than a larger one. I usually use a lighter color than a darker one. One of my favorites is a white and red spinner bait made. I generally cast it as long a distance as I can and let is sink for about 5 seconds. I then retrieve very slowly stopping every once and a while to let it sink a little bit. I have caught some nice fish this way.
I have the problem of snagging my spinners on underwater objects. This becomes not only frustrating but costly. Any suggestions to resolve my snag?
You can bend the little wire down over the hook a little bit. Not enough to stop the blades from spinning but just enough help protect the hook a little better.
Earlyriser81,
My suggestion to you is to take a worm or perhaps a jig and get a godd feel for the cover and know how long the branches, the water depth to the branches, and ect. Get a good feel and then try the spinner bait. As for everyone else, instead of slow-rolling the spinnerbait, try burning it through the branches, this my provoke a reaction strike.
earlyriser81- Get a plug knocker. They are worth it in the long run unless you never fish deeper than you can reach with your rod.
use Yamoto Watermelon Colored plastic worms they worm great in cold weather fishing when every thing is slow
I am in North Carolina during the winter and have been for the most part stranded from fishing until the summer I am going to try this technique though So maybe I can start bass fishing in colder weather.
wish i had a boat to go to the lake but i am heading to my buddys pond this weekend we will see if any big lunkers are in there this year
this is a great way to catch monster bass in the fall in winter
Post a Comment
yeah only problem, how am i guna do that on 10 inches of ICE!?
haha, yeah, we have 5 inches of ice on our lake!
Move to the South gentlemen! This is one of my favorite tactics for fall and winter time bass fishing on smaller ponds. I have found that a smaller spinner bait seems to work better than a larger one. I usually use a lighter color than a darker one. One of my favorites is a white and red spinner bait made. I generally cast it as long a distance as I can and let is sink for about 5 seconds. I then retrieve very slowly stopping every once and a while to let it sink a little bit. I have caught some nice fish this way.
I have the problem of snagging my spinners on underwater objects. This becomes not only frustrating but costly. Any suggestions to resolve my snag?
You can bend the little wire down over the hook a little bit. Not enough to stop the blades from spinning but just enough help protect the hook a little better.
Earlyriser81,
My suggestion to you is to take a worm or perhaps a jig and get a godd feel for the cover and know how long the branches, the water depth to the branches, and ect. Get a good feel and then try the spinner bait. As for everyone else, instead of slow-rolling the spinnerbait, try burning it through the branches, this my provoke a reaction strike.
earlyriser81- Get a plug knocker. They are worth it in the long run unless you never fish deeper than you can reach with your rod.
use Yamoto Watermelon Colored plastic worms they worm great in cold weather fishing when every thing is slow
I am in North Carolina during the winter and have been for the most part stranded from fishing until the summer I am going to try this technique though So maybe I can start bass fishing in colder weather.
wish i had a boat to go to the lake but i am heading to my buddys pond this weekend we will see if any big lunkers are in there this year
this is a great way to catch monster bass in the fall in winter
Post a Comment