Lures
5 Best Winter Bass Lures For Overcoming The Winter Fishing Blues
Don't Give Up On Bass Fishing Just Because It's Winter
In the winter, it’s best to keep your expectations at bay when bass fishing, but that’s not to say give up.
You can definitely catch a fair share of bass, even in the winter, it’s just important to know a few things about bass to understand how to fish for them during the colder months.
During the winter, a bass’s metabolism is at the lowest point of the year. Bass don’t need a lot of food to eat during this season, but that’s not to say they don’t eat.
During the winter months bass will still be looking for food, they just don’t need as much of it, and they’re going to be more prone to focus on small and easy meals.
This is important to know because it allows you to choose the right lures for the job. Many anglers make the mistake and over-loading their tackle boxes full of big crankbaits, jigs, and jerkbaits when in reality, they should have a few smaller lures, little hair jigs, and a few live shad snack-sized baits.
For more great lures, click here to read our guide on the 20 best bass lures.
Where To Find Bass In The Winter
Bass in the winter are still bass, and they still have a few things in common with their summer selves. Bass are still a schooling species, and they don’t mind mixing it up with other species such as pike, perch, walleye, and catfish.
For this reason, it’s still important to know where you find bass in the winter. It’s true they’re not going to be in the shallows and be easy to catch, but they’re still in the same areas they were during the summer, they’re just in deeper, colder water and they’re not as active.
During the winter, the most important thing you need to know is that you have to get down to the fish. Bass in the winter are going to head toward natural protection like wood, grass, rocks, docks, and other formations.
They typically also will be found holding up deeper down in the water. This will be affected by the particular lake or water you’re fishing, so it’s important to be familiar with the body of water so that you can know where the deeper pockets are located at.
Now that you know where the bass are most likely going to be hanging out, now let’s cover the 5 best bass lures you’ll have the best success with in the winter months.
Top 5 Winter Bass Lures
Something to keep in mind is the shad are some of the best natural pray for bass during the winter months. Shad have a hard time staying alive in cold water which makes them an easy target for bass. So using lures that imitate a dying shad can produce some great results.
Suspending Deep Diving Jerkbaits
A suspended jerkbait can work like dynamite when bass fishing in the winter. Especially if you imitate the actions of a dying shad. By keeping your rod tip low to the water’s surface when pulling back the jerkbait and by giving the rod a sudden and hard jerk, the suspended jerkbait will sink to a point it will cause the top of the bait to dive under the water.
The jerking of the rod tip is what restarts the bait, and with the bait under the water, this makes it appear as if the bait is dying which will attract any close-by bass to investigate.
These lures are very effective in the winter months for a number of reasons, they’re easy to use, they’re easy to place in the strike zone, they’re fairly cheap in comparison to some other lures, and they can be highly effective if you’re fishing a body of water that’s not too big.
Plastic Grub
Plastic grubs are super effective for two main reasons, the first is the movement of the bait and the second is the smell. Plastic grubs are one of the best choices for fishing in the winter because they’re so easy to work and they’re buoyant nature allows them to be worked easily without being too heavy.
With the movement it’s capable of, it creates a natural-looking action that any bass would eat, especially if you’re using the right colors. Plus the fact they come in different colors that are reflective in the sunlight.
The smell is also a huge factor, and it’s easy to tell the smell of a plastic grub is different from other baits, and for that reason, it’s easy to know if you have a bite or not.
The plastic grub is a great choice for fishing in the winter, they can be fished a number of different ways, and they work great for targeting bass to over ten pounds.
Drop Shot
A drop shot is a great choice for fishing in the winter because it’s so easy to use, and it’s effective at producing bites. Drop shot fishing isn’t a new technique, but if it’s not something you’re familiar with, it’s easy to get the hang of after a few tries and it’s hard to mess up.
The basic idea is to get your bait near the bottom and to let a small split shot rest on the bottom of the line.
The split shot only needs to weigh about a 1/16 oz. You then just reel the line back until the split shot reaches the bottom of the water.
By letting the bait hit the bottom of the water, it makes it look like a baitfish injured on the bottom is trying to get away.
Bass love this and they’ll investigate these types of situations all the time. The technique is simple, and you can use the same plastic grub as mentioned above and which makes it easy to be effective in the winter.
Blade Bait
A blade bait is another great choice for fishing in the winter because it’s easy to use, it’s fairly cheap, and it’s going to produce some great results.
A blade bait is usually a short, fat minnow imitation that’s got some great action to it.
They’re so effective during the colder months because of the fact they’re so easy to use and they’re so easy to place in the strike zone.
The blade bait gets its name from the blades on the sides of the bait that move and create the action.
The blade bait moves quite a bit, and while it doesn’t look natural, bass don’t care about that, all they see is a wounded baitfish that’s just within their reach.
Jigging Spoon
The jigging spoon is on this list for one big reason, its effectiveness. The jigging spoon is one of the most effective lures to use in the winter because they work so well. They’re made to be jigged, and they come in a variety of different shapes, sizes, and colors.
The action of the jigging spoon is what makes it so effective in the winter months. It’s so easy to use and it’s got all the movement of a distressed baitfish, and with a sharp jerk of your rod, it’ll flutter back down again which also looks the exact same as a baitfish that’s trying to get away.
These lures can be used when fishing in the middle of the day, or you can even use them when fishing during the night. The jigging spoon is so effective in the winter because it works so well, and it’s super easy to use.
Wrapping It Up
So there you have it, the five best winter bass lures. Using these lures can be an effective way to fish in the winter, but it’s important to realize that these lures don’t work all the time.
They’re not as active, aren’t eating as much, and are conserving their energy. Since they’re not as active, they’re going to be pickier.
The best way to get around this is to use baits that are easy to use, easy to place in the strike zone, and the most effective.
Those are the three things you need in a bait, and listed above are 5 of the best. The suspending jerkbait, the plastic grub, the drop shot, the blade bait, and the jigging spoon.
These five baits will be your best bet when it comes to fishing for bass in the winter months.
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