1) chase the right bass
If you live in the northern United States you may have opportunities to chase small moth bass, although they are smaller then their large mouthed cousins they put up a hell of a fight and are very fun to catch, especially if you are able to find a smaller river or stream to fish them in. The reason to fish for small mouth bass in colder weather is they stay active at temperatures where large mouth bass become more lethargic. Smallies also tend to be very aggressive eaters, the best top water blowups i’ve ever had have come from small mouth bass. small mouthed bass are also refered to as bronze backs due to their beautiful coloring.
2) lure selection
We are going to continue to play off the chase the right bass when we move into lure selection. If its been cold and is still cold slow moving baits such as jigs and slowly worked jerk baits are fantastic options, A controversial opinion that i hold is once it starts to get warm, a few days in a row and you’ve got sun on the water water temps are slowly working their way up, throw a moving bait. Now you still have to work the bait slowly but the moving bait is more likely to attract the attention of any fish actively looking for a meal. In this situation i like to throw a bladed jig such as the chaterbait. Its not going to entice a fish who is not actively looking for food the same way a jig will, however if a fish is looking for food the flash and vibrations of a chater bait will help the fish find your lure. another honorable mention for a moving bait is a lip less crank.
3) keep moving and keep coming back
when i say keep moving what i mean is if you can walk the whole pond or lake do so, take a handful of casts anywhere that looks good and keep moving until you start catching fish, if you make it all the way around without catching any fish you’ll have worked the lake and will have spots you want to go back to, return to those spots and thoroughly work them. When i say keep coming back what im saying is, if you dont catch fish at a body of water especially erly season dont just write it off, this year my brother and i fished the same lake 5 or 6 times and didnt catch anything, we returned one day with a friend of his and all 3 of us caught fish, my little brother even landed his PB a 4lb 9oz largemouth. the next day i returned with a few friends and we all caught fish again. in the early season you never know when the bite will turn on. fishing multiple locations is still a good thing, as the bite can turn on in some areas before others.
4) trade your early mornings for late afternoons
When its just starting to get to the time of year to begin fishing its still cold, the waters cold and the fishing can be hard. you can make it easier by working with the sun and trying to spend your time fishing after the sun is up and starting to warm things a little bit, after a day of warm weather and good sun its surprising how much more active the fish can be, a place delivering no bites in the morning can produce a bunch of bass in the afternoon.
