Winter bass fishing 101

[Ryan95]

Hi guys do you have any tips for bassing in winter? I'll be fishing from the bank. Thanks.

[Ninja]

Slow, slower, slowest in KZN that is :blue-cool:

[SteveO]

and then when you think you're fishing slow enough.... fish even slower... and i would say bigger baits that attract more attention as the fish don't eat as regularly as usual and want something big and easy. also i have had success with plastics in junebug, like finesse worms work well.

[EmjaySmit]

Hi guys do you have any tips for bassing in winter? I'll be fishing from the bank. Thanks.

Its not that bad you can fish plenty reaction bites...people miss interpret winter and slow too much...its slow if you put your lure in the wrong place....but yes the bite is a bit slower....

Fishing from the bank target the side of the dam that recieves the first rays of sunlight in the morning...also look for rocky areas...rock retains heat a little longer...stay away from clay bottom as it becomes dead zones...

Winter is the best crankbait fishing you will ever have...fishing from the bank I would rather recommend using a lipless crank as you can control the depth. My personal two favorite baits for winter is a Jig and a chatterbait...suspending jerkbaits also do alot of damage.

Our waters dont get close to cold enough for bass to shut down vs lakea in the US....spinnerbaits also fire well if fished with direct contact to structure...

Come on now guys winter is a blast to fish and fish quality is good...by the way we are still in June and not even in the heart of winter yet....fishing still rocks...

[Riprap]

Emjay, morning. Out of interest, what is the lowest water temps you guys experience there in the Lowveld?

[KingDon]

Love to know, that is a man speaking from all the way out in Nelspruit

[EmjaySmit]

Love to know, that is a man speaking from all the way out in Nelspruit

Some dams drop to about 8° and remember I dont only fish in the lowveld . The lowveld is hot but we have mountains etc too that get very cold...dullstroom is 100km away and the mist belt area has the coldest average yearly temp than anywhere in South Africa.

Dont let the lowveld fool you temp wise lol...by the way kzn far warmer than here and everybody has the slow mentality. It has merrit but we give fish too much credit...it doesnt get cold enough here to shut down...

[EmjaySmit]

Emjay, morning. Out of interest, what is the lowest water temps you guys experience there in the Lowveld?

Check the profile pic of mine...well below 10 at that dam that day in July. 4kg day one 7kg+ the following day, same lure same spot same jig lol...winter is big bass fest

[Ryan95]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[Sean Murphy]

What are the best times of the day to fish in winter?

[EmjaySmit]

What are the best times of the day to fish in winter?

It really depends on where you fish. In my side of the world they seem to move with the sun. Early mornings they seem to relate to steeper banks where it gets shallow. In otherwords they stick to water where they have quick shallow and deepwater access.

This means they have lesser distances to cover. I have also noticed they seem to still be quite actively feeding on baitfish shallow and that they dont seem to act as they do in the heart of winter.

What I have noticed though is that in the mornings you have a window of oppertunity where they feed for an amount of time before they gorge themselves too much then the bite dies down again and you have to target slower biting fish in deeper water.

Rocky areas seem to be key as well but maybe its just my style of fishing. Also be careful as some people might say focus on muddy water too as it retains heat longer but muddy water also takes longer to warm up and is normally situated close to inlets where water flow tends to be a tad cooler. In the afternoon you might pick up a fish or two shallow as well if you can locate their food but I still feel that afternoons the energy rewards are too little for them to move shallow again before the water cools down as dark approaches. Early mornings seem to be key and then as the sun goes higher the fish will move deeper. Weedlines also work well as you dont have the same problems you normally experience in Summer. In summer the temperature rises quickly which forces the plankton to grow too fast raising the ph and oxygen levels too high giving the fish lock jaw.

So mornings and areas where they have quick deep water access. Personally I like weeds, reeds and rock. Also use a jig to probe the bottom. If it feels silty or sandy you should be alright. If you dont feel anything and it seems muddy and your lure comes back full of debris you probably fishing a dead zone and I would recommend you move.

[jonni]

To throw a spanner in the works... our kzn dams close to the coast don't really drop below 16 degrees in the winter. Some of the best fish I've had is burning a crank in the middle of winter at inanda dam. I'm not just talking about one session, plenty sessions with the same pattern. dunno if this helps the original poster, but maybe someone else can use it. In fact the only pattern I could find this last weekend (after a chill) day in a farm dam was burning a spinnerbait across open water. Caught a couple good ones even though the bites were scarce. `

I find in clear water most of the fish just laugh at a slow moving crank bait, unless you are hitting it against the bottom, bouncing it off structure or pulling through weeds etc.

[Juba]

I caught some nice bass in winter too... But I have to say in general its allot tuffer!

Strangely the good winter fish I caught came out in deep water(10ft plus).
I find that strange as the top water temp was around +-15 degrees sure it is freezing down deep... Also some dams do better than others certain times of the year although water temp and depth is similar....

I suppose that's why we go back! The thrill of the unknown... LOL