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Spring 2018
page 58
Depending on the run-off, you might be faced with cold, muddy water conditions. In this case, I tend to go down river as far as possible to get away from muddy water. Slack water or fishing deep, bluff walls are two high-percentage areas to focus on.
FISHING ICE LINES
You have more than likely heard of someone fishing the edge of ice and open water. The sun brings light, warmth and starts the cycle of spring. Fishing plastic worms can be a very good strategy, but jerkbaits allow you to fish the edge of ice that remain in the strike zone the longest.
The bass tend to look up in this scenario, so choosing a jerkbait that suspends nose-down in cold water increases the odds of hooking up.
While these are my two favorite strategies, I generally gravitate towards the jerkbait each and every time. Start with pauses around 8 to 10 seconds. I do this for two reasons. First because, you may or may not see your line jump on a bite. Secondly, if you don’t see your line jump, once you go to pull or twitch your jerkbait, the fish will be buttoned. You might normally only have a few seconds to set the hook with a jerkbait like you’re used to in the late spring or summer, but everything happens a little slower when fishing bodies of water with ice still covering sections of the lake. I have caught largemouth by pausing jerkbaits 45
seconds or longer, but I get the most bites in that 8 to 10 second mark.
YOUR MARCHING CADENCE
Cadence is everything at ice-off. Most anglers are used to the jerk-jerk-pause cadence later in the year, but another kind of retrieve includes slight pulls of the rod instead of snaps. Much like casting a Senko past a tree and pulling it back to the piece of cover, the same strategy can be used with jerkbaits when it comes to the “pulling” motion.
Most manufactures focus on sink rate, as well as body roll in marketing their jerkbaits, and while some jerkbaits are better than others, slight pulling can release a decent amount of vibration, mixed with body rolls that largemouth bass find irresistible.
Along with cadence comes color selection. Keep it simple and mimic the major baitfish in your body of water. For us in Washington and Idaho, perch and kokanee colors dominate the selection. Other colors such as “ghost” are perfect for clear water while “clown” seems to do best with a slight stain present. With water in the high 30 to mid-40s, fishing ice-off might be slow for the majority of anglers, but it only takes a couple of bites to find your rhythm. Master the jerkbait at ice-off and reap the rewards of cold water bass fishing. •