A
s the temper-
atures begin
to drop, a per-
son’s activity level generally decreas-
es, or they are at least
moving slower, because
of the amount of cloth-
ing they are wearing
in effort to stay warm.
Well, the same thing
goes for bass. When
the water tempera-
tures drop this fall and
stay down throughout
the winter months, a
bass’ activity level and
willingness to chase
food drops as well.
This is when the
technique of slow
rolling a bait shines, as
you can present a lure in a manner that allows
you to cover water efficiently, while still presenting it
at a pace that will trigger an inactive bass into biting.
I turn to slow rolling any of the three baits I outline
below, anytime that the water temperature drops
below 55-degrees and especially when the water
temperature goes below the 50-degree mark.
SPINNER- BAITS
Slow rolling a spinnerbait is a tried- and-true presentation that will trigger even the most inactive bass into biting. I throw a ½-ounce War Ear Eagle spinnerbait with a single Colorado blade or a tandem Colorado/Indiana blade combination.
Both of these blade configurations put off a lot of vibration for the bass to key in on and they
WINTER 2017
don’t create much
lift, meaning you can
cast the bait out, let
it sink down and then
slowly reel it in, just fast
enough to keep those
blades vibrating.
I add a soft plastic
bait as a trailer on my
spinnerbait for two
reasons. The first is it
adds weight to the bait;
so I can make longer
casts and to help the
bait down in the water
column better. Secondly
it gives the spinnerbait a
bigger profile, which helps
a sluggish bass key in on
it. I begin with a standard
split tail Spinnerbait Trailer
from Zoom for my plastic
choice. If I really want to increase the lure’s profile, I’ll go with the Swimmin’ Super Fluke.
LIPLESS
Many anglers think of the lipless crankbait as a lure that needs to be burned in; however, these baits still shine
when retrieved at
a snail’s pace. I like
to cast out a lipless
crankbait such as
a Yo Zuri Rattlin’
Vibe, Strike King
Red Eye Shad or
Rapala Rippin’ Rap,
let it sink down to
my desired depth
and then reel it in
slowly.
The action
and noise that
the bait emits
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