®
Winter 2023
W
hen I moved from Delaware to California
more than forty years ago, I enjoyed the
ability to fish year-round; but the mystery was how to catch bass in the winter since they were living
in 40-feet of water. In Delaware deep water was when you
couldn’t touch bottom with your rod tip.
After struggling through two years, I was fortunate
to learn (from some of the best anglers) about the
adjustments one needs to make when fishing deep water,
especially in the winter.
The key to winter success is to understand biology
Fish (and their prey) are cold-blooded animals. Unlike
mammals, the metabolism of fish slows as the water
temperature cools. Cold water slows their ability to digest
food. This is nature’s way of ensuring survival through the
winter when food availability
is lower. A winter meal of a
minnow may take a week
to fully digest compared to
a single day in the summer,
when water temperatures are
72-degrees and bass are at
peak metabolism.
BASS ARE PREDATORS
Like all predators – to survive – they must consume more calories than they expend
to catch their meal. Remember this when deciding which techniques to use at different water temperatures.
At water temperatures of 72-degrees water it is hard to move a lure too fast, but in 42-degree water it is hard to move a lure too slow.
Likewise, a big meal is attractive when a bass has the energy to capture it and metabolism to digest it, but in the winter (with slow digestion) a small meal is favored.
Putting biology to work, it would be wise to use lures that are more compact and slower moving in the winter.
A compact dropshot rig like a Yamamoto Shad Shaped Worm, football jig with a Yamamoto Hula Grub, blade bait like a Silver Buddy, a BladeRunner jigging spoon, and others that don’t require a bass to chase them down are better choices than fast moving lures in the winter. Envision a cold
environment where life is in
the slow lane, then fish the
same way.
DELIVERY, NOT TAKE OUT
Now add deep water to the equation. Bass go deep for several reasons that include availability of food, cold water holds more oxygen, and safety from other predators. Bass are much less mobile when deep in the
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