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Cold Weather Tactics
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- If you planned a day on the lake or know you have a tournament scheduled in the normal post-spawn period in your area of the country, however the weather has been abnormally cold, spawning will most likely be delayed. A sound tactic here would be to look for bass farther back in the creek arms or bays than you might have thought. The water is warmer in these areas and may be attracting those bass whose biological senses are telling them it is time to spawn, but the water temperature at the depth of normal spawning time is just a bit to cold, therefore they move farther up.
- Location - Where on the lake will a bass have to move the least amount of distance up or down to go after prey? The answer - steep banks, bluffs, drop offs, etc... This may prove to be a key location in hunting down those big largies in cold weather situations.
- Fish Slowly, bass will move even less out of their strike zone in cold weather. This also means slowing down your presentation. Some pro's write about waiting up to a minute or longer after their baits hit the bottom. For example, a jig and pig, a great bait for cold weather. You may want to pitch it out a little farther than normal and slowly drag it in, stopping and changing cadence until that bite finally comes. Really feel the bottom and hopefully some structure, then really slow down and be patient.
- Prime cold weather baits include the jig and pig, tubes, grubs, slow rolled spinnerbaits, slow retrieved crankbaits and finally the suspending jerkbait.
- Match the Hatch for the cold weather situations. A prime example is crawfish and the color pattern they are going to be in at the time of year (especially spring and fall when it is cold and their colors vary greatly).
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