Winter Bayou Bassin

So Ole Man Winter has finally made and appearance in Texas and cooled the bayou waters down from their steamy summer temperatures, what to do now?  Actually this is great news if you are in search of bigger bayou bass.  As the water cools off the bigger bass of the bayous start to roam and feed more readily.  So how do you catch these bayou bass during the winter months?  Well a lot of that depends on just how cold the water has gotten.

60-70 Degrees
When the water temps dip down into the 60s it can be the best time of the year to have an awesome day on the bayou.  You can throw pretty much your favorite baits with good results but you will have to find what the bass prefer on any given day.  Spinnerbaits in white or chartreuse will generally get you hits from both bass and redfish so hold on you never know when a 30 inch or better redfish will hammer your spinnerbait.  Worms and jigs can also be affective and especially swim jigs when the bass are chasing shad.  If the bass are chasing shad then crankbaits will also get you hits.  Throw lipless cranks or smaller shallow diving cranks that look like shad.

50-60 Degrees
I've found in past years the magic temperature for the really big girls is 51 degrees.  This doesn't mean that you won't catch a big girl at 58 degrees it just means I catch more at 51.  Once the water temps dip below 60 I will focus on fishing jigs in the cover or near rocks on the sunny side of the bayou.  Rocks, reeds and even laydown timber in the sun will absorb the warmth and make the water in that area a little warmer than other places.  You still have to fish your jig slow and be patient for that strike.  The color jigs I use on any given day will depend on clarity of the water.  In the clear green water I prefer a purple jig with some yellow or chartreuse in the skirt.  The muddier the water is the lighter the color I will use.  Watermelon with chartreuse as been very effective for me in muddy water.  As for my trailers, well once the water cools down I go with a less active trailer like a Strike King KVD Chunk or similar trailer. In fact if you have some the old Uncle Josh pork chunks use them as they are very effective in cold water.  They help your bait fall slower giving the bass more chance to decide to hit it as it passes by.  I generally like ether a watermelon or similar color for my trailer most of the time but in the muddier waters I will even use a white trailer.  The colder the water the slower you have to fish.

Now jigs aren't the only thing that will catch bass when the water is colder.  Worms and other baits that you fish slow will also catch fish, but jigs draw more hits from the bigger fish.  If you want to have a really fun day break out your light tackle and roadrunner crappie jigs and fish them slow.  You will have a blast catching bass of all sizes.

Below 50 Degrees
Once the temps dip below 50 the number of bites you will get will also take a dip.  You really have to work your bait very slow as the bass are not going to chase it at all.  So you will have to keep that bait in front of the bass as long as possible to get him to eat it.  However no matter how cold the water gets if you put your bait right in front of a hungry bass he will eat it as they don't stop eating in cold water they just don't chase their food.  They lay in wait for something to pass by them as close as possible so they don't have to move much.  That is one reason for working your bait super slow; give the bass time to eat it without having to move very far.  The other reason of working your bait slow is because it will look more natural.  Bass aren't the only thing affected by the colder water.  All the bait fish, crawfish and other things a bass might eat are also affected and are moving much slower.  So the rule of thumb is just when you think you are working your bait slow enough, slow down some more!!

I hope this helps each of you catch a few more bass this winter as we wait for the warm weather of spring to get here.  Remember this time of year slow is good, but even slower is better!!!

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing!!!