Pro's Picks For Winter Bassin'

The Float N Fly was originally developed on the clear water lakes of Eastern Tennessee as a cold water winter technique for smallmouth bass. It was during the mid 90's in a tackle shop near Bristol where Mike Bucca met Charlie Nuckols, the "father" of the Float N Fly.

Today Bucca is the proprietor of Spot Country Guide Service near Atlanta Georgia. Well versed in all things spotted bass, Bucca has spent over a decade refining the Float N Fly technique for trophy spotted bass. In an exclusive with Bass Angler Magazine, Bucca agreed to share some of his top "trade secrets".

Location:

Experienced bass anglers know all too well the benefits of fishing shaded areas. Chasing the shade is a productive pattern on clear water spotted bass fisheries.

It is no secret that spots use the cover provided by shade lines to ambush bait. Unbeknownst to the uninitiated, shady shorelines can be more productive for the float n fly technique than sun exposed banks. This valuable piece of knowledge is not lost on Bucca as he utilizes this information to its fullest advantage.

"Some lakes set up with lots of bluff areas that provide an almost unlimited amount of shaded shorelines, but others have limited bluff walls and limited shade," explained Bucca.

"I determine which banks have the shade the longest based on the location of the bluff wall in relation to the rising sun. I plan my milk run just like I do in the summer by fishing the productive bluff walls that get hit by the sun's rays first and then by fishing the walls that get constant shade throughout the day last. This way I don't run out of productive areas on lakes that have limited bluff walls or lakes that have a lot of fishing pressure."

Lure Selection:

The veteran Georgia guide has been quietly fishing a specially designed fly for a few years.

"This is something that I have done for a few years now but I don't talk about it much. On many of bluff walls we have a lot of laydowns, the problem is getting hung up. Those spots love to suspend at the ends of the laydowns. The hard part is trying to guess exactly where you need to cast so that your fly which is on a 10ft leader is in the strike zone but does not get hung up," instructed Bucca.

Bucca worked closely with Georgia Tackle to develop a specially designed fly that utilizes a small single wire weed guard. These weedless flies have allowed Bucca a small margin of error in estimating his casting location. The weed guard is a very slick mod that inspires confidence allowing Bucca to effectively fish areas that most anglers avoid.

"You might be thinking that I'm crazy throwing a 1/16 oz fly into a lay down on 6lb test", laughed Bucca. "Yes I have broken off some fish but these are fish that I wouldn't have had a shot in catching to begin with. My motto is hook the fish and ask questions later."

The key to the float n fly technique lies in its ability to present a subtle offering at a fixed depth in a suspended state that will draw the fish out of the lay down. A conventional jig falls to fast and does not present itself as an easy target. This is especially true if the fish are suspended above or in the laydown itself.

New Technology - Lake Master Mapping:

The use of electronics is an important component of the Float N Fly technique. Locating suspended bait fish is key to success with the Float N Fly. In recent times, GPS and mapping software has opened up untold opportunities for anglers. Bucca utilizes the Lake Master software on his Humminbird electronics in a unique fashion to locate Float N Fly fish.

"Lake Master offers a depth highlight feature on their mapping chip," explained Bucca. "To me the ideal shoreline to fish the Float N Fly is if it's 10ft deep or more at a distance of 10ft from the shore, that's a good shoreline. On the mapping screen, I set the depth highlight to10ft and shade the 10ft to 13ft contour lines on the entire lake. Where the shaded depth range hugs the shoreline, these are potential areas to try."

Many Float N Fly areas are easy to spot. Bluff walls are excellent choices and are easy to find visually from the water. By studying the shaded contour lines on his graph, Bucca is able to find spots that are not obvious. In fact he has located many a hidden honey hole that others have simply passed on by. "Here in Georgia the bluff walls get pounded by anglers fishing the Float N Fly in the winter," explained Bucca. "So it's nice to find areas that are less pressured and quite possibly off the beaten path that everyone else doesn't know about."

Custom Corks:

As with any technique that has stood the test of time, the float n fly continues to evolve. One area that has seen perhaps the most change and controversy for that matter is with respect to the float itself.

"We started out with the small cork with the 3 way swivel and many anglers today still use that method. Out West it seems like the slip cork with a slightly heavier fly 1/8th oz is what is used most. I personally use a custom cork that I make myself. I take a weighted stick cork that has the weight on the end of it. This a basic stick cork that is 3 inches long that has a lead weight on the bottom of it and you can find it at most tackle shops.

I disassemble the cork and once the wire is removed from the cork I slice the cork in vertically down the middle. I then carve out the inside of the bottom part of the cork and put the lead weight that came with the cork inside the end I just cut out (A drill bit the same diameter as the weight works really well and keeps things clean) and reassemble the cork and glue it together, explained Bucca.

The modified stick cork style offers many advantages in comparison to the 3 way swivel method. It is heavier and easier to cast. It is easy to remove when landing a fish on a long leader or when the fly becomes snagged and you must reel up to the fly to dislodge it. It is also bigger and easier to see and involves less knots that are apt to fail, an important consideration when using light line. But according to Bucca, the most important advantage is that is easier to detect a lift bite. The modified cork simply falls over on it's side.

Mark Fong. "Advanced Float N Fly Strategies." Bass Angler Magazine, Winter 2014/15, pp. 6.

If the water in your part of the country isn't hard by now, Brandon Palaniuk says you'd be wise to hit the lake. The fish can be difficult to find, but when you do find them, you can catch them until you can't stand it anymore.

If the water is frozen, like in Palaniuk's home state of Idaho, get the auger out and catch some walleye for the table. Otherwise, the bass will be all yours.

"In December, the bass are all about baitfish, whether it's shad or perch. Their metabolism is slow, and they don't want to have to swim far to find food," he says.

"You should stick to the places the baitfish do, like the ends of long points or bluff walls. If you find a school of fish, you can sometimes catch them for days because they don't move a whole lot."

Rapala Jigging Rap:

This funky-looking hard bait might be hard to find in Southern tackle shops. "Whenever I'm up North and the water is really cold, this is a killer on schooled up, suspended fish," Palaniuk says. Whenever he finds wads of fish offshore, they're near or on the ends of long, tapering points. He first looks for fish on his graph, then drops this tiny plug into the thick of them and jerks his rod from the 9 to 10 o'clock position, making the lure dart erratically. He likes baitfish colors, mainly silver with a black back.

Berkley Hollow Belly swimbait:

This might be the most versatile of Palaniuk's selections. When rigged with a 3/4-ounce VMC swimbait head, it scoots along the bottom. When rigged on a lighter head, it can wake across the surface.

"This bait covers the entire water column and is better when the fish want a horizontal presentation." Palaniuk uses this on the same points where he throws the Jigging Rap, which are typically in cleaner reservoirs. "It just gives them another look," he says.

Terminator Football Jig:

"I like a football jig because a lot of times in cold water the bass go to feeding on crawfish, and there isn't much that looks more like a crawfish than a football jig crawled along the bottom," Palaniuk says. "You can crawl it slowly or you can scoot it; either way it looks good."

He targets steep rocky banks found on the main lake, if they're available. Bluffs work well, too, especially if they've got "stair steps" built in. This is another versatile bait; Palaniuk can bomb a 40-yard cast to an offshore point, or he can pitch it to a shallow bluff on short line. Green pumpkin is his go-to color, and he likes the way a Berkley Havoc Deuce twin-tail grub acts on the back.

Drop Shot Rig:

From the frigid tundra of the Midwest to a spawning bed on Lake Okeechobee, a drop shot rig is Palaniuk's go-to when he's got to put fish in the boat. A Berkley Twitchtail Minnow and a 1/4-ounce EcoPro Tungsten weight do most of the heavy lifting.

"There really isn't much that looks more like a baitfish than that Minnow on a drop shot," he says. "It's not very intimidating, and it's easy for the bass to eat, even if you're close up and bed fishing. It's a little more subtle than jigging, too."

David Hunter Jones. "What Brandon Palaniuk Throws in December." Bassmaster, December 2013, pp. 26.

Joining the ranks of the FLW Tour anglers in 2009, 30-year-old Cody Meyer has been touted as "one of the best spotted bass fishermen in Northern California" and likened to the "Joe DiMaggio of the FLW Tour" for hauling a limit to the stage on 42 consecutive competition days. BAM jumped in the boat with Meyer and got a year-round lesson, season-by-season on the search for spotted bass.

"The main thing that you have to keep in mind when you are fishing in the winter is that the colder water temperatures are going to slow down the metabolism of the fish; they are not going to be as active," he began.

"Because they are less active, a slower presentation is going to be more effective. They still eat baitfish like shad, because it is there. But, they key in on crawdads, because it is a bigger meal with more protein and it is easy to catch. It will last them longer, because they aren't feeding as heavily. They may eat only one or two crawdads in a two-day period."

Location:

Regardless of the lure he has tied on, Meyer opts for similar structural targets for spotted bass. "Longer flats and main lake points are keys," he noted.

"They have moved out of the creeks that they are in during the fall and have gone on to main lake structure. As I said before, the thermocline is a critical component for finding them. I use my Lowrance HDS to find the depth of the thermocline. You can see it by the consistent line of coloring on the graph. The warmer water will be above that line. You can also use a handheld temperature gauge to determine the thermocline or figure it out the old school way by the depth you get bit at when you're fishing in that place the debris congregates as it comes down the river."

Lure Selection & Gear:

Meyer's first choice of lure for targeting spots in the cold weather (45 to 48 degrees) is a football head jig.

"Because they really key in on crawdads at this time, matching the hatch with a jig will catch a big number of spots in the winter," he continued. "It can be fished deeper, which is important because you want to get below the thermocline where the water is warmer. The warmer water attracts the bait and the bass."

When searching for spotted bass, Meyer always has an eye out for rocky areas where the craws like to live. He noted that he will veer toward long sloping points in early winter as opposed to steeper points in late winter.

"You can get jigs from 1/4 oz to one ounce and that is a big difference," he explained.
"For spots, I want to fish the lightest weight that I can get away with. If I can fish a 1/4 oz with without it floating away, that is what I will use, but if I cannot keep it on the bottom, I will go heavier. Bottom contact is the important part of the presentation, so if I am in 50 ft, I know I'm going to have to step it up to a bigger jig. You want to stay on the bottom and drag the jig so that you feel every single rock. Whether you are fishing points, walls, island tops, it doesn't matter, it has to be on the bottom to get bit."

The West Coast angler gears up for his jig with a 7'2" medium-heavy Shimano Crucial Jig Rod with a Shimano Core 7:1 reel for faster pick up in the deeper water. He typically uses 10 lb fluorocarbon, but said he would go lighter in clear water. He will also use the fluoro as a leader on 30 lb braded line for a better hookset and less stretch for deep water fishing. He marries the lines with an Albright knot.

A dropshot is his other must-have for spots in the winter. "I fish it with a Jackall Cross Tail Shad," he explained.

"It is a do nothing presentation that gets bites. It is a shake and drag presentation for when the fishing gets really tough."

His gear for the dropshot is a 7'2" Cumara medium-light rod with a Ci4 spinning reel and 10 lb braid with a 6 or 8 lb fluoro leader. He uses a small nose hook and varies his weight from 3/16 to 1/4 oz. He uses a teardrop shape weight for its versatility.

"As the season moves on and you hit that late January to February time and the water rises up to that 48 to 55 degree range, a jerkbait can be really good, especially if there is a storm," advised Meyer.

"The important part of fishing a jerkbait during this colder time, compared to the spring is the slower retrieve. Cast it out and work it back real slow, jerk it twice and then pause. I am talking about a long pause, 20 or 30 seconds."

While Meyer's go-to lures in the winter are a jig and a dropshot, he also noted that a tube works really well.

"When you think you've caught everything you're going to get in an area, you can throw out a tube and catch a couple more that you wouldn't have got, if you didn't give it a try," he remarked.

Jody Only. "Fishing the Winter for Spotted Bass with Cody Meyer." Bass Angler Magazine, Winter 2014/15, pp. 43.

Finding bass in the wintertime can be a tough nut to crack. Often bass will bunch up in tight schools on main lake structure making them difficult to find. But just like summer patterns, there is always a population of bass that haunt the shallows, and under certain conditions, they can be very accessible. Weather, water temperature, structure, cover and lure presentation are all elements that can help piece together the cold weather puzzle.

Being a 9-time Bassmaster Classic Qualifier, Elite Series Pro and fan favorite Ish Monroe has to connect with bass in all seasons and wintertime is no exception. There are, however, certain conditions in the winter that send this accomplished pro to shallow water.

Location:

He first advises anglers to hit the skinny water on those overcast, mid-front days.

"If you can find a day that is rainy and cloudy and if you can get some humidity in the air, say over 60% to 70%, fishing can get pretty good," he says. "Sunny bluebird days usually send the fish toward the main lake to suspend, sometimes as deep as 60 feet over a 100 foot channel and the shallow bite becomes almost non-existent."

While Monroe generally explores main lake patterns in the winter, even at times seeking out those suspended fish, he readily admits shallow fish can be more available.

"Sometimes on those rainy, low pressure days, those resident fish back in the creeks will actually bite better than those on the main lake," he allows.

If faced with a sunny high-pressure day he advises anglers to focus on the noon to two o'clock hours. "When the sun does come out, it warms up the water a degree or two and early afternoon is about the warmest water you are going to find during the course of the day," he explains.

Monroe chooses cover and structure according to the make up of the lake. "In the wintertime I'm usually fishing out west, so it's either the Delta focusing on the reeds with maybe a little grass or rock mixed in or on Clear Lake where rock is basically the only option," he says.

"Rock definitely plays a key role in wintertime fishing. It's usually a degree or two warmer than the clay or mud banks and even that slight difference in temperature can attract bass," continues the pro. Monroe goes on to say that anglers shouldn't shy away from extremely shallow water.

"I've caught them so shallow you couldn't even use a trolling motor," he quips. "I remember winning a tournament on the Delta where I was throwing a spinnerbait and as soon as it hit the water the fish would boil on it. And, this tournament was in December." He recalls, "we had rain, high humidity, and low pressure and the water temperature came up three or four degrees overnight, and they just bit like crazy."

Lure Selection & Gear:

Surprisingly, Monroe's favorite winter rainy day pattern revolves around top water."I like to throw a River2Sea Rover walking bait," he responds. "Once those fish get up shallow they are chasing food, and you want to throw a reaction-type lure."

If the fish shy away from the topwater, Monroe's second string line up involves a Bling Spinnerbait, or a Biggie Squarebill Crankbait. "These are the baits I've won tournaments on in November, December, and January," he reveals. "As a matter of fact, anytime I've ever won a tournament when fish were up shallow in the winter, it's been on a topwater or reaction type bait."

To present these reaction baits Monroe opts for a Daiwa 7' 7" Cielo composite rod, which is a balanced mix of graphite for sensitivity and fiberglass for flexibility. He matches the rod with a Daiwa Zillion or a Daiwa Tatula reel with a 6.3:1 gear ratio, spooled with 50-pound test Maxima braided line.

Rob Bryant. "Going to the Bank with Ish Monroe." Bass Angler Magazine, Winter 2014/15, pp. 8.

On a cold December day, nothing warms John Murray up faster or better than reeling bass up to his boat one after another. This Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Phoenix, Ariz., isn't stymied by the chill of this 12th month or the fact that most bass are now hanging down deep. On the contrary, he sees December as a time of fishing opportunity. He knows that even the coldest days can offer red hot action to anglers who know the secrets to success in this season. And Murray knows them!

"Fishing in December can be a lot better than most people realize," he says. "It's commonplace for a school of bass to be holding in one little area, and when you find them, you can get several bites in a hurry. You hook a fish, reel him up as fast as you can, then get your bait back in the water while the other fish in the school are still excited. I tell you, this is about as heart-pounding as bass fishing gets!"

Murray is describing spoon fishing. He says that in early winter, the dropping water temperature causes an annual shad die-off, and as individual minnows die, they fall to the bottom. Aware of these easy pickings, bass hover beneath schools of these baitfish to gorge themselves on the results of this annual life/death cycle.

So the keys to this pattern are:

(1) know where to look for schools of shad (using electronics); and (2) keep moving and test-fishing areas where "wolf packs" of bass might be shadowing them. Once these predators are located, catching them is easy.

Location:

Murray instructs, "I start my search in the biggest cove that extends back from the main lake. I use a Lowrance HDS-10 Gen2 graph to find shad and to learn the depth they're holding - what I call their 'activity zone.' I do this by idling across the middle of the cove and watching my unit's display. Shad schools look like clouds in the water. A typical example would be a water depth of 80 feet with the shad hanging 20 to 30 feet deep."

Once he learns the baitfish's activity zone, Murray moves back into the cove to find where this depth range intersects with the bottom of the cove.

"This is where I'll begin fishing," he says. "This is where I'll put my trolling motor down and start moving and trying to catch that first bass that'll key me to where more of these fish may be holding and feeding."

Murray explains that schools of shad will typically drift over a sunken creek channel or ditch, and the bass will hang in the bottom in the creeks or gullies, looking up for easy targets.

"A lot of times the bass are right on the bottom, and they're hard to see on my graph. But the schools of shad show up well on my electronics. When shad are present, there's always a chance that bass are, too. So I just focus on where the shad are, and then I start fishing beneath them to find the bass."

Lure Selection:

Murray's bait of choice for doing this is a 1-ounce white Luhr-Jensen Crippled Herring jigging spoon. He says this lure's design and weight allow for fast drops, which enables him to cover more water and test different options in less time. The white color mimics shad and provides greater visibility in stained water. And Murray alters each Crippled Herring to suit his needs before tying it on his line.

Lure Modifications:

The Luhr-Jensen Crippled Herring is a salmon fishing lure, and John Murray alters each spoon he purchases before putting it to work on bass.

"I do two things," he explains. "First, I remove the snap in the lure's eye, and I replace it with a split ring. Then I tie my line into the split ring. This gives the spoon more freedom of movement and allows it more action.

"And second, I take off the single hook that comes on the lure, and I replace it with a No. 2 red Owner stinger treble hook. This treble provides better hooking power for bass that are nipping at the spoon."

Lure Presentation:

He continues, "When I start fishing, everything happens below the boat. I'll make short pitches ahead of my trolling motor and allow the spoon to free spool vertically to the bottom. When it hits, I'll engage my reel and jerk it up 1 to 2 feet. I'll make a very firm, aggressive jerk. Then I'll let it fall back down. Ninety percent of my bites come when the spoon is falling," Murray notes.

"I'll feel a thump, or I'll see my line jump. Sometimes a less aggressive bite will feel like I'm pulling up moss; there's just a dead-weight feeling. Anytime I feel anything different from a normal jerk and fall, I'll set the hook."

Murray works fast when searching for bass, making only two to three hops per drop, then reeling the spoon up for the next cast. As his boat slides along, he tries different depths - the bottom of the creek, the upper lip, etc. His purpose is to discover the precise depth and area where bass are congregated.

Wade L. Bourne. "Jigging Spoon for Deep Down Bass." Basmaster Magazine, December 2013/14, pp. 64-65

It's cold. The wind is blowing. Ice and snow cover the ramp. This is a miserable time to bass fish, unless you like catching bass.

Usually by the time the snow begins to fly with regularity, most bass anglers have stowed the boat for the season. Freezing cold water and inclement weather signals the end of bass season. To which Kevin VanDam says: Pshaw.

"I've had to break ice to get on the lake a lot of times," says VanDam, who lives in Michigan. "I've broken more than one set of trailer lights backing my boat in."

Why? Well, according to a handful of hearty souls who refuse to quit bass fishing until they absolutely have to, it's some of the best bass fishing of the year.

"I've had some of the best bass fishing of my life when the water was 37, 36, 35 degrees," says Mark Zona, popular TV show host and incurable bass-fishing addict.

"I've caught them when half the lake is frozen and generally the more inclement the weather is, the better I do." There are a number of reasons why guys give up before the bass quit biting - because the bass never quit biting, icy-water enthusiasts say. "It's football season, it's deer season - guys just lose their focus," VanDam says.

"But it just keeps getting better."

Location:

Certainly, bass fishing isn't as easy as it is when the weather's mild. For one thing, the bass are harder to find.

"When the water temperature's 75 degrees, the bass are literally everywhere," Zona says, "from the bank to 30 feet of water. When it's colder - and the colder it gets, the tighter they school - they're in far fewer places. When you find them, you're going to find a bunch of them. If you don't find them, you don't find any."

But once you've found them? "You may have to fish a mile to find them, but I've had several days when I've caught 100 and never moved the boat, particularly with largemouth," VanDam says.

"Smallmouth may be a little more scattered. They move around more day-to-day. But largemouth? You catch them in the exact same spot year after year." Zona agrees.

"Bass are homing pigeons; they'll use the same stuff year after year, for comfort and food. And once they get there, they're there from the time the water gets down to 45 degrees until March, when it's time to make love."

For those who have not experienced the joys of icy water bass fishing, figuring out where to start is the first hurdle.

"Generally, you fish the last place you caught them before ice - points, inside turns where there are weeds or deep channels," says Jim Horn, a fixture on the northern Indiana/southern Michigan bass scene.

"I start around 12 to 15 feet. You want to be just outside the weeds. In some places with clearer water, it can be 20 feet. If you don't know where to start, just drive around until you start marking fish. Don't fish where you're not marking fish. Trust your electronics - or buy a better unit." VanDam agrees, saying the bass are shallower than most guys think they are.

"Most of my fishing is in 20 feet or less," he says. "That's not saying they won't be deeper; in clearer water with less vegetation, the fish are deeper.

"Look at a map - find the big flats that have grass on them, then find any major structural element, like a big point or a sharp drop. I focus on the inside turns - they almost always relate to that. Inside turns or points where there's a steeper drop, where it's a little more vertical to the grassline."

"A lot of lakes are really mapped well; it's pretty easy to see when you start on your computer before you even go to the lake. It's one time of the year when you can definitely look at a map and say, 'They should be here, here and here.' They may not be at all of them, but they'll be at one of them."

Lure Selection:

Most anglers agree that you want to use a bottom-bumping bait that you can slow to a crawl when fishing icycold water. Jigs, spoons and grubs are all high on their lists, and some even like crankbaits, cranked down to the bottom then inched slowly back.

"I'm a hard-core grub fisherman," Zona says. "The Mann's Stingray Grub was one of the best coldwater baits ever. It has no action, and no action is absolutely a key. You can overpower them with a bait that has too much action. Slow down and don't use anything that is overpowering."

These days, Zona prefers a Strike King Baby Rodent, but he pinches off the side tentacles.

"I like subtle colors, candy craw and blue craw both have a high resemblance to bluegill. Retrieve it with more of a pull than a bounce. I'm moving that bait maybe an inch - it's agitating them. And I probably only feel 10 percent of the bites; I call it a wet-rag bite. It's crazy - all of a sudden one's there. You don't feel 'em. And they're as surprised that they get caught as you are that you just caught them."

VanDam says he "likes something that has some dart to it."

"If I had to pick just one, it would be a tube," he says.

"A flat-tailed grub, a jig or a blade are all good, but if I had to pick just one, a tube. I like to hop the tube with a sharp snap. It triggers a lot of fish to bite, even in real cold water."

Horn doesn't hesitate to name his favorite icy-water baits: blades, especially Silver Buddies.

"It fishes in that zone really effectively, and they eat it," he says.

"I think it resembles the little panfish from this year's hatch. Lift and drop it subtly, more like a worm than a spoon. "Just lift it enough to where you feel the vibration. When you drop it, let it pause before you lift it again. On real tough days, you want to let it sit more. You let it sit, and when you lift it up, the fish is on there."

Horn prefers heavy line, 17- to 20-pound test, and says both monofilament and fluorocarbon work well.

"I think that heavy line slows the drop down enough to make a difference in the bite. And with heavy line, if I get hung up, I can straighten the hooks out and get my Buddy back."

Bob Gwizdz. "Bass in the Slush." Bassmaster, December 2013, pp. 30-33.

The bass textbooks teach us several important things about cold-water bass fishing. It's common knowledge that a drop in the thermometer dramatically affects cold-blooded creatures like the bass. Lower metabolism means feeding times are less often and the amount of food consumed typically is not as much.

While most veteran bass fishermen turn to applications like suspending jerkbaits, a small jig and pig, bladed baits like the Silver Buddy, or even a Float ‘N' Fly, but many overlook the effectiveness of the plastic worm.

With two B.A.S.S. Elite wins, 13 top ten finishes and $750,000 in B.A.S.S. Tournament winnings, South Carolina pro Jason Williamson keeps the versatile plastic worm in his winter fishing playbook for good reason, it catches fish.

Location:

Williamson begins his lure selection process by noting the general make up of the lake.

"If I'm fishing a lake with vegetation I look for vegetation that either drops into, or is close to deep water, and preferably the river channel," he says.

"If it's a lake that doesn't have vegetation, I'll key on rock. Rock holds heat which bass will be seeking in colder weather."

Williamson also suggests seeking out boat docks, particularly those that have black floats, as they tend to hold more warmth. While worming is certainly a versatile technique, the best winter conditions tend to be high barometric pressure days with little or no wind. These are the days that faster applications fall short, and moving to a finesse worm strategy can be the ticket.

"The conditions are relative year-round for the plastic worm, but those days that are bright, sunny and slick tend to be the best," Williamson reveals.

Lure Presntation:

Williamson also considers water temperature and clarity when making his choices for specific worm presentations.

"I prefer clear to moderately stained water. And, water temperature will influence how I present the bait," he continues.

"If it's real cold I'll slow down, use long pauses and just drag the bait keeping it on the bottom." Williamson did go on to add that he will hop the bait or alternate between hopping and dragging if he's fishing an area that has milder winters and a more moderate climate, but reiterates the importance of keeping the bait in contact with the bottom.

Lure Selection & Gear:

Williamson's worm choices are pretty basic. He narrows his options down to worms with more subtle action and natural colors.

"One thing that works well for me is fishing a worm that doesn't have a lot of action," he says.

"I don't use a lot of curly tail worms. I mostly use straight tail worms like the Zoom Trick Worm." As for color he advises, "I like to stick to natural colors like green pumpkin or watermelon, but if the lake has vegetation I seem to get more bites on these colors if they also have red flake."

While Texas Rigs and Carolina Rigs do catch fish in cold water and Williamson confirms he has boated winter fish on these techniques, he recommends using finesse presentations to get more feedback from the bass. "Shaky head and drop shots work best for me because many times in the winter you are just trying to get bit and these rigs will definitely help get you more bites," he asserts.

"My favorite shaky head set up is a Buckeye Lures Spot Remover paired with a Zoom Trick worm," he discloses. "I also like a 3/16 or 1/4 ounce XPS tungsten drop shot weight and a Gamakatsu No. 2 drop shot hook."

Williamson also favors eight-pound test Gamma Fluorocarbon line spooled on a Johnny Morris Signature Series spinning reel, and a six foot ten inch Duckett Fishing White Ice Jason Williamson spinning rod. He uses this set up for both shaky head and drop shot presentations.

Both the drop shot and the shaky head require total focus from the angler. Winter bites can be scarce and it's important to note the details around which each bite occurs.

"It's really important to pay attention as to when you get the bite," Williamson explains.

"Did you get the bite while you were dragging it or was it sitting still? Were you hopping the bait or shaking it in place?"

He also advises anglers to be particularly attentive at the beginning of the day. "Pay close attention to these details early on because they can help you key in on what's working and set you up for success on the rest of the trip," he concludes.

Bryant, Rob. "Winter Time Worming with Jason Williamson." Bass Angler Magazine, Winter 2014, pp. 90.

With winter ways that have helped Brandon Palaniuk to lay claim to a 4th place finish in the February 2011 Bassmaster Classic on the Louisiana Delta and a 2nd spot in the February 2013 Classic on the Grand Lake O' the Cherokees, the 25-year-old, Bassmaster Elite Series pro has developed a confident arsenal of cold-weather go-to's for both small and largemouth bass.

As the temperatures began to dip, signaling the onset of the coldest season of the year, BAM checked in with the Idaho angler and asked him for some winter advice.

Bucketmouth Baits:

Palaniuk entices the sluggish, winter behavior of the largemouth with a swimmer and has two that are tied on, depending on the fishery.

"You get more bang for your buck fishing for largemouth with a swimbait, than any other bait this time of year," he stated. The two that Palaniuk presents on the end of his line are the 5-inch Berkley Hollow Belly Swimbait and a six or eight inch Huddleston ROF 12.

"I want the Hudd at the trout-based lakes, basically anywhere that trout is stocked or the bass key in on the bigger gizzard shad,"he said.

"Other than that, I like the Hollow Belly. I do like to use an umbrella rig, especially when there is a lot of suspended bass, but sometimes they are not allowed, so I will concentrate on a Hollow Belly."

When on the hunt for Huddie bites, he will modify by removing the top hook and attaching a treble. "It is the Butch Brown method," he added. "I like to fish this slow on the bottom, almost like a jig, so it looks like a baitfish that is lost and is an easy kill for an opportunistic bass."

Typically, he fishes a trout colored Hudd and gears up with a 7'9" Abu Garcia Veritas swimbait rod for its long handle and backbone. "The bend is heavy with a fairly fast taper and it has enough tip to feel the contact of the bait on the bottom," he explained.

"When I am fishing deeper than 15-feet, I will use a Revo Winch, because I want that slow 5:1 gear ratio to combat the bait from rising a lot. If I am in less than 15-feet, I will use a 6.4:1. I use 20 lb Trilene 100% fluorocarbon. I know a lot of guys will use braid, but I've never had a problem with the fluoro and because I fish it so slow, I don't want to take the chance the fish can see the line when they are following, even if that is just in my mind."

He puts a 3/4-oz VMC jighead on the Berkley plastic. "You have to reel this with a slow to moderate speed that lets you keep it at the level of the fish in the water column, without rising," he stressed.

He uses a 7'6" medium-heavy Abu Garcia Veritas rod with a Revo Premier 6.4:1 reel. "I like the backbone on this rod, for a good hookset and a soft enough tip to feel everything in the strike zone," he continued.

"When you're fishing down to 25 ft, that extra length on this rod helps. The middle speed of the gear ratio on this reel is the best. A 5:1 feels too slow and a faster one will give too much lift to the bait. I use Trilene 100% fluorocarbon, mostly 15 lb test for this."

Offering up, a Hollow Belly tip, Palaniuk shared that he will sometimes rig the swimbait upside down so that the hook will come out of the belly section. "It completely changes the action of the bait," said the angler.

"You can rig one each way and retrieve them side-by-side and see how it changes. Sometimes, that change is what will trigger more strikes. Sometimes, I will rig it like this to fish in flooded timber or brush, because the belly acts somewhat like a weed guard."

Smallmouth Baits:

"The first thing that comes to mind when I think of winter lures is a blade bait," said Palaniuk.

"The one I use is made by a guy in the Spokane Valley, up in Washington. We throw it in the winter for walleye and bass, especially smallmouth."

Palaniuk always works a blade bait from shallow to deep to maintain the integrity of its action. "If you don't, it is also easier to get hung up," he added.

Go-to gear for Palaniuk's bass quest with a blade bait is an Abu Garcia Volatile Saltwater Series 7' spinning rod.

"It gives me a better hook up ratio because of the taper and I feel I have more control over the bait, but also I can detect the subtle strikes better with it," he said. "I match this with an Abu Garcia Revo Premier spinning reel size 20."

He adds 8lb Berkley FireLine Crystal with an 8 lb Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader that stretches aprox. 10 ft. He marries them with a uni-to-uni knot.

Location:

"A critical key to winter success is finding the bait," stressed the pro.

Palaniuk does this and locates desired structure with his Lowrance HDS unit and a Navionics chip. He described the difference in primary target areas of each species by the type of structure.

"The fish tend to group up more in the winter," he explained. "So, using your electronics will help you find that longest, extended, tapering point. If only one side has a steep drop, you will find the fish tend to concentrate on that side and you can figure out where to target your casts. For example, if you find a sloping point that goes to about 15 to 30-feet and one side drops off to 50 or 60-feet, it will be a spot that the smallmouth can pull off of and move back up on, without having to swim that far. Look for harder bottom, the gravely point or that bigger boulder adjacent to the point for the largemouth. That will be where they are holding. When I locate these areas, I will position my boat in deeper water, so that I can make a cast that is about 20-feet past my target area and begin to work my bait back to the boat."

He also keys in on deeper flats for largemouth. "They don't necessarily have to be as deep as the areas that you look for with smallmouth," he added.

"At least where I live and other locations in the northern part of the country, there is a large population of largemouth that migrate beneath the iced over parts of the lakes. Following the baitfish, they migrate underneath the ice, which kind of goes against everything we were taught about largemouth, but it happens because they are following their food. I think this occurs more in lakes where the forage base is bluegill and perch. In places where there is more shad, they tend to follow the shad which will move from the creek pockets and shallower areas in the fall to the deeper areas as the water gets colder."

Only, Jody. "Winter Ways with Brandon Palaniuk." Bass Angler Magazine, Winter 2014, pp. 80.

December through February is prime time for fishing power plant lakes, says former Forrest Wood Cup champ Jacob Wheeler. Even on days when the air temperature dips into the 30's, the water temperature can still reach the 70's. Shad patterns resemble those of autumn and bass still feed heavily. The keys, explains Wheeler, are locating the biggest fish and coaxing them to bite with some unique tactics.

Location:

Bigger bass tend to position themselves down the reservoir from the warm water discharge, where the water is cooler that it is in the far upper reaches. Look for water temperatures in the low to mid-60's.

"It can be tempting to go way up and fish the warmest water," Wheeler says.

"The warm water attracts a bunch of bait and the bass up there will be really active. The problem is that they are usually small. I think the bigger ones are loners and prefer to stay away from the schools of smaller bass." Any kind of shallow cover being swept by current where bass can escape the flows is a good target.

"Current is important on a power plant lake," Wheeler explains. "The discharge from the plant will create a lot of current and bass will set up on the upcurrent side of stumps and wood."

Lure Selection:

After setting up at the desired water temperature, Wheeler's primary approach is to walk a chrome & black Rapala Skitter Walk over main lake points, especially those with big stumps or rock piles. He uses a constant, steady retreive and most most bites occur within the first few feet of the bank. If the fish aren't interested in his topwater lure, Wheeler resorts to fishing a Trigger X Spadetail Worm on a 1/8oz VMC DSH Shaky Head Jig around shallow current swept cover.

Reeves, Mike. "Wintertime Power Plant Lakes." FLW Outdoors Magazine, Winter 2013, pp. 30-31