February Tackle Warehouse Staff Picks

I can effectively fish the bait in the 6–7ft range, which is a little deeper than your standard jerkbait. The 112MR also darts both side to side as well as up and down, which I believe widens the strike zone. I also like that it comes with three hooks, but I will sometimes swap them out for Owner ST-36 trebles in #6 or #5, or a combo of both. Depending on water temp, I also like to change the hooks until the bait sinks slowly for a slightly deeper presentation. I think this helps make bass commit since they have to work a bit less to get the bait.

The 112MR works best for me around main-lake points and along steeper banks/bluff walls between main and secondary points. I tend to shy away from the flatter points or ones that don’t have any big rock leading up to them. Even in colder water, I seldom pause longer than 3–4 seconds and fish pretty fast using an erratic cadence rather than a standard one-two type of retrieve.

Most of the time, I stick to some kind of ghost color, like ghost minnow or ghost threadfin. If the water gets stained, chartreuse shad can also produce some solid bites. I’ve experimented with flashy metallic finishes this time of the year, but they haven’t produced for me like the ghost or chartreuse shad colors.

When the water level was really low at a local lake and normal bass boats couldn’t launch, a buddy and I would hand-launch an aluminum boat from shore. During February, we lost count of how many 5–7lbers we caught.

The soft tip and stout backbone make the Daiwa Kage 6’10” Power Jerkbait rod ideal for imparting a sharp darting action. I like pairing this rod with a smaller reel, like a Shimano Curado 70 or Daiwa Tatula SV TW 70 in a 7.1 or 8.1 gear ratio spooled with 10–12lb Seaguar InvizX. The faster gear ratio allows me to pick up slack and fish faster, while that line has just the right amount of stretch to effectively snap the bait and cushion aggressive strikes.

February can be a wet month where I live, often leading to dirtier water—great for spinnerbait fishing. Bass also begin coming out of their midwinter slumbers and start feeding on baitfish in preparation for the spawn, making the spinnerbait an excellent choice. A spinnerbait is often one of the first baits I reach for in February, as the thump and vibration of the blades help attract bass when visibility is limited.

What I like about the spinnerbait is that you can have success by simply putting the trolling motor down and covering water, casting to shallower targets. Even if you still find the fish sticking to deep points in February, I will make a long cast over them with a heavy spinnerbait, let it hit bottom, then slow-roll it back with great success.

A chartreuse/white combo is probably one of my favorite colors for February, especially if there’s dirty water, but I also like to throw a natural bluegill pattern when the water clarity improves, or if bluegill have pushed shallow.

I've experienced some wintertime deep-water spinnerbait bites that were pretty memorable, with my biggest fish being in the 7lb class.

My standard spinnerbait setup is a Dobyns 744 Champion Extreme with a Curado 200K and 15–17lb Seaguar InvisX fluorocarbon. If I'm trying to target fish deeper than 12–15 ft with a 3/4 or 1oz spinnerbait, I might go to 20lb fluorocarbon and a slightly heavier rod, like a 745.

I typically keep this bait on deck all year long, but February is one month where I fish it especially often. The bait maintains bottom contact easily and offers a compact but bulky profile that gets the attention of both small and big bass.

I’ll typically experiment with jig/trailer colors and sizes to see what works best. I am often crawling the jig painfully slowly, which is why I like mixing in that chunk trailer. It seems like if you get the speed of descent and the color right, the bite can come pretty quick after the bait hits bottom.

In clearer water, I like the Beast Coast jig in stealth green pumpkin paired with a green pumpkin trailer. When water is more stained, a black/brown rubber with a black/blue fleck trailer works well.

My biggest fish on the bait is a 4.5lb largemouth that anchored a nice tournament check on a predominantly spotted bass lake.

The Dobyns Champion XP 744CFH paired to a Shimano Bantam MGL 150HGA casting reel filled with 12–15lb Seaguar InvizX is a great setup.