Winter Time Presentation

Is there any other species?
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PotatoLake
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Winter Time Presentation

Post by PotatoLake » Tue Nov 15, 2022 6:16 am

Folks, what are your go to winter presentations and techniques? If anyone has the time to get really granular with their response, that would be super awesome. This is the one time of the year that I struggle to consistently catch fish. The one time I did put the hammer on them was last December, I found a school of spots and largemouth mix suspended just off the bottom of an old road bed in a local lake with about 2 - 3 feet of visibility. I tried hopping lipless, nope, I tried a blade bait, nope. Finally my buddy says, lets put on a scrounger head with a Castaic Jerky J, let them sink all the way to the bottom and creep it a slow as we can. Holy cow, they were on it. We caught several good sized spots and largemouth mixed with a lot of little guys. Super fun day. Long story short, it gave me confidence that if you keep digging for what they want you can catch fish in really cold water. So what’s your first couple approaches when fishing the winter months? I’ve really had little success with A-rigs, Jerkbaits (I fish pretty low visibility lakes mostly), Lipless, larger swim baits. Would love to hear what you like to do this time of year. Thanks.

goldrod
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Re: Winter Time Presentation

Post by goldrod » Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:24 pm

PotatoLake wrote:
Tue Nov 15, 2022 6:16 am
Folks, what are your go to winter presentations and techniques? If anyone has the time to get really granular with their response, that would be super awesome. This is the one time of the year that I struggle to consistently catch fish. The one time I did put the hammer on them was last December, I found a school of spots and largemouth mix suspended just off the bottom of an old road bed in a local lake with about 2 - 3 feet of visibility. I tried hopping lipless, nope, I tried a blade bait, nope. Finally my buddy says, lets put on a scrounger head with a Castaic Jerky J, let them sink all the way to the bottom and creep it a slow as we can. Holy cow, they were on it. We caught several good sized spots and largemouth mixed with a lot of little guys. Super fun day. Long story short, it gave me confidence that if you keep digging for what they want you can catch fish in really cold water. So what’s your first couple approaches when fishing the winter months? I’ve really had little success with A-rigs, Jerkbaits (I fish pretty low visibility lakes mostly), Lipless, larger swim baits. Would love to hear what you like to do this time of year. Thanks.
I wanted to know what lipless did you use ? IMHO, not all lipless are good for that technique you described. Personally, I find the Jackall TN70 to be the absolute BEST lipless for that technique. Now its not the best lipless but for winter time or simply cold water lift and drop i dont think there is a better one. I have used this lure ever since I fished with a member on here and after getting some and replicating what he did I understood but i didnt. I dont know what sets it apart from other lipless for this one specific technique but let me tell you it works

Outside of addressing, i punch, flip, c-rig and dropsot. more than the technique though i slow down , way down
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Craiger12
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Re: Winter Time Presentation

Post by Craiger12 » Wed Nov 16, 2022 5:15 am

goldrod wrote:
Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:24 pm

I wanted to know what lipless did you use ? IMHO, not all lipless are good for that technique you described. Personally, I find the Jackall TN70 to be the absolute BEST lipless for that technique. Now its not the best lipless but for winter time or simply cold water lift and drop i dont think there is a better one. I have used this lure ever since I fished with a member on here and after getting some and replicating what he did I understood but i didnt. I dont know what sets it apart from other lipless for this one specific technique but let me tell you it works

Outside of addressing, i punch, flip, c-rig and dropsot. more than the technique though i slow down , way down
I will second this for sure. Not sure where you are fishing but up north here in CT when the water gets colder like just before and after the ice season my go to presentations are the lipless and blade bait fished identically with the lift and drop method. My go to is the LC500, but I have heard good things about the Jackall TN70 and should probably pick a few up. If not getting bit on either of those options then I would likely go to a finesse or even micro plastic on a jig head, almost as if I was ice fishing. Actually, one of my go to methods for ice fishing for smallies is a 1/4oz blade bait. It seems to call them in at times when they are a little more active.

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uljersey
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Re: Winter Time Presentation

Post by uljersey » Wed Nov 16, 2022 6:51 am

Don't forget a silent squarebill in the shallows, just like you'd throw in July. Still gets bit in the cold ;)

Drakestar
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Re: Winter Time Presentation

Post by Drakestar » Wed Nov 16, 2022 7:45 am

If you know where they’re at, and if they’re suspended, a Damiki rig might do the trick next time. It’s a bit like a float n fly without the embarrassment of float fishing for bass ;)

Beyond that, I agree that it really is all about that slowed-down and seized-down presentation. If the lipless doesn’t work, it might be too much. Try a blade bait next time. I’ve caught jerkbait fish in very stained water, as well, but you have to be patient. Make sure it suspends perfectly on the day (might need to adjust amount of lead tape) and let it sit for up to 30 seconds. These fish are super lethargic and take a while just to rise to the occasion, literally :)

PotatoLake
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Re: Winter Time Presentation

Post by PotatoLake » Wed Nov 16, 2022 6:11 pm

goldrod wrote:
Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:24 pm
PotatoLake wrote:
Tue Nov 15, 2022 6:16 am
Folks, what are your go to winter presentations and techniques? If anyone has the time to get really granular with their response, that would be super awesome. This is the one time of the year that I struggle to consistently catch fish. The one time I did put the hammer on them was last December, I found a school of spots and largemouth mix suspended just off the bottom of an old road bed in a local lake with about 2 - 3 feet of visibility. I tried hopping lipless, nope, I tried a blade bait, nope. Finally my buddy says, lets put on a scrounger head with a Castaic Jerky J, let them sink all the way to the bottom and creep it a slow as we can. Holy cow, they were on it. We caught several good sized spots and largemouth mixed with a lot of little guys. Super fun day. Long story short, it gave me confidence that if you keep digging for what they want you can catch fish in really cold water. So what’s your first couple approaches when fishing the winter months? I’ve really had little success with A-rigs, Jerkbaits (I fish pretty low visibility lakes mostly), Lipless, larger swim baits. Would love to hear what you like to do this time of year. Thanks.
I wanted to know what lipless did you use ? IMHO, not all lipless are good for that technique you described. Personally, I find the Jackall TN70 to be the absolute BEST lipless for that technique. Now its not the best lipless but for winter time or simply cold water lift and drop i dont think there is a better one. I have used this lure ever since I fished with a member on here and after getting some and replicating what he did I understood but i didnt. I dont know what sets it apart from other lipless for this one specific technique but let me tell you it works

Outside of addressing, i punch, flip, c-rig and dropsot. more than the technique though i slow down , way down
I love all the ideas, on the subject of lipless, I was using a LC LV500. And I agree on the slow and small theory. I also have heard the theory of speeding up as fast as you can with crankbaits. The shallow silent squarebill idea and the damiki rig are for sure on my list to try. Thanks everyone for jumping in the discussion. Good stuff.

dragon1
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Re: Winter Time Presentation

Post by dragon1 » Mon Jan 02, 2023 9:39 pm

Agreed with blade baits, and lipless in cold water, along with mini jigs and tubes.

One lure that is many times forgotten is the spin jig, a la Beetle Spins of all sorts, 1/8 - 3/8 slow rolled. I usually change out the blades to silver Mepps #0, 1, 2 for a brighter flash, or gold blades in murky water. I also vary the trailers to all sorts, but single tail grubs and small swimbaits work very well, as does the Beetle Spin grub. For me, it's easier to slow roll and drift a spin jig type bait in current than an underspin, and they are very inexpensive in case you go through a few baits. This bait catches everything panfish, and still picks up decent sized bass as well.

I bring a custom light powered spinning with 8lb braid/10lb fluoro for 1/8 oz and a BFS combo for 1/4, and at times a custom Lamiglas Infinity 873 for 1/4-3/8 when I want longer casts.
"It is like a finger pointing away to the Moon...don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all of that heavenly glory."

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Hogsticker2
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Re: Winter Time Presentation

Post by Hogsticker2 » Tue Jan 03, 2023 2:09 pm

Winter can mean different things, depending on where you're located. Football jigs and blade baits are pretty common in my neck of the woods.

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