cold water

[bassman20042]

Hey all,thanks for the last advice on wind fishing. It helped alot. Caught some really good bass. Now for a new question. What do I look for when fishing cold water? And what would be my best baits to use? I have tried to fish slow to fast, but can't seem to find a good presentation to catch fish. I get lucky every now and then, but not much to keep me fishing cold water. I hear,that cold water fishing can be great. Is that true? Any advice is greatfull. Bassman

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Need to define cold? Here, cold water is under 45 degrees. We do catch fish, but must work for them. We parallel bluffs with super deep crankbaits and swim jigs in 30 foot plus water along deep points. Stop and go crankbaiting works sometimes if the fish are suspended in 20 feet or less. Shad, gold and silver colors work best on the cranks and we keep them moving pretty steady. For jigs and trailers it's brown on brown or balck and blue, pretty basic stuff but it works. WE usually stop fishing at about 34 degree water temp, the fish just get too sluggish and in Iowa it's plenty cold in late Nov. and Dec. Good luck, Johnnie

[brendanc]

Hi Bassman,

Johnnie is right about needed to know the water temp. The temperature will dictate where these fish will be located. To add another element into the equation, what type of lake are you fishing (natural lake, impoundment/reservoir, river, etc.) and what is the deepest water available?

To answer your general question about cold water fishing, YES, cold water fishing can be great and when you locate fish, they are schooled together making it easy pickins if you have the right presentation for the job.

Looking forward to discussing this in more detail....

BC

[bassman20042]

Sorry. The water here is around 50 - 55 degrees. The water is a cove, comming off a river. According to the depth finder, the deepest part is 30 feet. There is two sloping points, and alot of catails. Also,there is some rocks and brush piles, but in only 5 feet of water. What do I need to look for, to find the bass? I have tried jigs,worms, spinnerbaits,and crankbaits. Like I said before, I caught fish before,but can't seem to find them now. Do I need to slow my presentations? Thanks Bassman

[brendanc]

Thanks for the extra details. So if I am understanding you correctly, you are fishing in a cove on a lake, right?

Assuming this is the case, you need to keep in mind that as the temps drop, the bass will begin bunching up into pods and those pods will eventually congrigate into a larger school. Forage drives everything at this time of year as these bass need to fatten up for the colder months. They evenually will be making a migration towards their deep water wintering holes. A map of the lake would make identifying their migration route a lot easier.

Those brush/rock piles in 5' of water may produce some fish. If there are any docs, those could also produce. Largemouths (especially) like to make a move shallow to forage on bream and larger forage before the water temps get to cold (Say below 40 degrees). The timing of this shallow movement usually follows the first few nights when the air temp drops into the 40's. Your primary focus should be on migration routes (creek channels, leading to deep water, or out of the cove. Old road beds, etc.) I would also check those points very carefully. Points can be a great holding/feeding area as these bass migrate to deeper water.

Two more things that will help us help you track these fish down:

1) What type of lake is this, natural or impoundment?

2) Do you have a map and is there a map online that we can look at or download?

BC

[bassman20042]

The lake is natural. I have a map of the lake, but I can't find anything on the map, as where to go to download it. The name of the lake, is Lake Mohave. it's in Arizona. According to the map, there are depth cahnges, starting at 10 feet, going down to 30 feet. What do I look for?

[carl]

Not much that I can add; Brenden's post pretty much touches on the classical spots to fish. Since you said the water temps are in the fifties I would certianly slow down. Johnnie talked about presentations. Our fish are not holding or cruising the banks. They are high in the water column of deep water. The crappie are in their winter patterns which look like a christmas tree, I caught some nice bass in or around the crappie using spoons. Small silver spoons did the trick. I found the fish along cliff bluffs; at 20 feet deep, 30 to 40 feet off shore in standing timber, and on the bottom in a creek channel. The channel snakes between two points at 27 feet. It's about 10 feet wide, and always holds fish. We are just at the beginning of fall bass fishing, water temp is 61 degrees, and crystal clear. We've almost had our first frost which Kevin Van [censored] uses as a benchmark for the beginning of fall fishing. Something I read recently, and turned out to be correct, if you're not finding fish the on the sonar, keep moving until you do. They are on the move, and so must we. Good luck, Carl

[brendanc]

Can you point out the area/cove that you were fishing? I forgot to ask if you are fishing from shore or by boat?

Area Map - Not Topographical

Another Area Map:

Area Map 2