Whenever the season changes and the water temperatures drop, you’ll notice an uptick in the question, “What are the best winter bass lures?” on forums and Facebook groups. It’s a good question, even if it’s repeated by bass anglers every year.
For most anglers, including myself, winter bass fishing is not something we look forward to because the bite is slow, the temperature is harsher, and it’s harder to catch fish. But to increase your winter fishing success, knowing what bait to throw is important.
While color is a factor in your success at catching big bass, let me point out that your presentation is equally as, if not more, important in bass fishing. Anglers can use the best lure, but if you’re using a fast and erratic action, those lures won’t help you get bites in frigid waters. Keep it slow! With that said, let’s talk more about the best lures for winter bass fishing.
Winter Bass Fishing And Water Clarity
Before recommending the best baits for winter fishing, we need to address water color and clarity. This significantly impacts which bait color you should use if you want to catch the biggest bass.
Best Lure For Light Or Clear Water
The best choice for light or clear water will be something natural that doesn’t need to be too flashy to stand out. That’s brown, green pumpkin, or ghost/white (translucent). The thought here is that when the water is super clear, something bold and colorful, especially in the dullness of winter, will seem very unnatural and might over-stimulate the fish. This isn’t just true for winter bass lures, it also applies year-round.
Best Bait For Muddy Or Murky Water
As we discussed previously, the best lure for fishing in clear water is a natural color. As you can probably guess, the opposite is true for cold muddy water bass baits.
In this scenario, bass anglers need bold colors that will stand out. First I would try something a little more subtle like a yellow-green, solid black, or dark blue. If those colors fail to trigger strikes, then you can start experimenting with even bolder bait colors like neon orange, and red, and patterns such as firetiger.
I would also assess how murky or muddy the lake is. If the water looks like coffee with heavy creamer, you would probably be best off fishing with vibrant bait colors like firetiger.
Winter Bass Baits By Type
Soft Plastics
One of the go-to winter fishing lures to catch bass for myself, as well as many experienced anglers, are soft plastics. Plastics are awesome because of the versatility they have using light line, which allows you to rig them and fish them in many different ways.
In the context of winter bass fishing, one of the best setups is a ned rig. It’s extremely simple and you can use any soft plastic lure you want. All a ned rig comes down to is a soft plastic bait on a jighead hook.
When fishing a ned rig in cold water, you want to slowly work it along the bottom, resembling a smaller fish or crustacean eating stuff off the bottom. This subtle and slow action is usually a great way to entice a lethargic winter bass who might be in deep cover. You can use any soft plastics you want to use.
In the pictures below I cut a Reaction Tackle worm to shorten it a bit. In the other picture, I’m using a Strike King Swim’n Caffeine Shad Bait. Both of these are rigged using z man ned rig hooks.
Strike King Shad on a Z Man ned rig
Reaction Tackle worm on a Z Man ned rig
Z Man ned rig hooks
Jerkbaits
Fishing with jerkbaits can be an extremely effective lure choice in the winter. With these baits, pause time is very important. You want to make this look like an easy meal to any fish that might see it.
According to professional angler Jimmy Mason, the water temperature influences how long you should pause, and using the counting method is crucial. With water temperatures in the lower 50’s, 3-5 seconds, mid to upper 40’s, 5-7 seconds, and lower 40’s, 10-15 seconds. If you aren’t getting bites, play around with your pause time to find out what entices the bass. Consider using a pattern, in between each pause give it 2 or 3 small jerks instead of just one. Try slow subtle twitches and work up to stronger jerks.
Ozark Trail Sexy Shad, available at Walmart
Jigs
Jigs are another great choice for catching bass in the winter. During the winter, it’s generally recommended that you stick with natural colors like brown, green pumpkin, and black, although as well discussed before, the best bass lure color for winter is also dependent on water clarity. So this should also be taken into account. I would purchase several different football jig colors and see what makes the hungry bass bite.
In the image below I have three different colored jigs that would be good for winter bass fishing. During the winter you can use the classic jig method of fishing dropoffs, ledges, and structure and letting the bait sink to the bottom. However, in the winter, your retrieval will be different. You want to work your jig nice and slow along the bottom similar to how you would fish a ned rig. I like to slowly drag my jigs on the bottom and intermittently make the bait hop.
Some Strike King jigs I use in cold water
Blade Baits
Blade baits for bass can be extremely efficient bass baits. These are some of the most underrated bass lures out there. These are thin metal lures that will vibrate in the water. They get their name from their resemblance to metal blades and share a lot of similarities with jigging spoons. If you’ve never thrown one of these, I highly suggest you start. Not only are they great in the winter, but they are effective year-round, especially when your other options are not catching fish.
A slow retrieve using these lures will give a flashy vibration, which will look like a vulnerable bait fish. You can use a simple straight retrieve, or you can get a bit more fancy and jig with it. If I am jigging with these, I will use a vertical jig technique of slowly lifting the rod and then letting the slack fall. You can buy these at stores like Bass Pro Shop, and Cabela’s, and obviously on Amazon. I just went with a pack of blade baits in simple gold and silver colors
FAQ
1. Is Blade A Fish?
No, a blade is not a type of fish, it’s just the name of the lure. Blade baits get their name from their resemblance to metal blades, like a knife. They are mimicking baitfish, but not a specific one.
2. Where Do Bass Go In The Winter?
Bass don’t necessarily go anywhere different, you can still find them in the same places and depth that you find them year-round, however, they do tend to stick around areas with shallow flats next to deep water. During the winter when their metabolism slows down, they do not travel nearly as far, so quick access to forage and deep water is what they prefer.
3. What Do Bass Eat In The Winter?
Bass eat the same thing in the winter as they do any other time of year, they just eat less frequently when the water is cold and their metabolism slows down.
Summarizing The Best Winter Bass Baits
Winter bass fishing can be rough, so using an appropriate bait will at least give you an advantage during these cold months. Don’t forget that the best bass lure color for winter fishing is highly dependent on the water you’re fishing. If the water is clear, keep your colors natural like light brown, green pumpkin, or ghost white. If plan to fish dirty water, lighten things up a bit bolder and more colorful. Stay warm out there!
Recommended Cold Water Baits:
Ned rigs: Strike King Swim’n Caffeine Shad Bait & Reaction Tackle worm
Jigheads: Z Man ned rig hooks.
Jerkbait: Ozark Trail Sexy Shad
Blade Bait: LURESMEOW
References:
https://www.wired2fish.com/winter-fishing/where-bass-go-in-the-winter-and-when-to-fish-them/