When the winter comes and your favorite bait is some sort of bladed jig the presentation changes to adapt to the winter conditions. If you’re fishing the late fall transition you will quickly see that moving from late fall to winter requires some attention to detail. The biggest change is speed and depth once you make this mental change your bladed jig will once again be great winter bait.
One of the first things I do is go heavy; Picasso makes their bladed jig “Shock Blade” all the way to 2 oz. and they can be rolled over deep water with ease. The key is how you present to the fish and what type of trailer you use to make it stand out to the fish. I like hopping it along the bottom, this is such an enticing movement the bass can’t reject it. The up and down movement of hopping the bladed jig having it settle momentarily on the bottom is really one of the best ways to get a reaction from a big winter bass. Another presentation I like to use especially if you see the bass suspending over structure is to speed reel the bait at the depth they are suspending. Bladed jigs are much like swim jigs as they can be counted down to a certain depth and rolled through the suspending fish. If you find the jig is too heavy to keep at the depth you want lighten it up or increase the size of the trailer both will work to help you use this as a count-down bait.
The trailer can be one key to its action and its size as the bait the bass are feeding on, or whether speed is needed to create action. Many times I use Missile Bait D-Bomb its creates a small profile and the ears or wings of the D-bomb has great movement while matching the size of the hatch bass many times feed on. If your just looking for that big bite; consider a big swim bait like 7 inch swim bait; this will give you lots of tail action and when hopping it imitates a big shad in deep water. Bladed jigs have become one of the hottest baits on the fishing trail and winterizing your blade can be one of the best ways to find those stingy winter bass.
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
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Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Capt. Mike Gerry