37 - 39 Degree Bass (Including A Nice 5.8 Lmb) 2024
Goose52 reply :
The arctic air hitting the eastern U.S. is here in Tennessee. Low last night was 0 deg. Skim ice here and there on the lakes today but mostly still all open water. I wait until about 1pm and head out to fish for a bit. Nice sunny day, 24 degree air temp, about 5-10mph wind. HIt the first lake, cast a Berkley Chigger Craw over the skim ice along the bank and start working that craw. Dunk the rod in the water after each retrieve to melt the ice in the guides and clear the ice from the line guide on the reel by exhaling on the guide. Spend about 30-40 minutes at that lake. Nothing.
Drive to another lake. All open water, steady breeze, a little chop on the water, no ice. Grab the lipless crank rod and start working along the dam of that lake - focusing on the flats and depth transitions on each end of the dam. Let the lipless settle all the way to the bottom - pop it off - start a slow retrieve with pauses added in. Work one end of the dam then walk down to the other end of the dam and start working that water. When I get near the lake spillway, in about 5 FOW near the bank...the rod mushes up during the pause in the retrieve. Just a couple cranks on the reel and I lip the fish. 18" / 3.2lb - nice fish. Fingers were already getting numb (two pairs of gloves on) and when handling and releasing this fish they got wet as well. Start to lose feeling in my fingers but figure I can make another couple casts. VERY next cast, in about 5 FOW near the bank...the rod mushes up during the pause in the retrieve. Just a couple cranks on the reel and I lip ANOTHER fish. 19" / 3.7lb - very nice fish. Fingers now so numb I can barely work the camera. Release the fish and I'm done - can't feel my fingers at all.
Stuck the alcohol thermometer in about 1 FOW - 37 degrees. Coldest surface water temp where I've actually caught some bass. Not record setting bass - but ANY bass in 37 degree, January water is OK by me!
A good day... 
kickerfish1 reply :
Nice fish given the conditions. And by your standard test it looks like that rod/reel works. It casts, retrieves, and brings in fish!!!
ABW reply :
Nice fish!! Some Hothands should take care of your freezing hands
everythingthatswims reply :
SWEET REEL
Dwight Hottle reply :
WTG Goose.
Turtle135 reply :
nice job on the ice cold greenies!
Goose52 reply :
On 1/9/2015 at 9:18 AM, kickerfish1 said:Nice fish given the conditions. And by your standard test it looks like that rod/reel works. It casts, retrieves, and brings in fish!!!
Yep - gets the highest rating - seems to work, reels in fish...
On 1/9/2015 at 9:25 AM, asianboywonder said:Nice fish!! Some Hothands should take care of your freezing hands
Yeah - I wasn't planning on staying out that long in 14 deg windchill but at least I got some fish...
Thanks. It works, reels in fish...On 1/9/2015 at 9:48 AM, everythingthatswims said:SWEET REEL
On 1/9/2015 at 9:50 AM, Dwight Hottle said:WTG Goose.
Thanks guys!On 1/9/2015 at 10:04 AM, Turtle135 said:nice job on the ice cold greenies!
A-Jay reply :
Nice work Goose -
And even the bass look cold . . .
A-Jay
Goose52 reply :
On 1/9/2015 at 1:19 PM, A-Jay said:Nice work Goose -
And even the bass look cold . . .
A-Jay
Thanks A-Jay! Yeah - the bass probably thought they had it bad in 37 degree water.......................until I (temporarily) yanked them up into 24 degree air... I think they looked happier than usual when they were swimming away after release!
A-Jay reply :
btw Goose - when you get tired of that lousy low quality rig in the picture there - I'll be happy to take it off your hands . . . . . 
A-Jay
Goose52 reply :
On 1/9/2015 at 1:33 PM, A-Jay said:btw Goose - when you get tired of that lousy low quality rig in the picture there - I'll be happy to take it off your hands . . . . .
A-Jay
That would be another entry in my will good buddy...
On a serious note - I did learn today that this reel has a problem in sub-freezing weather. Ice builds up at the ends of the worm shaft cover and limits the travel of the line guide. I kept feeling a bump while cranking on the retrieve and finally realized the bump was caused by the line guide hitting the ice build-up. Couldn't exhale enough hot air to keep the ice melted in those areas. Indeed, there was still ice there when I got home from fishing and pulled the rod out of the trunk of the car so I could trim line and retie the bait...
Bankbeater reply :
Way to hang in there and catch those fish!
Catch and Grease reply :
Nice fish!
Senko lover reply :
Nice bass.
Glenn reply :
Freezing temps and yet catching them in 5'. Can't tell you how many people think you can't catch 'em shallow in the winter! WTG!
KritterGitter reply :
On 1/10/2015 at 2:16 AM, Glenn said:Freezing temps and yet catching them in 5'. Can't tell you how many people think you can't catch 'em shallow in the winter! WTG!
On a lipless crank to boot, must have been painfully slow retrieves!
Goose52 reply :
Thanks again to all.
Went back to that lake this afternoon, a little warmer - 29 air temp, surface water temp up to 38/39. It was a ghost town. Drove to the Plan B lake and it was iced over. Drove to the Plan C lake - open water but nothing interested.
Skunk for me today....
Bluebasser86 reply :
Nice job! Better than me, I've been twice and managed to snag an 8" channel cat on a jigging spoon and that's it! 
Goose52 reply :
Thanks! I went back to that lake yesterday - only a thin strip of water along the dam open - the rest of the 25 acre lake was iced over. Most of my smaller lakes will be solid this morning but warmer weather and rain is coming in for tonight and tomorrow so I should have some open water again by Tuesday. Might even be able to find some holes in the ice big enough to drop a bait through late today...
Goose52 reply :
All of my smaller lakes did end up icing over last night...EXCEPT for a little pocket in the same lake as where I caught the fish at the top of this thread. This hole was probably about the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
Start casting out a lipless crank and aim for the edges of the ice-line. Let the bait sink to the bottom (between 15-20 fow), pop it up, slow retrieve with pauses. On one cast, I've got the bait nearly back to the bank, where I usually do a couple jigs on the bait (the old dying baitfish trick) before pulling it out of the water and I see this bass come up from deep water and take a whack at the bait. I literally did not have to reel in the fish - just played it out, raised the rod and guided the fish to the edge of the water and lipped it.
20" but a skinny 3.6lb. Another score for the PQ 5-Year Challenge test reel. It's almost cheating though, the water has warmed all the way up to a toasty 39 degrees...
Who says you can't catch fish in a swimming pool?
A-Jay reply :
Nice one ~ Congrats
You're one cold water bass catching dude . . .
A-Jay
Goose52 reply :
On 1/12/2015 at 6:53 AM, A-Jay said:Nice one ~ Congrats
You're one cold water bass catching dude . . .
A-Jay
Thanks A-Jay! The good news about having soft water most of the winter is that you get the opportunity to fish but the flip-side is you are trying to "catch" for about 3 or 3 1/2 months in water that is in the 40s or high 30s. Here in my part of TN, surface water temps reach the 40s in mid- to late-November and stay there until usually end of February, sometimes into March. I only fish everyday because all my lakes are within a 6-mile drive and it only takes a few minutes to get to a lake. If I had to tackle-up and take a fishing "trip"....I would skip most of this winter period.
5 Dollar Fishing Game reply :
I could eat popcorn and read your post. It's like a story from the pages of a fishing book. Well written!!!!
Great fish!!! They look frozen solid too lol
Siebert Outdoors reply :
Nice fish!!
Goose52 reply :
On 1/13/2015 at 1:18 AM, 5 Dollar Fishing Game said:I could eat popcorn and read your post. It's like a story from the pages of a fishing book. Well written!!!!
Great fish!!! They look frozen solid too lol
Thanks! Grab a little more popcorn...
On 1/13/2015 at 1:24 AM, Siebert Outdoors said:Nice fish!!
Thanks!
Goose52 reply :
A warm rain system came through last night and all day today and cleared out a lot of ice on the lakes. Drive to Lake A - still mostly iced over but a low-percentage corner was open. Fan-casted around that open water. Nothing. I wasn't surprised. Drive to Lake B, only ice left is in the corners, otherwise all open. Fish this one deep and slow with a plastic craw. Nothing.
Drive to Lake C (same lake as all the fish on this thread). Got out the trusty lipless crank rod and started the usual routine - cast out, let it sink to the bottom, pop it up, slow retrieve with pauses. On one cast, I'm counting down the bait and I see the line go slack a couple seconds before I was expecting it to. Reel in the slack real fast, feel the weight, sweep the rod, FISH ON. This little guy hit the bait on the fall at the end of a max cast so it took a while to reel him in.
Surface water temp? Just barely under 40 - call it 39.5. AND, another score for the PQ 5-Year Challenge test reel.
Not a big bass, but like I've been saying, catching anything in 30'ish water is OK with me...
Darren. reply :
Nice bass! I need to get out soon....
Turtle135 reply :
Well done again Goose52!
When I bass fish in cold water (the 38 to 40 degree range) I find it most productive to anchor and work over a spot. Usually I am slowly crawling a jig on the bottom and it is not unusual for me to fish in one spot for 2-3 hours. It is not uncommon for me to be camped on that one spot and then finally get that one bite in hour two or three.
You are pulling good bass out of cold water with a much more active presentation. How long do you spend in an area before relocating?
Goose52 reply :
Well, I'm fishing from the bank so relocating is easy to do - I hop in the car and drive to the next lake... (There's not a bass on the planet that's worth, to me, the risk involved in fishing from a boat solo in combined air/water temps of around 60 to 80!)
I have several lakes that have the potential for "catching" in winter. They are all a bit different in the depth and structure accessible from the bank. In some, I might fish a plastic craw deep and slow if I have something to target (bottom structure/cover, rapid depth changes, etc). Others, like the lake in this thread, have gradual depth changes and essentially no bottom contours or cover so I tend to use the lipless to cover more water since there is nothing to specifically target. Sometimes, depending on the lake, I might do both - one presentation slow on the bottom, and another pass using lipless, spinnerbait, jerkbait, etc. If I get a bite on the lipless, I might then re-cover that water with a slower presentation to see if there are any more takers down there.
Time spent depends on the lake, on how much time I have that day, and whether I can still feel my fingers and make a cast without "casting" the rod into the lake... Anyway, I will usually make one or two passes across the available water and if no bites, it's on to the next lake. I figure if I don't come across a fish willing to bite on those two passes then that's it. I could just keep casting and wait for a fish to swim into the target area but who knows how long that would take, if ever. Better to just try the next lake. This time of year, I would not spend more than an hour at any one lake unless I was catching.
This is a photo from last year - in these kind of conditions, I might only be on the lake for 30 minutes and decide to call it a day...but at least I "went fishing"...instead of sitting on the sofa watching fishing shows! :lol:
Well - outside temp is now 29 - about as good as it's going to get today - time to go fishing!
Turtle135 reply :
Great photo and good luck today!
p.s. - I am fishing from a kayak in the winter but I do wear a drysuit and always, always have my PFD on
hoosierbass07 reply :
Wow, cool stuff! How do you keep your lip-less crank from getting snagged on the bottom when you let it sink all the way down? What kind of line are you using?
Goose52 reply :
On 1/14/2015 at 6:52 AM, hoosierbass07 said:Wow, cool stuff! How do you keep your lip-less crank from getting snagged on the bottom when you let it sink all the way down? What kind of line are you using?
Well, you have to "know" your water. I would guess I've now lost about 35-40 lipless cranks over the past 5 seasons to submerged stumps, logs, laydowns, etc when fishing from the bank.. BUT, those are high-percentage spots - once you know where those places are, you're trying to run the bait over them...but not into them...
In the case of the lake in this thread, I've only lost 3 lipless cranks in thousands of casts. Two of them probably hit single logs on the bottom - one was lost just last month on a cast that was aimed to miss, but must have hit, the lake draw down pipe in 35 fow. Otherwise, the bottom of this lake is mostly muck and decomposing leaves - nothing to hang up on. Shallower than 15 feet there are still some weeds but I can rip out of those. I know the depths where I'm tossing the bait and I could just count-down the bait and start the retrieve a couple feet above bottom, but I've been bit before just as the bait reaches bottom...and I've gotten bit at the point when you "pop" the bait off the bottom. So, if I know the bottom well enough, I always wait for the bait to land before popping up and starting the retrieve.
The fish in this thread were caught on 15lb Big Game (the round reel) and on 10lb Yo-Zuri Ultrasoft (the PQ reel).
senile1 reply :
You're a great inspiration, Goose. You always have some nice fish to post up in the winter. Work has slowed since Christmas and air temperatures will hit the upper 40s to possibly 50 this weekend for me, though my water will still be in the low to mid-thirties. I'll be dunking a line.
Goose52 reply :
On 1/15/2015 at 3:00 AM, senile1 said:You're a great inspiration, Goose. You always have some nice fish to post up in the winter. Work has slowed since Christmas and air temperatures will hit the upper 40s to possibly 50 this weekend for me, though my water will still be in the low to mid-thirties. I'll be dunking a line.
Go get 'em!
Similar temps coming up here - forecast is for 46 on Friday, 48 on Saturday, but back down to a high of 38 on Sunday. I might see the water temp get into the low 40s here in the next few days. Not sure it will improve the bite much...but it will be much more pleasant standing on the bank fishing than the 24 degree day that started this thread!
Goose52 reply :
As predicted, warmer air temps are here - a nice sunny day and a whopping 45 degrees when I headed out to fish. However, temps at night are still below freezing so the pesky skim ice keeps coming back. Drive to one lake - skim ice all around the access point. Drive to the next lake - skim ice covering entire lake. Drive to the 3rd lake - skim ice in the corners but mostly all open water along the dam - open the trunk and grab a rod.
I start tossing a Berkley Chigger Craw right next to the edge of the skim ice and begin to work my way down the dam. Just a couple casts later, I toss out the bait, let it sink and soak for a bit in about 10-12 fow, drag it a couple times...and then a BIG bump. Reel in the slack, sweep the rod - I've got a fish on. Drag pulled a couple times - I've got a NICE fish on.
22"+ / 5.8 pounds
Drop the alcohol thermometer in the water - 39 degrees.
deep reply :
Goose, either you're very lucky, or just very good. I suspect it's the latter. Thanks for the inspiration.
Goose52 reply :
On 1/18/2015 at 6:52 AM, deep said:Goose, either you're very lucky, or just very good. I suspect it's the latter. Thanks for the inspiration.
I would sum it up as a little bit lucky, not very good, but VERY persistent...
Goose52 reply :
Sunday morning. It was a chilly night but now a sunny day when I leave around 8am to hit a couple lakes; air temp is already up to 39/40. Drive to first lake, no skim ice (first time in a week)...but no fish either...
Drive to next lake - the one where I got the 5.8 yesterday. No takers along the dam. Walk through the trees to get to a small spot where you have JUST enough room to make a cast. This is an interesting spot. From the bank you have a mildly sloping drop-off for about 20 feet, then a ledge and a steep drop-off to 18 fow. That ledge is so steep that you can practically vertically jig over it. On about the 5th cast, after one of those jigging motions, I feel a tug. Sinker bounce I'm thinking. Then another tug. Duh. Hookset. Not much of a fight on this little guy BUT, as I've said, I'll take anything in cold water.
Only 13" - smallest bass I've caught this year. BUT, the story of this thread is not the size of the fish...it's fishing in cold water. For those of you with cabin fever, but also some soft water...give it a try!
Drop the thermometer in the lake. Surface water temp was:
kickerfish1 reply :
Nice few days at the local lakes! The combo looks great as well. Did you try yo-yo"ing" the lipless crank that worked on the previous trips?
Goose52 reply :
On 1/19/2015 at 12:14 AM, kickerfish1 said:Nice few days at the local lakes! The combo looks great as well. Did you try yo-yo"ing" the lipless crank that worked on the previous trips
Thanks!
I fished the lipless crank on the first lake this morning. On that lake, with a max cast, you can reach 10 fow. You can yo-yo there for only about the first 20 % of the retrieve, after that the bottom shoals up pretty fast so when you get to that point it's rod tip up, burn the bait a bit to get it above the ledge, then a moderate speed retrieve with brief pauses. Do it right, and you might get a fish...do it wrong, and you'll lose the lipless on a log, laydown, stump, wood pallet, rock ledge, etc. Today - no fish but I kept the bait...
No lipless at the second lake this morning - just the Chigger Craw.
kickerfish1 reply :
Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the reply, and hopefully you can continue to find some fishable soft water in the future!
Goose52 reply :
On 1/19/2015 at 1:12 AM, kickerfish1 said:Makes perfect sense. Thanks for the reply, and hopefully you can continue to find some fishable soft water in the future!
Not gonna be a problem - water temps should be in the 40s for at least the next 10 days...
-----------------------------------------------------
Last catch of this thread since it looks like my 30-degree water is gone as of this afternoon. Same lake as this morning - 17" / 2.5 pounds. Surface water temp - JUST made it to 40 degrees. Looks like it will be regular 'ole 40-degree fishing for the near future - nothin' special to talk about...
kickerfish1 reply :
Nice green addition to the 2015 catch totals. I have enjoyed following this post for a few reasons. You write like an author, the pictures are great, and since all out lakes are locked up it is helping me get through the winter. I recall a similar effort for me several years back. Wanted to focus on fine tuning my drop shot fishing. Was too cold and dangerous for the boat so fished a few area lakes from the shore. Had days where I would manage 5-10 fish and blanked quite often too. Average a fish or two an outing. They were usually an hour to 3 hours tops. Generally dealing with iced guides and cold fingers made it challenging. Water temps were high 30s to low 40s. Best part was having the entire lake to myself and really slowing down. Some casts seemed like a 5 minute process and almost torture but that is what it took some days to get bit.
Sorry for the ramblings but this series of reports reminded me of something similar to what I went through a few years back.
Keep em coming!
Goose52 reply :
On 1/19/2015 at 1:46 PM, kickerfish1 said:Nice green addition to the 2015 catch totals. I have enjoyed following this post for a few reasons. You write like an author, the pictures are great, and since all out lakes are locked up it is helping me get through the winter. I recall a similar effort for me several years back. Wanted to focus on fine tuning my drop shot fishing. Was too cold and dangerous for the boat so fished a few area lakes from the shore. Had days where I would manage 5-10 fish and blanked quite often too. Average a fish or two an outing. They were usually an hour to 3 hours tops. Generally dealing with iced guides and cold fingers made it challenging. Water temps were high 30s to low 40s. Best part was having the entire lake to myself and really slowing down. Some casts seemed like a 5 minute process and almost torture but that is what it took some days to get bit.
Sorry for the ramblings but this series of reports reminded me of something similar to what I went through a few years back.
Keep em coming!
Thanks! Part of the reason I go into detail on the fishing report posts is some folks seem to get a kick out of it. As you know, I love having photos in threads. Most folks have digital cameras or photo-capable phones so it's easy to grab pics while fishing (not like the film days!). I like seeing fish pictures and I like seeing reels with line on them, mounted on rods, and slimed up a bit...instead of sitting on top of their box...
Fished today - surface water temps up to 43/44. No fish caught unfortunately. I really need a nasty front to come in to pick up the fishing again...
hoosierbass07 reply :
Man, you should be on Lunkerville. You should call that show up and plan on recording this next winter for the 207 TV season. lol.
kickerfish1 reply :
I agree about the ease of photos compared to "back in the day". No longer need to bring a long a sketch artist. I need to do a better job of taking photos then what I do. Typically get caught up in the moment of wanting to get the fish back in the water quickly and return to fishing, that I often forget to "capture the moment" with a picture.
Sadly a change in weather for the worse or better can turn on/off the fish. Hopefully the right switch will be flipped and you can follow the skunking with a day of catching!
Zach Dunham reply :
Nothing warms up the hands like the adrenaline of pulling a bass that nice out in it!
Goose52 reply :
It's been a long time since the last post in January but I thought I would close out this thread since the winter is winding down.
In late January, surface water temps reached the low 40s and the bass I caught were outside the scope of this thread (which is bass caught in 30s water temps). In mid-February, we started having ice storms and the lakes froze over so no fishing until March 4th when we started having ice-out. Over the past couple days, I've caught some bass in low 40s temps but I caught three bass (two of which were the same fish) in 30s temps.
The first pic below (with the snow) shows the first capture of this fish, caught on a plastic craw in 38 degree water. This fish was caught in one of the lakes where I will be tagging fish starting this season so immediately after taking the photo, I tagged the fish (tag 003) and released it. The next day (yesterday), the cove where I caught this fish iced-over with skim ice so I couldn't fish there. This morning, the skim ice was gone and it was a nice sunny day with the surface water temp up to 39 degrees. I caught two bass, one of which was the second capture of tag 003. Same cove, same bait.
Here's the same fish on the second capture. It's hard to see but there is a yellow ID tag in the fish; the red arrow indicates the insertion spot, above that you can see the yellow tag.
I'm hoping I don't have any more 30-degree water this season. Didn't catch any real big fish in 30s water temps this season, but the fish I did catch were nice enough to make it all worthwhile. It sure beats having cabin fever and complaining about the weather...
See you next winter.
Fin Stalker reply :
Pretty cool catching the same fish twice. Nice work.
Weld's Largemouth reply :
On 3/9/2015 at 7:38 AM, Goose52 said:It's been a long time since the last post in January but I thought I would close out this thread since the winter is winding down.
In late January, surface water temps reached the low 40s and the bass I caught were outside the scope of this thread (which is bass caught in 30s water temps). In mid-February, we started having ice storms and the lakes froze over so no fishing until March 4th when we started having ice-out. Over the past couple days, I've caught some bass in low 40s temps but I caught three bass (two of which were the same fish) in 30s temps.
The first pic below (with the snow) shows the first capture of this fish, caught on a plastic craw in 38 degree water. This fish was caught in one of the lakes where I will be tagging fish starting this season so immediately after taking the photo, I tagged the fish (tag 003) and released it. The next day (yesterday), the cove where I caught this fish iced-over with skim ice so I couldn't fish there. This morning, the skim ice was gone and it was a nice sunny day with the surface water temp up to 39 degrees. I caught two bass, one of which was the second capture of tag 003. Same cove, same bait.
Here's the same fish on the second capture. It's hard to see but there is a yellow ID tag in the fish; the red arrow indicates the insertion spot, above that you can see the yellow tag.
I'm hoping I don't have any more 30-degree water this season. Didn't catch any real big fish in 30s water temps this season, but the fish I did catch were nice enough to make it all worthwhile. It sure beats having cabin fever and complaining about the weather...
See you next winter.
What rod, reel and line is that?
Ozark_Basser reply :
Nice. I'm going out tonight to the local city lake to try my best at some night time cold water bass. Water temps in the mid 40's and dropping. I just hope I catch one nice bass.
Goose52 reply :
On 3/9/2015 at 8:48 AM, Weld said:What rod, reel and line is that?
Loomis NRX 893C
Shimano Metanium XG
Sunline Sniper 14lb
Goose52 reply :
On 3/9/2015 at 8:50 AM, Jiggin said:Nice. I'm going out tonight to the local city lake to try my best at some night time cold water bass. Water temps in the mid 40's and dropping. I just hope I catch one nice bass.
Good luck !
paul. reply :
can't keep a good man down. way to get out there and smoke 'em even when you ain't supposed to be able to. you got skills bro. better days are ahead this week. spring is coming. like spongebob said, I'M READY!!!
Goose52 reply :
On 3/9/2015 at 12:55 PM, paul. said:can't keep a good man down. way to get out there and smoke 'em even when you ain't supposed to be able to. you got skills bro. better days are ahead this week. spring is coming. like spongebob said, I'M READY!!!
Thanks Paul ! I didn't find the big girls this winter like you did but by golly I went bass fishing !
In December, January, and February, I only missed 17 days of fishing - 13 days were hard water, 3 days the roads were too iced over to drive,..............................and 1 day the afternoon high temp was in the teens, with windchill below zero, and I wimped-out that day...
Robeng reply :
Nice man! Thanks for sharing that. More ***.
Siebert Outdoors reply :
Nice fish. Congratulations
Goose52 reply :
Thanks guys. As I've been saying, the fish were OK this winter....but the message is that there may be fish to be caught if you have soft water, regardless of air temps, and even in 30-degree water.
It's better than sitting on the sofa watching fishing shows...
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