Wintertime Jig Fishing 2024

Catt reply :

With all the new interest in jigs lately I think this one is worth repeating

Believe it or not, winter provides some of the better months for jig fishing. The reason is that the water temperature is cold, the bass don't normally bite well, and they aren't aggressive. So slower, more precise presentations are usually the best ways to catch them.

Jigging spoons or the jig-n-pig (pork frog) are probably the two most popular methods. If you want to get into the finesse end of things, fishing a small grub can also be good. But my favorite, naturally, is the jig-n-pig (or craw).

Vertical Fishing

On most bodies of water in winter we're looking at a vertical situation as far as cover types go. To explain: Bass usually move deeper during the winter months. On some lakes that may mean they pull into creek channel for the winter.

On other lakes, where everything is pretty well shoreline-related, they might move to steeper banks, 45-degree banks or bluffs, which are the areas where they're probably going to spend the winter.

One thing you can just about bet on is that wintertime bass are going to be close to deep water. I'm not saying you can't catch them shallow because if you get a few nice days during the winter some of the fish will move up. They may also get on shallow targets next to deep water.

Keep deep water and a slow retrieve in mind, and you'll be a little better off during winter months.

Fish on the Bottom

When I'm fishing during the wintertime, I usually relate to the bottom. That's where I'm trying to find the bass I'm not looking for suspended winter fish. I'm looking primarily for fish that are relating to some type of structure, whether it is a brush pile or a treetop that has been put on the bottom. For some reason, rock cover is very attractive to bass in the colder water situations. Some of my best winter fishing has been on steep rocky banks.

Remember that deep is relative to the part of the country you're fishing. Five feet may be deep on some Florida lakes while in the Midwest you could be looking at a 25' to 30' zone.

The weight of the jig you fish should change with depth. If I'm looking at the 5-foot zone, a heavy jig could be 3/8 ounce. If I', looking at 25 feet, I'm probably going to be looking at a 1/2 to 3/4 ounce bait.

Fish Slowly

I want to get that bait down to the fish. I want to maintain contact with the bottom. Try to crawl the bait along the bottom in short spurts, basically dragging it. You don't want to sweep it off the bottom like you would during the summer.

To repeat: winter jig fishing means a slow, tedious retrieve with pauses between movements of the bait. Often that's what it takes to get some of the sluggish wintertime bass to bite.

Keep in mind that the bass will be grouped this time of year. It can be a long time between bites, but when you get a fish to hit, there are probably a bunch of them down there. So stick with it.

Establish a rhythm

One of the best secrets I learned years ago is to establish the rhythm of baits. Explanation: when I'm fishing a Texas rigged worm I cast it out, let it settle to the bottom while holding my rod at the 12 o'clock position, then lower the rod tip to the three o'clock while reeling in slack and feeling for any thing unnatural. Then I three hop the bait, three o'clock to two o'clock, two o'clock to one o'clock, one o'clock to 12 o'clock, and then pause. I vary the speed between hops according to the time of the year, fast in warm weather, slow in cold weather. With a jig I use a shorter version, more of a shake, shake, shake with the bait moving only a couple of inches. Learn what works in your area and watch your catch rate go up!

Catt

32251 reply :

Good post. Great info. thanks!

roadwarrior reply :

WOW!

Catt,

Thanks for posting such a detailed and informative thread.

8-)

Jig Man reply :

"Vertical Fishing"

"On most bodies of water in winter we're looking at a vertical situation as far as cover types go. To explain: Bass usually move deeper during the winter months. On some lakes that may mean they pull into creek channel for the winter."

Here in MO it is common to find fish as deep as 75' in the winter, especially on Bull Shoals and Table Rock. Dragging or fishing vertically are about the only ways one can get to these fish. For vertical fishing I have had good success with a jig head and grub or a good bucktail jig fished barefoot. Craw jigs with 5" grubs work well but take a long time to get down to where I like to fish.

Standing timber, rock piles, bluff ledges and brush piles hold deep fish. I like to move slowly with the bait as directly below me as possible. Sometimes it can be kept in the cone but not always. I drop the bait to the bottom and lift it up no more than a foot, give it a little shake, then let it hit the bottom again. If there are walleye present, I hold the bait off the bottom for about 10 seconds before I let it drop. (That is when I have caught most of them.)

I have found that my catch has been significantly improved with braided line. Since the fish are a little slower, I use a light braid (Power Pro 8/1) with no leader. With mono I have trouble feeling the bite much below 30'.

I generally start out on ledges or points in 25 fow and work my way to fish. Once I find a few fish in a certain depth, I concentrate on that depth for quite a while.

In rocky and brushy lakes be sure to take plenty of jigs.

bassnleo reply :

Great post Catt!

One question though...........How in the heck do you get the jig to penetrate the ice? ;D

guest reply :

Fishing jigs is so much fun.

Personally I think that mastering the jig is the most challenging presentation in bass fishing.

Catt has some excellent advice, based on experience.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

I don't have water that is deeper than 25 feet so I am curious. When Vert jigging, do you mark the fish with electronics to learn what depth they are at and lower the jig to that zone or are you right on the bottom with it?

Jake. reply :

Thanks Catt.

I always learn a few things from your posts.

Brian_Reeves reply :

LBH, in wintertime, usually I prefer to watch people on TV fish. But when I go out, my presentations are almost a mimic of Catt's. Although not a fan of vertical jigging, I'll do it from time to time. Normally, I never trust my depthfinder to find a fish. Next to lawyers, depthfinders are the most trusted liars in the world. ;D

Finding wintertime structure works like any other time of the year. I prefer to start out casting and working the bait slowly, giving it an opportunity to fall off of any breaks available. When I'm on top of what I want to fish, I'll drop a heavier jig straight down and let it hit bottem. This is where fishing off-shore oil rigs comes into play as far as presentation goes. I'll reel it up a few cranks and let any wave action affecting the boat move the bait while I stuff my hands in my pockets and cuss myself for being on the water in the wintertime. If that fails to provoke a strike, I'll reel it up a few more feet and repeat. It's not uncommon for me for one "cast" to take 10 minutes or more when vertical jigging in the wintertime. This is just something I do because I can't tolorate cold weather though...but it does work. I'm interested to see how Catt vertical jigs in the winter. Oh yeah, and in the winter, I really, really, really favor hair jigs with pork over silicon and plastic.

basspro48 reply :

Great post Catt!!!

One thing that I have noticed in the tidal rivers that I fish around me is that the fish rarely move deeper than 10 or 12 feet during winter, or any other season for that. But a really good pattern is to throw a jig around any thick brush you can find, I prefer my own 5/16oz finesse jigs in black/blue and watermelon/brown matched with a ZOOM super chunk jr. or smallie beaver.

By thick brush I don't mean the regular ole trees and laydowns that line the banks of the river, I mean wood so thick it scares you

Anyway, once you find the right cover pick up your finesse jig rigged on a 7' MH rod and AT LEAST 15lb fluoro or braid depending on your preference. Approach the cover from the down current side begin pitching to the edges of the brush, let the jig sink, then shake it and pick it up, let it sink, and pick it up again, then shake again. The one thing to remember when working a jig in the wintertime is S-L-O-W, work that thing as slow as you can possibly stand to.

Once you've worked the edges of the cover then work your way to the center or "meat" of the cover. And when you come in contact with limbs and pieces of brush, don't just hop the jig over it, pick it up and let the current take it over the cover naturally.

These are just some things that work for me.

Bream Master reply :

What about bank fishermen? What are we supposed to do...go into depression and wait for spring?

Cheers!

Jimzee reply :

Thanks for the post Catt, very informative as usual.

basspro48 reply :

Quote
What about bank fishermen? What are we supposed to do...go into depression and wait for spring?
Cheers!

If you are fishing lakes or ponds then I suggest you find the deepest water you can and search that area for cover, I suggest starting by the dam. Fish are attracted to rock and riprap more in winter because it absorbs heat and provides slightly warmer water than the rest of the lake so whenever you come across a rockpile fish it hard!

Other than that just fish slow and really pick apart any productive spots you find.

Matt Fly reply :

Great Topic Catt, just in time for some good winter bassin, when the girls are putting some weight on. As usual, you nailed the key points.

Matt

.dsaavedra. reply :

thanks a bunch for all the info in this thread!!!!

Catt reply :

Vertical Fishing

When I mentioned Vertical Fishing I'm not necessarily referring to vertically fishing straight under the boat although this presentation is productive in cold water conditions. I want to key on areas of the structure that have the fastest drops into deeper water as opposed to larger flats. When looking at a map I'm looking for contour lines that are close together and keying on these areas.

Now if you weren't confused before you certainly are now

L-Train reply :

you are the man Catt. I had never tied on a jig until about this time last year. I forced myself to learn the jig this year. It has by far become my favorite way to fish. Not surprising, the year I concentrate on jigs i catch my personal best.

my only problem with a jig has become i have so much confidence in it now I won't put it down.

Catt reply :

bassnleo, the only ice we have down here is in our tea

LBH, if I vertical jig suspended fish I use a jigging spoon; the jig is on the bottom

Aint Texan, if you want to see how I vertical jig in winter then I suggest you get your butt home and I'll show you

eastkybass reply :

Great info thanks. I haven't done much winter fishing and this was a great bit of info.

llPa1nll reply :

Great Post as always Catt very informative. You Southern Boys have it really good, in NH Im looking at possibly another 3-5 weeks of fishing left of the season. Which means about 3-5 days out on the water, before it starts to get crunchy. I find my winter/cold water jigging tactics end up becoming almost dead sticking to just dragging it on the bottom, No shaking, No hooping just drag it, the fish will tell you how long to drag it and how long the pauses in between should be.

Brian_Reeves reply :

Quote
bassnleo, the only ice we have down here is in our tea
LBH, if I vertical jig suspended fish I use a jigging spoon; the jig is on the bottom

Aint Texan, if you want to see how I vertical jig in winter then I suggest you get your butt home and I'll show you

Can't say exactly when I get home for security reasons, but I can say that I turned my extra bags in today. Not too much longer.

I've been wanting to fish Toledo for a long, long time. Might take you up on that lol.

Catt reply :

Catt: Southeast Texas & Southwest Louisiana

Jig Man: Missouri

Aint Texan: Central Texas

Basspro48: Virginia

A wonderful part of this web site; we just covered huge section of American

Thanks guys

Catt reply :

Only 4 of us jig fish during winter?

guest reply :

Quote
Only 4 of us jig fish during winter?

What's winter? 8-)

BassFishingMachine reply :

Since I pretty much just started fishing jigs, I was wondering if white jigs would work better then the blue/black and the natural greens during the winter. I figure with the fish targeting more baitfish, a white color jig with a single tail white grub would be a good choice over the regular colors. Just wanteed to know do you any of you guys have any luck with white jigs? If so what trailers do you use with them, and do you flip them into cover and work them slow as you would a black/blue jig with a craw trailer on it?

Catt reply :

My jig color choices are quite simple

Black/Blue 80% of the time with the other 20% split between black neon, black neon/brown/ambler, watermelon neon, & pumpkin/chartreuse.

Jig Man reply :

Like catt my craw jigs are basic. I make them myself and uses several styles but I mostly fish black, black/blue, and brown. I do throw an occasional white/blue during the summer at night during the full of the moon.

My vertical and swim bucktails are made in 5 sizes and 20+ color combinations. That is mostly for the fun of having a color that the guy in the back of the boat has to ask to use.

Brian_Reeves reply :

I'm not a huge white fan, but will occassionally through it when I'm popping or swimming jigs in the fall. Most of the year, I'm going with black and blue or black and red. For "finesse jigs" I like green pumpkin/orange and watermelonseed/red.

I like darker colors for jigs because they tend to draw more strikes in more situations. For the deep winter months, I like a brown hair jig with a matching pork trailer in about 1/4 to 7/16oz weights

Cory N reply :

Water is sub 60 degrees so I went fishing today with Catt's post in mind. I found what I thought to be nice spots, only to come up empty. Operator error it seems.

Worse, I get back to the dock and one boat pulled out a 6.5 on a rattle trap...that has to be the opposite of slow fishing...

Shallow grass is dying off. Deep grass is still green in places. I did right by throwin a jig...right?

JigNBig reply :

Right now I have had great luck throwing a brown rubber Skinny Bear Football Head w/ a Zoom Double Tail trailer in Watermelon/Red Flake

senko_77 reply :

Quote
Water is sub 60 degrees so I went fishing today with Catt's post in mind. I found what I thought to be nice spots, only to come up empty. Operator error it seems.
Worse, I get back to the dock and one boat pulled out a 6.5 on a rattle trap...that has to be the opposite of slow fishing...

Shallow grass is dying off. Deep grass is still green in places. I did right by throwin a jig...right?

The jig was probably a bad choice in this situation. Well, obviously it was, because you didn't catch fish, and the guys power fishing did. 60 degree water is not even close to winter water. At 60, the fish are just getting started with there fall food fest. That trap bite is gonna stay hot until the low 50's to mid 40's. Once that happens, then the jig really excels. I'm not saying the jig won't work now, but a fast moving bait like a Spro Aruku Shad or Spinnerbait is gonna mop up in most situations.

Good luck man

booneangler reply :

id like to get some info on the white jig fishing in the summer around the full moon. Is there any tips you can offer on that?

adclem reply :

Good info, will remember this as it continues to cool down here in the mid-west.

Later,

7892

Wintertime Jig Fishing 2024

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