Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 01/10/2010: Downsize Your Baits for More Bites

Largemouth bass can be real finicky especially during the colder months. They often seek deeper water and the cold slows down their metabolism to a point where they do not require the amount of food to be able to maintain or gain body weight. This reduction in their feeding behavior reduces the chances of getting strikes.

The old adage that larger baits produce bigger bass still holds true however by downsizing you will get the small to medium size bass to strike as well. In other words, small baits will catch just about any size bass whereas the larger ones will work primarily on larger fish. The smaller baits dramatically increase your chances of getting a strike simply due to their ability to appease a larger population of bass.

The rig that works best when downsizing is an open faced spinning rig rigged with 6 to 10 pound test depending on the structure/vegetation you are fishing.

What type of lures would be considered downsized ones? Here's a few that have worked for me:

1- 4" thin worms. In the past I used Slider worms but any worms that fit this size or smaller are great fish attractors.

2- Tube lures. These lures are great on light line and splitshot. Their fall on small weight will be in a spiral pattern that often invokes strikes.

3- Grubs. These lures rigged on a weighted hook are deadly in deeper waters. My favorite colors are white or clear with silver glitter.

4- Small slim profile crankbaits such as Shadrap #7. These baits are deadly around submerged vegetation in the 5 to 8 foot range. Bass affected by cold fronts often hunker down along the edges of this vegetation and they ambush the small baits that go by.

So the next time your out on the water and nothing seems to be hitting try to downsize your baits and you maybe able to get that "skunk" off your back.

Until next week, Tight Lines!

The Largemouth Herald