Bass Fishing Tip of the Week 11/26/09: High Pressure Blues

High pressure systems dramatically affect the largemouth bass during the cold weather months in Florida. The fish exhibit a condition known to bass fishermen as lockjaw. The bites come few and far between but there are ways to improve your bite percentage.

1-  If a high pressure system comes through and you are faced with the bluebird sky try to find the thickest and heaviest cover you can. The cover maybe a mat in reeds/grass, thick hydrilla or even thick Kissimmee grass.

Work through the mats/grass with a 1/2- 1 ounce weight Texas style with a worm or crawfish imitator on a heavy flippin rig. You should be using 20 pound mono minimum or 50+ pound braid.

The bass will often hit the lure on the initial decent and can be hard to detect. If you feel any resistance on lifting your rod you've got to set the hook hard and try to pull the bass up and out of the cover.

If there is no strike on the intial fall, try a slow up and down jogging motion before abandoning that flippin spot.

2- Another good method for high pressure cold fronts is to fish deep timber. The fish will be tight to the wood so you'll have to bump the cover. A jig or Carolina rig can be awesome in these conditions and a slow methodical approach is necessary.

Often fish suspend around the timber and a deep diving crankbait like a DT12-16 Rapala can work wonders. You'll need to try to bump into the structure so have your handy stumpknocker lure retriever handy.

So the next time high pressure comes through your favorite fishing hole, give these methods a try and you'll probably be surprised at how many fish are still willing to feed.

The Largemouth Herald