THE BASS COLLEGE

Cold Water Bass

by Kevin Patton

It is often said that "timing is everything," and that saying surely applies to fishing for cold water bass.

With all the variables of water color, fish location, water temperature, etc. that can befuddle fishermen, one thing can be sure about March 6 in Illinois. It is pre-spawn time and the water is cold. It's cold that is, if it isn't still ice or you're not at a power plant lake.

For many of us, this is the season during which bass seem the most unpredictable and the most puzzling to pattern. The huge swings in air temperature, rainfall, and wind often make our on-the-water decisions harder as we try to figure how all this affects bass on a given day.

I decided to try Banner Marsh for this trip, but was in no itching hurry to get to the lake. The forecast was for cloud cover during the morning with temperatures not warming to the 50's until noon.

Banner Marsh is several lakes that contain a maze of smaller strip mine lakes connected by channels. Johnson Lake (Banner Main) has relatively clear water and more weed growth than the murkier Wheel Lake (Banner East). There are also differences in water temperature, water color, and weed growth as you go from one area to another within each of the main lakes.

It was about 10 a.m. when I put in, with sunny skies and unbelievably light winds for March. The water temperature at the ramp was 43-44 degrees.

I started by working some flooded timber near deep water, alternating between a brown jig/craw trailer and a junebug jig/black and blue trailer.

Soon after I started a fishing buddy stopped to chat on his way back to the dock. He had caught several quality bass earlier on Rattletraps, before the cloud cover disappeared and the temperature warmed up. Again.....the timing thing.

I had several of my early spring bass baits tied on, including a jig, stickbait, Chatterbait, blade bait (Silver Buddy), Rattletrap, and a weighted hook to use with either a Senko or the Uncle Josh Porker.

I spent the next five hours searching, moving from one area to another looking for warmer water temperatures and varied water colors. I used different baits and presentations, trying not to make assumptions about what the bass would strike or where they would be located.

At 3:30, I eased the boat across a shallow flat, back into a small lake. The sun had warmed the water in this lake to 50-52 degrees and cloud cover had moved back into the area. The North wind was creating a slight chop along the south bank of the lake. The other noticeable feature of this area was that the weed growth was considerably farther along than other areas.

The combination of these factors must have been right, because this was the first area where I found bass all day. I caught small bass, missed a couple short strikers, and landed one 16 1/2-inch fish, all on a black and blue Chatterbait. I had to call it a day at 4:00, but with more time I would have backed off the weed edges and slowed down with a small jig or grub.

These fish were not laying against the sheltered, north bank getting ready to spawn, they were along a windy south bank, utilizing the ample weed cover to feed. Bass move shallow to spawn in their own sweet time, but pre-spawn is for feeding up.

This is the time of year to have an open mind, make no assumptions, keep on the move, and try a variety of baits and presentations. If you do, then hopefully your timing will eventually be right.

Just a reminder that all the tips and tactics are not just here in the forums. I took this from the articles section of the site after i put it there. I always post new articles and content there so check back for more when you come to the site.

Patience is key this time of year. Bites tend to come in flury's no bass for 2 or 3 hours then 3 or 4 bass in 20 minutes. The best part is these bass tend to be above average fish this time of year.