Bass Fishing Report - February 05, 2026

05 Feb

Bass Fishing Report - February 05, 2026

Bass Forecast

Bass Fishing Tips , Bass Fishing …

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Bass Fishing Report: February 05 - 09, 2026

If you’re on the West Coast or tucked into the southernmost states, this weekend’s bass bite is looking way better than last weekend. Everywhere else… well, let’s just say bass fishing will be more “character‑building” than “crushing ’em.”

But don’t let Punxsutawney Phil’s gloomy forecast get in your head, our furry friend is only right 39% of the time.

The real story is in the Seasonal Pattern Heat Map below: Pre‑Spawn is slowly creeping north.

Keep an eye on your BassForecast app’s Seasonal Patterns so you know 10 days ahead when your favorite lakes flip from “Winter” to “Pre‑Spawn.”

Why does that matter? Because the big girls move up first, they’re predictable, they’re hungry… and they don’t stay long. If you want your best shot at the biggest bass in the lake, this is the window you plan around.

Quick links to your specific regional fishing forecast below

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Your Regional Bass Fishing Report

Quick links to your specific regional fishing forecast below

Pacific Northwest

(Washington, Oregon, Idaho)

Bite: FAIR → TOUGH

Pattern: WINTER

If you can still find open water, bundle up and target drop‑offs, main‑lake basins, creek channels, and deeper points. Start with suspending jerkbaits, deep‑diving crankbaits, and umbrella rigs to pull fish up. Then slow down and comb the same areas with Carolina rigs and Ned rigs.

If nothing is rising to your bait, switch to spybaits, drop shots, jigs, or jigging spoons to reach fish that are glued to the bottom or suspended deeper. And when you’re hunting specific marks on forward‑facing sonar, Hover and Mid‑Strolling can be deadly.

PRO TIP: If you are boat fishing with electronics, searching for large schools of bass may pay off big as we have already heard reports of big bags being caught this way.

Click here for Ice-fishing for bass top tips

Southwest

(California, Arizona, Nevada, West Texas, New Mexico)

Bite: FAIR → TOUGH

Pattern: PRE-SPAWN→ SPAWN (NV and NM – WINTER)

Your best bets in the BassForecast app right now fall into three clear patterns: Pre‑Spawn, Spawn, and Winter. During the Pre‑Spawn window, lean on soft jerkbaits or stickbaits, lipless rattling crankbaits, spybaits, and Ned rigs. Bass will stage along migration routes leading to spawning areas; think secondary points, transition banks, and flats just outside the shallows.

As fish move into the Spawn, switch to jigs, shaky heads, craws/tubes, wacky rigs, and soft jerkbaits. They’ll be locked onto shallow flats and the same migration routes and secondary points that lead into them. If your lake is still in Winter mode, keep it subtle and deep with drop shots, spybaits, suspending jerkbaits, spoons, and Ned rigs. Target main‑lake structure, steep banks, bluffs, and drop‑offs where cold‑water bass hunker down.

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Southeast

(Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, East Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky)

Bite: FAIR → GOOD

Pattern: PRE-SPAWN → WINTER

Two quick pro tips to dial in your weekend game plan:

First, remember that Florida‑strain bass are far more sensitive to cold fronts than northern‑strain fish. If you have access to lakes with northern‑strain bass, those should be your top targets this week as they stay more active and predictable when temps drop.

Second, if you’re chasing a personal best and you’ve got forward‑facing sonar, this is a sneaky‑good weekend to make it happen. That warm spell in late December and early January kicked off an early Pre‑Spawn push. Now that temps have fallen again, the biggest females are sliding back and suspending in open water near classic migration routes: points, creek‑channel bends, drains, and cove mouths. They’re grouped up, they’re trackable, and they’re catchable. If you stick a PB, we definitely want to hear about it in our LUNKER CLUB.

When you find a giant, or a wolfpack of them, lean on umbrella rigs, jerkbaits, and finesse jig heads rigged with small plastic minnows. Use Hover or Mid‑Strolling to glide your bait just above the fish, tapping or gently shaking it on the retrieve.

If you have Pre‑Spawn Pattern:
Baits: Soft jerkbait/stickbait, lipless rattling crankbait, spybait, Ned rig
Locations: Migration routes, secondary points, transition banks, flats near spawning areas

If you see a Winter Pattern:
Baits: Drop shot, spoon, suspending jerkbait, spybait, Ned rig
Locations: Drop‑offs/ledges, main lake, creek channels, steep banks, bluffs

Rocky Mountains

(Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah)

Bite: TOUGH

Pattern: WINTER

Click here for Ice-fishing for bass top tips

Great Plains

(Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas Panhandle, South Dakota, North Dakota)

Bite: TOUGH

Pattern: WINTER

Click here for Ice-fishing for bass top tips

Midwest

(Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota)

Bite: FAIR to TOUGH

Pattern: WINTER

If you can still find a lake that isn’t iced over, bundle up and get after it this weekend. Start by working drop‑offs, main‑lake basins, creek channels, and deeper points with suspending jerkbaits, deep‑diving crankbaits, and umbrella rigs to pull active fish up. Once you’ve covered the area, slow down and comb the same zones with Carolina rigs and Ned rigs to pick off the more reluctant biters.

If nothing is rising or reacting, shift to spybaits, drop shots, jigs, or jigging spoons to reach fish that are holding deeper or glued to the bottom.

Click here for Ice-fishing for bass top tips

Northeast

(New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, New England)

Bite: TOUGH

Pattern: WINTER

If you love a challenge, dressing up for the cold and ice fishing more than watching football, by all means dress warm and gear up for the challenge with ice-fishing for bass top tips.

Click here for Ice-fishing for bass top tips

Curious about the Bass Forecast Ratings and Adapted Pattern® recommendations for the weekend?

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