Best Winter Bass Baits to Keep Your Catch Rates High
Bass fishing in winter is often considered to be the toughest fishing there is. Since so many anglers have a hard time, it’s when most fishermen hang up their rods for a few months and quit altogether.
That’s not necessary, though.
The BassForecast team has written about the hardships and benefits of winter bass fishing before, and it certainly is something every angler should try. However, if you’re not catching bass relatively quickly, you’re still likely to go home and pack your rods up.
Today, we’re going to keep that from happening by showing you some of the best winter baits for bass that are capable of keeping your catch rate high all winter long.
Check it out.
Key Traits of the Best Winter Bass Fishing Baits
Before we start listing specific types of lures, we’re going to go over some basic details that you should look for in any bait you plan on using throughout the coldest months.
There are always exceptions to these types of rules, but for the most part, the following traits tend to be more desirable when the water is frigid.
1: Smaller Lures for Better Catch Rates
It’s often thought that you need to use the largest lure possible to catch any bass in the winter. If you look at popular influencers in the bass fishing scene, they’re often throwing giant glide baits to pull massive fish out of the lake.
However, they also sit around in the cold all day to catch one fish.
If you’re aiming to have a higher catch rate, you want to downsize. Smaller lures tend to represent easier meals, and when presented properly, they drag bass in with ease despite the colder temperature.
While a long 11-inch worm might be a great choice in the middle of summer, a 2-inch grub presented the right way in the winter can slay bass all day.
2: Lighter Colors
This isn’t always the case, and like usual, you need to check the water’s color before taking this tip to heart. However, the winter tends to be when most ponds and lakes get very clear.
Since underwater vegetation dies off and stops releasing as much debris into the water, the water clarity improves dramatically. Especially after a deep freeze.
Just like when you fish naturally clear lakes, you want to use presentations that shine and make the most out of the light being refracted through the top of the water column.
3: Finesse Presentations
Bass don’t get slower in the winter. They can zip across a massive distance in no time despite the cold. However, they usually don’t. They are lethargic, and their prey is lethargic, too.
If you take a high-action bait and start ripping it across the surface, you’re not likely to catch anything.
Finesse-based baits, such as weightless flukes and slowly-fished grubs and tubes, can work wonders. If your lure is the only thing making a ton of noise and movement in the water, the fish aren’t likely to fall for it.
The Best Winter Bass Fishing Lures
Now that we’ve covered a few of the basics, it’s time to start digging into our favorite lures. Some of them match what we’ve talked about in the section above, and some of them are what we’d consider exceptions to the rules.
1: 1-Inch Crappie Tube
This is one lure that’s likely to fly under the radar of a lot of modern anglers. With so many advanced lures hitting the market every day, the basic tubes that put plenty of fish on lines for decades have fallen out of popularity.
However, they still work wonders.
A little 1-inch tube, or even a 2-incher if you don’t have a setup capable of pitching the smaller variety, can be twitched through the water column slowly or bounced off the bottom with consistent results.
The brand isn’t too important for these. They’re basic enough that pretty much any version you buy from a reputable brand will work just fine.
To use these, we recommend getting an appropriately sized jig head and threading the entire head into the tube. The eyelet on the top of the head can be poked through the rubber of the tube, and everything gets neatly hidden inside for a discreet presentation.
On top of that, you can also take advantage of the cavity in the tube. If you have a favorite bass scent that you want to try to give you a little extra advantage, filling the tube can not only add scent to your rig, but it will also stick around longer than if you just doused a normal lure with it.
2: Finesse Crankbaits
The crankbait is one of the easiest-to-use lures out there, and it’s also one of the most effective options year-round. In the winter, it’s still a great option for your tackle box.
However, we recommend switching to a more finesse-based crankbait that is longer and thinner than your typical crankbait. A subtle movement that still generates a lot of action works great.
6th Sense has some of our favorite finesse crankbaits, and we recommend grabbing a few in different colors from Tackle Warehouse.
Try to get at least two for each type of water you might need to fish in throughout the winter. That way, you don’t get stuck with just one option for a clear lake or one option for muddier water after a big storm.
You can still cycle through a couple of options without switching the type of lure you’re using entirely.
Even though crankbaits are easy to use, we do recommend slowly down your retrieval for the winter season. Add long pauses to your pattern that let lethargic fish think for a minute before striking, and turn your reel just fast enough to make the lure’s action work.
When you go out for your fishing trip, this is the lure we recommend starting with. Even though you’re fishing it slower than you would in the summer, it will still cover more ground faster than any other lure on this list, and it’s a great choice for figuring out where the fish are without wasting tons of time.
If it doesn’t pick up any bites in a relatively short period, you can switch it out for different options.
3: Curly-Tail Grub
This is simple, and we don’t have a lot of tips for it. The curly-tail grub is a great choice year-round.
In the winter, we recommend one of the one-and-a-half-inch options, but you can also go up to a three-inch grub without any issues.
The reason we love this one so much is that it’s extremely versatile. You can pick up the pace and straight-retrieve it like a swimbait, or you can throw it weightless and let the tail slowly do all the work on the way down.
Without tying on a bunch of different lures or switching up your rig, you can try a variety of retrieval patterns and make the most out of your time on the water.
Unlike the tubes we mentioned, you want to be a little pickier when you choose which one you’re going to use. There are a lot of very cheap curly-tail grubs available that have stiff tails, and those don’t tend to work very well.
YUM, Big Bite, and most other brands you probably see every time you check out the tackle section make amazing curly-tail grubs. We recommend getting a variety of colors so you can fish effectively regardless of the water conditions.
4: War Eagle Jiggin’ Spoon
Jigging spoons are old-school lures, and you don’t hear about them too much in a world full of highly advertised baits, but they crush winter bass.
Our favorite is the War Eagle Jiggin Spoon in ½-ounce with a white finish. You can grab one at Tackle Warehouse for an affordable price, and winter is the best season to use it.
The white paint job works wonders when the lake gets extremely clear, and unlike some of the other lures on this list, it’s heavy enough to use it with the setup you likely run the rest of the year and still create a finesse presentation.
Also, since most of the underwater flora dies off in the winter, there are fewer things to worry about getting snagged on. Weeds are less of a problem, and since the water is clearer, you can usually spot bigger obstacles, such as downed trees without any equipment.
We recommend tossing the War Eagle out far, letting it sink almost to the bottom, and then bouncing it back up. Let it sink just enough to get close to the bottom, and bounce it up again. Don’t forget to reel in the slack after each bounce, though.
However, we would recommend avoiding this lure if you’re fishing in an area where there are a lot of high snag risks. Spoons are some of the easiest lures to snag, and when they get snagged, they tend to get dug in deep.
Don’t worry, though. Some of the lures we’ve mentioned aren’t too bad about that, and they can be fished with some minor adjustments to handle it, and our next suggestion gets rid of the problem entirely.
5: Strike King Swim Jigs
If you’re fishing in an area that has a lot of hazards that don’t go away in the winter, try a Strike King Swim Jig.
We prefer the ¼-ounce jigs, and the color you need depends on the water clarity.
These jigs come with weed guards that keep you from getting hooked on sticks, rocks, and other things, but unlike football jigs, you can effectively swim them around in the higher part of the water column.
This is crucial, because the bass tend to get closer to the surface when the sun is up to warm their bodies at every opportunity, and you won’t want to bounce your jig on the bottom like you normally would.
The only thing you need to look out for is setting the hook prematurely. The weed guard forces the bass to close its mouth and commit to the bite before the hook is exposed.
Since bass tend to be gentler in the winter, you want to take your time and make sure they commit to the lure before you set your hook. Otherwise, you’ll pull the lure right out of the bass’s mouth.
Key Points to Consider While Winter Bass Fishing
Once you get a few of each of these lures in your tackle box, you’ll be set for a high-catch-rate fishing trip. There are other options you can experiment with, but this gives you a wide range of options no matter what the water throws at you.
However, there are some key points you need to consider to maximize the potential of each trip.
1: Bring Gloves
A winter fishing trip can get cut short if you don’t bring gloves with you. Even on days when it seems like it’s more than warm enough to comfortably fish, the water is going to be cold. Every time you tie a new lure on or handle a bass, your hands are going to get ice cold.
A pair of fingerless gloves will help your hands stay warm without costing you your dexterity.
2: Don’t Rush
Remember that the bass aren’t as active in the winter. They’re out there, and they’re feeding, but they aren’t anywhere near as active as during peak season.
It will be a slower fishing experience, and one of the biggest mistakes anglers make is speeding up their retrieval out of impatience. In most situations, that won’t help. Be patient, stick to a slow approach, and make the most out of every opportunity.
3: Know When to Fish Deep and When to Fish Shallow
The fish have to stay warm throughout the winter. Bass are cold-blooded, and they rely on heat from the environment to do that.
During the brightest parts of the day, you’ll usually find them closer to the surface to get warmed up by the sun. However, they go fairly deep during other periods, because the deeper water holds more warmth.
Make the Most of Your Winter Fishing Trips
Fishing in the winter is an amazing experience, but it can be frustrating.
By equipping yourself with the right winter bass baits and using them appropriately, you can transform what is often considered a challenging season into one of record-setting catches.
For more insights and tips on using these baits effectively, download the BassForecast fishing app. It's your ultimate companion for optimizing your fishing strategy, no matter the season.