Swimbaits still work in cold weather, however, you really must work slow and stay at the bottom of the water column. My first, really good swimbait day came during a late November cold front probing the depths wit a Spro BBZ JR 6" Fast Sink. This is a bait with two, bottom hanging trebles. Needless to say, i stayed hung up on the bottom the whole day. However, I found fish near a weedbed on a a deep water break. When I could keep the lure bumping off the bottom, without hanging, I was able to boat 3 nice bass including one close to 7 pounds. That is not the ideal scenario for a treble hook laden, hard bait. But, you have to have a bait to get down into the reduced strike zone of a cold water bass. They are not going to move up 25 feet in the water column to attack a bait in cold water. West Coast guys do damage bottom bouncing 8" ROF 12 Huddleston Trouts. Ever hear of Butch Brown? Go check him out. I haven't invested in any 8" Hudds yet, so I need a bait to get down there.
That bait is no longer with us by the way. So, I came up with a solution to modify my fast sinking, hard baits for a more snag resistant approach using the "Butch Brown Rig" as my example. Tools needed: 1/4" length of clear, lawn mower gas line, super glue, 1/0 treble hook, heavy mono or braid, knife. First, cut a 1/4'" section of clear tubing. Make a complete, lengthwise cut through the side of the gas line so it can open up and form a "c." Glue the split tubing to the head section of the hard bait so the split is facing upward. Attach the treble, with an appropriate length of heavy line, to the main, line tie so the treble lays tightly into the tubing. This gives you a "top hook" hard bait that wont hang on the bottom. My testing of this bait shows that it is very snag resistant, however, time will only tell about the hook up ratio.
That bait is no longer with us by the way. So, I came up with a solution to modify my fast sinking, hard baits for a more snag resistant approach using the "Butch Brown Rig" as my example. Tools needed: 1/4" length of clear, lawn mower gas line, super glue, 1/0 treble hook, heavy mono or braid, knife. First, cut a 1/4'" section of clear tubing. Make a complete, lengthwise cut through the side of the gas line so it can open up and form a "c." Glue the split tubing to the head section of the hard bait so the split is facing upward. Attach the treble, with an appropriate length of heavy line, to the main, line tie so the treble lays tightly into the tubing. This gives you a "top hook" hard bait that wont hang on the bottom. My testing of this bait shows that it is very snag resistant, however, time will only tell about the hook up ratio.
Comments
Post a Comment