February time to fish jerkbait slow

When people ask me where I like to fish in February, I like to tell them “In front of the fireplace.”

And that’s true.

February is probably our coldest month in North Carolina, and the bass can be really tough to catch, but there are ways to give yourself a bass-fishing fix if you need one badly.

The thing about fishing in cold water is that you need to fish a lake that’s got good water clarity — you can see down 4 or 5 feet.

Fish are sluggish in cold water anyway, but in muddy water, you can just about forget it.

The lakes that are usually the clearest have the best cold-weather fishing: Badin Lake, Shearon Harris Lake, Lake Norman and Lake Wylie — and that’s not even taking into account that Lake Norman and Lake Wylie have warm-water discharges.

When the water temperature gets down below 50 degrees, fishing is tough enough if you’re fishing a lake that’s usually stained, dingy or downright muddy.

I try to restrict my February fishing — if I can help it — to lakes where the water is clearer. I think fish can see the bait better, and they’re a little more active because in clear water, the sunlight can penetrate better and warm it up a little bit.

In late February you usually have some bass that start to move into coves and pockets, but what you’re looking for are banks with access to deep water, places where the fish can move up vertically without having to move too far horizontally.

So you’re looking for fairly steep banks — the colder the water, the steeper the bank you need.

The next thing you’re looking for are places that are protected from that north wind because the water will be a little warmer, and the fish will be a little more active.

Rocky banks are always better because rocks retain heat, but you don’t have to restrict your efforts to rocky banks.

I like to fish at docks that are floating on Styrofoam blocks, because the Styrofoam also retains heat. And I like to fish at any kind of old black piece of wood that’s sticking out of the water like an old post or a stump. They’ll retain heat well.

The thing that makes places like that productive is the fact that bass will suspend a lot in the late winter before they make their big move shallow.

They’ll be looking toward the surface, so you can catch ’em on a lipless bait like a Clackin’ Rap. But a jerkbait is probably the most effective bait, the No. 1 bait, that you can fish in February. Something like a Husky Jerk or a Tail Dancer — you can work them so much slower than anything else. Swimming a jig can be good, but I’d really rather be fishing a jerkbait.

In cold water, you won’t find a lot of fish on the bottom — they’ll get above it and suspend but usually around something — a tree, a floating dock, standing timber, maybe a tree lap. And unlike the way suspended fish act during hot weather, these will bite.

You might be sitting in 30 feet of water, and the fish are 7 feet from the surface. That makes for a more vertical presentation, and that’s where a jerkbait really comes into play.

I like to fish a jerkbait on the AmericanRodsmith’s hybrid crankbait rod — a rod that’s half-fiberglass and half-graphite. With a jerkbait, most of the time, you’ll be setting the hook on slack line, so you’ll need a soft rod.

You can fish a bait like a Tail Dancer on an all-glass rod, but I like the rod that has some graphite in it, in case you’re fishing a lake where you’re liable to hook a really big fish, like Shearon Harris.

Now there are ways to fish a jerkbait that are better than others. First of all, a lot of fishermen will put Suspend Dots on the bottom of a jerkbait so it will suspend better. That’s a great way to really get a bait to suspend.

What you do is jerk the bait down a couple of times and let it suspend for maybe 30 seconds before you jerk it again.

Another way to fish it is get it down where you want it, then move it by sweeping your rod tip, then winding in the slack, and sweeping your rod again. It’s almost like worm fishing — you’ll get a lot of hits on a slack line.

The biggest problem fishermen have is fishing too fast, and you can’t fish a jerkbait slow enough, especially in water that’s cooler than 50 degrees.

I’ve learned a lot from the bass pros from the Ozarks. Those guys are fishing deep, clear lakes. They’ll get a jerkbait down 6-feet deep and let it sit a full minute or more before they move it — and they catch fish.

As far as colors go, I really like a black-back or blue-back lure in February.

If you’re fishing for smallmouth bass, the Clown color is real good, but for largemouth in North Carolina, the black-back and blue-back are about all you’ll need. They’ll produce.

So tie on a jerkbait this month, find for a place where a bass might go looking for warmer water, and be slow.

Remember, the turtle did beat the hare.

David Fritts is a 52-year-old bass pro from Lexington. He was the 1993 Bassmasters Classic champion, the 1994 BASS Angler of the Year, and the 1997 FLW Tour Championship. His sponsors include Ranger boats, Evinrude outboards, Rapala, VMC hooks, American RodSmiths, Bass Pro Shops and Zoom baits.