Downsize baits for better winter results on bass, stripers

winter
Try smaller lures this time of year to catch more bass and rockfish in the Carolinas.

Smaller baits can be retrieved more slowly, draw more strikes

Do you like fishing for striped bass or largemouth bass during the winter? Then most guides and experienced anglers suggest downsizing your fishing lures for more strikes.

Fish get sluggish in cold water. They won’t chase larger baits. In clear waters, large baits often startle fish. Anglers can fish smaller lures slower than most large baits. And their thin profiles won’t alarm fish.

Winter forage at most lakes tends to be small in size. So smaller offerings imitate what the fish are eating.

Fish bite subtly in cold water. A largemouth bass hitting a lure feels more akin to a crappie gently taking a jig. Stripers bump baits rather than strike them. Overeager fishermen often take the lure away from light-hitting fish. Smaller baits with tiny needle-sharp hooks catch those reluctant strikers.

Maynard Edwards of Yadkin Lakes Guide Service both recommend smaller baits for winter stripers. Retired guide Jerry Hill agrees.

During cold weather, small lures catch big fish

Hill pulls 3/8- or ¼-ounce bucktails and 3/8-ounce leadhead jigs holding 3-inch Sassy Shad plastics. Edwards prefers small bucktails and ½-ounce leadhead jigs in conjunction with 3-inch plastic grubs or Sassy Shads.

Many bass fishermen favor tiny crankbaits. Anglers can retrieve them at a snail’s pace. WEC Zoom Mutts, Speed Traps, and Shad Raps catch plenty of fish. RC 1.5s, Norman Baby Ns and shallow-running Strike Kings also entice many fish into biting.

Don’t be fooled into thinking small baits catch only small fish. Gerald Beck and Orlando Giles, both from Lexington, once won two Carolina Angler Team Fall Trail tournaments at High Rock one November with five-fish catches of  20.75 pounds, anchored with a 7.45-pound bass, and 16.55 pounds, anchored with  a 5.05-pound bass. Most of their fish were caught with Shad Raps and Norman Baby N lures.

If you want to upgrade your catches this winter, try downsizing your baits.