Image source here

As winter approaches the BassBoat team is reluctant to put their rods away after being informed relentlessly by fellow anglers that winter months are dead months. We refuse to accept that fate and so have decided that instead of slowing down with our angling this winter we will do the opposite… fish longer and harder. therefore we have decided that because this is our first serious winter fishing season that we would post our strategy right now for the on coming months so that all of us can consider our theories (based on what we have read), add to them, and track our progress.

The first most important lure that we believe will bring us good fortune this winter is the jig. Jigs come in many shapes and forms but we will be focusing confidently on skirted jigs. These basically look like spinner baits without the blades, and instead of swimming them we will be fishing them veeeeeeery sloooooowly along the bottom, sometimes jumping them and occasionally shaking them to entice our predator bass. Jigs are basically specially designed pre-weighted hooks as can be seen here. However we will be buying them with their skirts pre-attached, as can be seen in the above picture.

Remember that in winter bass metabolism slows Significantly, which means that they hunt slower and not as often. However, they still need to eat to survive and when they do they will be looking for large easy targets as they do not want to waste energy chasing down a small morsel. Therefore we will be presenting them with extremely slow, large, and thus inviting baits, which we will shake occasionally with the slowest retrieve possible. Because we are set on large baits it is important to mention that we will be upsizing our jigs with trailers. Trailers are basically just extra lures which we will attach to our jig hooks under the skirts to fatten them up, giving them more substance. One common example is the Zoom Chunk, which comes in many shapes, sizes and colours, but we will be focusing on lures such as the Zoom Fat Albert Grubs as trailers due to their large, juicy profiles. Remember that many lures can be used as trailers and trial and error may be the only way to find your winner. If you do, let us know. Here is an image to show you what a jig and trailer looks like, one can clearly see the added rubber grub under the skirt.

Other lures which we will be focusing on are large rubber worms. The make is your choice but we will be focusing on the Zoom 7” Worms of all shapes but sticking to Dunebug (dark purply blue colours) for the most part. Zoom Tube baits are the next and final lure that we will be focusing on to begin with due their fat profiles and wavy tentacles. We will also certainly be inserting small rattles (bought at tackle shops) into their hollow centres to hopefully give them slightly more attraction.

Hopefully some of these this winter

So that is our opening strategy, which we (and hopefully you) will build on over the next few months. The most important thing to remember is to fish and retrieve extremely slowly in winter and to use large baits of substance. Lets work together and create a winter bassing season that is not only productive but worth documenting for the future.

Original image: South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry at www.dwaf.gov.za/…/dams/bronkhorstspruit.htm

When it comes to bank bass angling it is often difficult to locate productive waters. We, however, have found what is now one of our favourite and most productive bank angling locations, Bronkhorstspruit dam in Gauteng. The very location that ‘The Bass Bugger’ caught his first bass, seen in our post titled ‘5 simple rules’. The banks of this dam are lined with thick grass mats and although they seem menacing to the carp anglers, who frequent the dam, they also serve as great habitat and cover for bass waiting to ambush their prey.

We have had great success on this body of water simply dragging a weightless Baby Brush Hog (black) over the top of the grass mats, sometimes allowing them to sit for a moment, at which point the fish generally take it straight off the surface. Otherwise we simply drag them over, leading them into gaps in the grass mats or over the edge of the mats completely, allowing them to glide gently through the water. We were also successful with other soft plastic baits such as the Zoom 6″ Ultra-Vibe Speed Worm using the same technique. In the picture below we have Andrea with her first and biggest bass ever caught (1.5kgs) on her first bass expedition ever .

What is interesting to us is that we fished the same spot at this location on three different days within two weeks and noticed a substantial pattern in the amount and size of fish that we caught. The days were the 3^rd of February 2007, the 6^th and the 11^th. The weather patterns for these days respectfully were: warm, partly cloudy, little to no wind; cool, partly cloudy with strong wind; and cooler, partly cloudy, with stronger wind. What we noticed was that the fish hooked were fewer but larger with the later dates, with us having 22 small bass (app. 500-800gs) on our lines on the 3^rd and only three on our lines on the 11^th, two of which were 1.5 and 1.8kgs (seen below). Is this pattern random or can it be attributed to changing weather conditions or moon phases perhaps, which can be viewed here. We do not know and hope that someone who does know better can give us some feedback.

One of the most important things about bass fishing, which was mentioned previously, is that you find a lure that you are both comfortable and confident fishing. Confidence allows you to fish the lure to the best of your ability thus giving the lure the chance to perform to the best of its ability under the water, so to speak. All anglers discover their own confidence lure but for us it is most certainly the soft plastic Brush Hog by Zoom! I think the most appealing thing about this particular bait, to us, is its versatility. We fish it in so many ways, and on so many rigs, often with the same result…. a nice solid tug on the end of the line. We have, however, had most success free lining them near thick cover. Dragging them across the top of the water or over grass beds at various speeds, before letting them fall naturally through the water seems to inspire frequent takes with the Bass often taking them straight off the surface.

I dont think that this lure has ever failed us on trips where the fish have actually been biting. Our ultimate “go to” lure can be seen in the picture above in Junebug and black (our choice colours). They also come in various shapes and sizes including Big Brush Hog, Baby Brush Hog, Tiny Brush Hog, and a relatively newer model called the Super Hog with extra paddles instead of twin tails. Dont forget to vary the size of your lures when the fishing is slow as the larger Brush Hog can be intimidating to the fish at times. Try these baits they work, you cannot afford not to.

Over the last year or so we have picked up a few basic tips and pearls of wisdom from various sources such as internet sites, magazines, various DVDs, and fellow bass anglers. Some of these tips have proven valueble and others completely fruitless. So here we have listed 5 simple ‘RULES’ which one should always abide by when bass fishing, which have definately helped us on the water and have contributed to the landing of more fish such as the one above caught at Bass ‘o Mania near Bronkhorstspruit in the Gauteng region. (I will post the contact details of B ‘o M later this week). Our 5 rules are:

1. Always fish in and around Structure. This is by far the most important rule. Fishing into open water will not be successfull unless there is underwater structure which you cannot see. structure consists of: sunken logs, rocky out crops, reeds, thick floating grass beds, sunken objects such as man-made building structures, and so on. Structure such as this provides bass with cover where they will lie in ambush waiting for their unsuspecting prey to swim by.

2. Vary the size and colour of your lures according to the water colour! We have found that in stained, discoloured waters that darker, larger soft plastic lures are more productive. Our favourite colours in these situations are June Bug (dark purple like colours) and black. These darker colours seem to be more visible to the fish in murky water. Remember in stained waters fish dont rely heavily on their eyesight when feeding and the larger lures generate more vibration as you fish them through the water. Also try to find lures with more paddles and tails as these will also give off stronger vibration. Our favourite is the Zoom Brush Hog. In clear water it is advisable to use natural coloured baits such as watermelon, and green pumpkin. You can also size down your lures in this situation as less vibration is necessary and large lures can prove to be intimidating to some bass. Below we have ‘The Bass Bugger’ Shaun Taylor with his first fish which he caught free lining a Zoom Baby Brush Hog (black) in slightly stained water.

3. If the fish are not biting dont be afraid to size down or even up on your lures. Even in Stained waters we have noticed a substantial increase in bites after changing to smaller lures. Similarly we have noticed an improvement in bites when sizing up on our lures. In these cases the fish are obviously just interested in expending little amounts of energy on large worth while morsels. Chop and change to see what the fish want in that particular dam or on that particular day.

4. Also important is changing lure types. It all depends on the primary food source at the dam that you are fishing. For instance if you notice schools of small fish in the water try a lure that resembles these bait fish such as flukes, minnows and Rapalas. Otherwise try creature baits such as plastic lizzards, Worms, horny toads, and Brush Hogs. Again you need to experiment to find out what the fish want and the only way to do so is to change your lures regularly!

5. Fish with confidence. Believe me it makes all the difference. If you do not have confidence in the lure you are fishing then you are gaurenteed not to catch. Rememer you want your lure to move like living prey through the water. If you are confident then you are focused and if you are focused then your lure action will be second to none!

Now write these rules down, get out there and catch some fish!