(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
When winter water temperatures get down into the mid-40s, veteran Bass Pro Tour competitor Jared Lintner is willing to get out on a point with finesse gear, but he’d much rather chase reaction bites with a shallow- to mid-depth crankbait. The bite isn’t always easy, but if you know the proper gear to use and where to look, it can produce some of the biggest bags of the year.
The key starts with locating the proper habitat. Conventional wisdom and experience tells seasoned anglers that in the fall bass go to the backs of creeks chasing migrating baitfish. A few may remain there in winter, especially if the areas have some depth, but generally the bait will migrate out and the bass will go with them.
“I want to find where a channel swing meets a bank, where it hits rock,” he explained. “I’m looking for that bigger kind of dark rock, from the size of a basketball to even bigger.” He wants a decent slope, not flat but not a bluff, either. The fish tend to be bottom-oriented rather than suspended. He’ll look for anything that stands out – frequently a laydown, stump or a bigger rock – and then ply it with multiple casts from different angles. If he’s convinced the spot should hold a bass and he doesn’t generate a bite quickly, he’ll switch colors, diving depths and wobbling profiles.
While he’ll still keep his fall shad-colored crankbaits accessible, he now generally turns to craw colors like red, brown and orange, even in clear water. He noted that the most productive lures are generally tighter-wigglers, like the DT Series, the Wiggle Wart and the Rock Crawler. He also wants them to hunt. “It means all of a sudden they’ll do something irregular and 90 percent of the time that’s when you’ll get your bite.” When he hits a target, he lets the lure pause.
For this technique he employs 7’ to 7’4” glass rods, like the Daiwa BLX. “It’s just that bend,” he said, noting that stiffer rods will pull the hooks out. When he feels the strike, he just keeps winding and leans into the bass a little bit. “It’s not a vicious hookset.” He pairs them with Daiwa Tatula SVTW reels. “When your hands are cold and you’re throwing into the breeze, this reel helps eliminate a lot of backlashes.” While slower reels are traditional for wintertime cranking, he prefers a 7:1 over a 6.3:1. He just slows it down when necessary.
Lintner spools his Tatulas with 10- to 14-pound Sunline Crank FC fluorocarbon. “It’s got a little bit more stretch than the regular Sniper or Shooter and it’s really limp. These baits aren’t the heaviest baits so you don’t want too coarse of a line to throw these coarser style crankbaits.”
While many anglers use EWG style trebles on their lures, Lintner is a strong proponent of Trokar Round Bend hooks.
If you want to learn some of Lintner’s other crankbait secrets, including how he applies these tactics on grass-filled lakes in places like Florida, check out his full on-the-water video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
