Story by Hunter Sales | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
I may be a bit partial to my hometown, but there’s something special about spending winter days on the water in East Tennessee. The deep hollers, foggy mornings, and traces of red clay on the front deck of your boat remind me of some of my best days bass fishing. Each day, there’s only a handful of diehards that get out in the cold, but they seem to be rewarded more times than not. I’ve spent quite a few days on both Cherokee and Douglas lakes in the winter, and this week I’ll go over some of my favorite patterns to put cold water bass in your boat.
Wintertime fishing is very dependent on the conditions that you may have on any given day. We’ll start by talking about two scenarios that allow a crankbait to shine. The first scenario is a heavy rain that stains the water, followed by a warm front. This is by far my favorite situation to face on an East Tennessee reservoir, as the dirty water creates a feeding scenario and the warm, shallow water is irresistible to both largemouth and smallmouth bass.
In this situation, my favorite banks to fish are flat banks with rock. The type of rock that is best is largely influenced by what section of the lake you are in. In the river sections, I tend to fish more “river rock” or softball-sized gravel. In the mid- to lower section, I really like super flat boulder stretches. My favorite type of crankbait on a dirty water warming trend is a squarebill style bait such as Rapala Ott’s Garage OG Rocco 5 in “Classic Craw.” This bait comes through any rock cover really well and displaces enough water to get noticed.
The other situation where a crankbait shines in the wintertime is during a windy day. On a windy day, I like to fish the lower section of a lake where the water is cleanest. This wind will create mudlines and other disturbances that cause fish to push up to feed. Oftentimes, the areas that are most benefitted by this wind consist of 45 degree or steeper banks. There have been times when I’ve been able to get on a steep bank, tie on a SPRO RkCrawler, and catch fish nearly all day on one stretch. In this cleaner water, I typically opt for a more natural craw color rather than bright reds.
Another style of fishing that I really enjoy in the winter is fishing a jig. This is not going to come as a surprise to many of you out there, but it is still an awesome way to get some really big bites even on days where the bite seems slow. I always look for stained water when I’m throwing a jig. Whether this be main-lake or in the backs in creeks, a lone piece of wood in some dirty water is a magnet for the biggest largemouth in the area.
In the spring, summer, and fall, I’m a huge fan of a 3/8-ounce jig with a finesse profile, but in the winter, I like something that displaces more water. A 1/2- or 5/8-ounce black/blue Z-Man CrossEyeZ Flipping jig with a chunk-style trailer gets the call for me more times than not. Add in a little sunshine to stained water with wood on it, and you’ve got the recipe for a special day of bass fishing in East Tennessee.
These two baits can be deployed by people of any skill level with a lot of success. Pay attention to the weather trends and don’t be afraid keep the boat hooked up when other people are sitting indoors. I’m excited to hit the road for the first NPFL event in just a little over a month, but for now I’m enjoying my time fishing in Jefferson County, Tennessee.
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Angler Profile – Hunter Sales
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