Story by Todd Goade | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Although I don’t get to fish as much in the off season as I’d like, I love wintertime bass fishing. I have since I was in college fishing just about every day during Christmas break with my buddies Brian and David. We had many 50 fish days on Cherokee and Douglas lakes in Tennessee, and those memories are what engrained my love for fishing in the cold.
The lake is quiet in winter. No jet skis, no crowded boat ramps, just the sound of my boots crunching frost as I load up the gear. Most anglers hang it up or are in the deer woods when the temperatures drop, but I’ve always believed the cold months hold their own kind of magic. Bass don’t stop living just because the air stings your face. They adapt, and so do I.
Winter fishing isn’t about running and gunning. It’s about patience, about finding those subtle depth changes or isolated places, or bait balls tucked tight to a spot. When I see life on the screen, I know I’m in the right place.
I like two baits this time of year that have yielded me lots of bass: a jig and a small crankbait.
My jig of choice is the Pulse Fish 3/8 HD Jig in TN Craw, which is my confidence bait this time of year. The trailer is either a Zoom Bait Z Craw Jr. or a Zoom Ultravibe Speed Craw, nothing flashy—just enough to mimic a crawfish creeping along the rocks. Most of the time I’m fishing the jig in 8 to 15 feet of water. My favorite places to fish a jig in winter are bluff ends or the last 30 to 50 yards of a bluff where it tapers off, and isolated patches of rock that create a high percentage place to get a bite. I’ll fish it pretty slow since the water temps are usually in the 40s .In winter, “slow” means slower than you think. I drag it, pause, wait. A lot of times you won’t feel them bite, just the line getting heavy like you’re hung up … but you’re not.
The second bait is the small crankbait. I like to throw baits like the SPRO Little John, a Berkley Frittside 5, and a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. Even in the winter, there’s bass shallow that can be caught. Fishing this way I like to target a little flatter structure, such as gravel points, isolated rock patches, and bigger rock points from 2 to 8 feet of water. I find that this technique works better as the day goes on, and I’ve caught many big fish from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. dirt shallow with this technique.
At the end of the day, as I idle back to the boat ramp, I look around at the empty lake. There’s a peace here that summer never offers. No crowds, no noise—just me, the cold, and the bass. Winter fishing teaches discipline. It teaches patience. And it reminds me that sometimes the best bites come when you’re willing to do what others won’t. I do some of my best thinking on the water this time of year, too.
That’s why I love it. Wintertime bass fishing isn’t just about catching fish—it’s about the experience with a good friend, the challenge, and the satisfaction of knowing you’ve unlocked something special in the season most people overlook.
Tight Lines!
Todd Goade – Angler Profile
