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Fish have move into their winter holes, what sort of soft baits can I use to hop on bottom like a jig?
Soft baits that can be used to hop on the bottom like a jig when fish have moved into their winter holes include finesse worms, craws, and grubs. These soft baits are typically rigged on a jighead and can be hopped along the bottom to imitate a natural prey item for bass.
In the video context, finesse worms, such as the four-inch hand-poured finesse worms mentioned, are recommended for winter bass fishing. These worms have minimal movement and can be crawled on the bottom using a split shot or a slow retrieve. They are effective in enticing bites from lethargic bass in cold water conditions.
Additionally, curly tail grubs, like the Yamamoto double tail grub mentioned, and craws can also be used to hop on the bottom like a jig. These soft baits can be rigged on a jighead and worked slowly along the bottom to mimic a crawfish or other bottom-dwelling prey. The smaller micro jigs, like the Kitec micro jig mentioned, can be used when fish are less aggressive or if you're unsure if you'll get bites.
It's important to note that the specific soft baits and techniques may vary depending on the fishing conditions and preferences. It's always a good idea to experiment with different soft baits and presentations to see what works best for you in your fishing area.
Related videos
Transcript
Video09:56
11:09
9 Lures for Tough Winter Bass Fishing | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → mimicking, in this case, either a goby or
say a sculpin and they stay on the bottom. Sculpins don't have air bladders, so they
don't lift up off the bottom. So, keep that on the bottom, they'll look
natural. Or you can use a hair jig. If you find those baitfish and you can see
where they intersect with the structure. Say baitfish are holding 20 feet of water,
you can find a nice tapering point and that's where they're at. Bass will sit up underneath them and wait
for those dying and dead baitfish falling through and they'll engulf them. So, take your hair jig and drop it down through
that school and sometimes you can catch a lot of fish. Works really well with balls of perch. Happens in the wintertime. They really bunch up in tight schools and
you can just drop it down through that school of perch if you do it fast enough. I use a little bit heavier jig because the
perch like to eat these things too. Punch it down through that school and when
you reach those bass, it won't reach the bottom. So, a hair jig can be really good. The next type of baits I like to use are finesse
baits. Primarily, drop shot and split shot rigs. I'm using four-inch hand-poured finesse worms,
that can be deadly during the wintertime. They don't have a lot of movement, they're
very subtle. You can move them real slowly, crawl them
on the bottom with a split shot or just barely
Transcript
Video12:02
13:10
7 Best Lures For Winter Bass Fishing (Big Fish Baits) | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → be bouncing on the bottom. I want to keep it off
the bottom, but every once in a while I hit in the bottom so I know it's down there and just slowly
crank it back. Sometimes I give it a little pop, and let it flutter back down and hit the bottom,
and then pick up real and again, just to make sure I'm in contact with it. And that little pop
and that flutter sometimes is what you need. Sometimes it goes like yo yo action. Just
bring it up and then let it drop down, hit the bottom, and pop it back up slowly, and
let drop right back down. That falling action, sometimes you'll get bites that way. But usually
just a straight, steady, slow retrieve over this bottom structure is all you
need for wintertime fishing. Okay, so the next floor that I like to use is a
jig. Specifically I use two different kinds of jigs during the wintertime. One is a rubber
skirted jig, and the other is a hair jig. So let's start with a rubber skirted
jig. There's two ways I fish that. The most common way that I fish it is deep,
deeper than 15 feet deep. I want to crawl it over any kind of structure down there. Now because
I'm that deep, there's less weeds and more rocks. So, a couple things about that I need to adapt.
One is I'm using a football head jig. Because
Transcript
Video02:51
04:10
How To Choose Lures For Each Season | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → that in a second. But your bread and butter this
time of year is gonna be the jig, and not just your regular bass jig, the full-size silicone
skirt jig. I'm talking about two other jigs. One is the finesse jig and the other is
the hair jig. These two compact jigs get more bites for me during the wintertime than the
full-size jigs. Again, you're moving them very, very slow. The hair jig, for example, just
sitting in place, not even moving. Those hair follicles are just ever so slightly moving, and
it makes the bait just look alive, enough that you're just sitting there. A lot of times, the
bass will come up and suck it up off the bottom, even though it's set there for a minute or more.
I mean, your pauses between movements are gonna be a lot longer than your movements. Just keep that
in mind. So, your jig is gonna be your number one bait. Soft plastic, you know, your Texas rig
plastics, you can put them either on a bullet sinker or behind a Carolina rig, for example.
Those work really well dragged on the bottom. Soft plastic stick baits, I'd put those
behind as drop shot or a split shot rig. You can put them with a
Texas rig as well, you know, a bullet sinker. And then your finesse baits
as well. Those will work well during this time of year. The small finesse worms, reapers,
little 3-inch swim baits, tubes, you know,
Transcript
Video03:49
05:08
Fall Bass Fishing Tips and Techniques | Bass Fishing by Bass Fishing Tips & Techniques by BassResource → feet deep waters. Cast along with a deeper diving crankbait
or slow roll a spinnerbait along there, and hang on, because those fish will dart out
of those weeds and smack your lure. As you get further closer to winter, the bite's
gonna start to wane. It'll start to slow down. Those faster moving baits, they're not apt
to hit them as much. That's when I flip over to using a jig or
a tube bait. A tube bait can be a real sleeper bait this
time of year because a tube mimics bait fish but it also mimics crawdads. Crawdads are protein-rich snacks that those
bass love to eat. Perfect bait to be throwing closer to winter
with those jigs. As you get... One of the things I've noticed that has a
tendency to happen in the late fall, is those fish, sometimes they'll just kind of mouth
the jig. They'll grab them and they'll spit it out
really quick. When that happens, that's when the tube bait
shines. It's a little bit smaller profile and it's
soft. When they bite onto it, they really don't
feel that hardware that you have in a jig. They tend to hold onto it a little bit longer. It gives me a little bit more time to set
the hook. As for colors, fish white or shad color, any
kind of white colored bait, white crankbaits, white spinnerbaits. If you're fishing a topwater bait, use a topwater
that's got a white belly on it. White works really, really well.
Transcript
Video11:41
14:25
Where Do Bass Go During The Fall To Winter Transition? (And How To Catch Them) by TacticalBassin → will help pull those fish in but I can't emphasize enough how slow I want you to fish these little baits this time of year and especially as it gets colder the jig always a huge factor in the winter months you can fish it ultra slow I actually believe that a jig will work in colder water than a swim bait the swim bait bite will stop the jig will keep going all the way down in the low to mid 30s as long as you fish it ultra slow I believe that as that water gets really cold nothing in the water is really moving fast so when you're really dragging bottom you're fishing for those lethargic fish that are sitting right down in the cover and the slower you move that bait the better because it gives some time to just look at it and decide if that's something they want to eat and come down and get it if you're hopping it the way I like to fish it in the summertime that big double hop if you're doing that stuff I don't think it looks natural to those fish because not very many things are moving on the bottom that quickly in the winter so I focus on just that slow pull just pull it and stop really simple football jig is perfect this time of year double tail grub now will link all the gear down in the video description
Transcript
Video02:49
05:41
How To Catch Bass During The Fall To Winter Transition (Cold Water Baits) by TacticalBassin → baits okay I use big baits big swim baits then I use bait that draw reaction response or a feed response from a bass and then I use slow moving finesse type baits let's start with those slow moving baits uh and I'm really breaking this down just as far as I can because I want you to understand these Concepts and I want you to fish with confidence my slow moving baits the colder it gets I just keep narrowing down narrowing down narrowing down techniques just fall off the back of the wagon until there's just a few things that I throw as we really get into cold cold water and those things that I end up at when it comes to soft baits or slow moving baits is is literally two one is a jig now I have two styles of jig this is a finesse football with a curly tail grub on it so there's a five inch Yamamoto double tail in there and then the other one is this little tiny micro jig this kitec micro jig I've got a little z-man craws on there all this is is just two different sizes okay if the fish are more aggressive I'm getting more bites during the day I'll go to the full size jig I feel like I get more really big bites on that but if I just feel like hey I don't even know if I'm going to get bit
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