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Without doubt you should take the time to practice this bass fishing
technique and not only will it make your a better bass fisher but it will give you more enjoyment when your out fishing during
the cold winter months. If you desire to master bass fishing then this is a technique that you must learn.
If you do decide to put the effort in you will learn very quickly how to master the art of the fall and winter
bass fishing. By taking the time to learn techniques you will be rewarded with exceptional smallmouth bass.
A fact that you must remember is that it takes a smallmouth bass about eight to ten years to gain a weight in excess of five
lbs. To make sure you preserve the smallmouth bass you should always practice responsible catch and released techniques.
The cold weather will always put bass fish into their
winter patterns. You will need to forget all about spinner baits, rips baits and crank baits. The time will have come to break
out all the finesse gear. And as mentioned earlier, one of the most successful bass fishing techniques to get the bass to
bite during the colder months is splitshotting. It is quite a simple technique to master and will not require you to invest
much in termainal tackle.
One of the hardest things to teach an angler in learning the splitshot bass
fishing technique is being able to teach them how to detect the bite. The bite will always vary depending on the activity
level of the fish. Sometimes the bass fish will pop the bait hard and it will be easy to tell when they bite but then
on other occasions there will quick tick and then nothing after that.
And last but not least there
is the pressure bite which is dreaded by many fishermen. The pressure generally takes 2 forms:
The first way to
describe a pressure bite is you will feel a slight resistance to pulling your line forward. This is somewhat like hooking
a soft, spongy rubber band. The second pressure bite is when you lose contact with the bottom.
A bass
has picked up your lure and is just following along with your forward movement. This is why it is so important to maintain
bottom contact. Once you realize that you've lost the feel of the weight against the bottom, and your depth hasn't
changed significantly, you have to put two and two together and get ready to set the hook.
The preferred
hook set for this technique is called a sweep set. Once you have detected a fish holding your bait drop the rod tip towards
the fish, reel down to the point of feeling resistance (or just shy of that
point) and 'sweep' the rod horizontally away from the fish.
If the rod loads up good and
you're sure that you've got the hook in the fish just fight him to the boat.
If you set the hook and it didn't feel solid you may want to set the hook a second time. The drag on your reel should
be set tight enough that it doesn't give on the initial hook set. But it shouldn't be set so tight that a larger fish
can't take the line if needed.
When fishing for bass the best spots will never be in weeds or
cover, this is why you should always use weed less lures whenever possible. This will help to save you money as you will not
lose as many lures.
Bass fish do exist in a variety of different temperatures but the do tend to be
less frequent on the cold front. Fish will always tend to swim deeper during the sunniest time of day. Sun does seems to effect
bass fishing in a negative way. Try to seek out the more shady spots or areas with deeper water and cover.
Then if you are fishing on a overcast day you should try and find shallower water. When in cold waters you should reel in
your bait much slower and fish generally tend to react much slower in colder temperatures.
Another
popular technique that is used by many angles is the freshwater fish identification. This is handy knowledge to know if you
ever find yourself watching bass fishing pro or listening to commentary during a fishing program you will know they are speaking
the truth.
To become a great angler you will need
to learn many bass fishing techniques. Remember to practice each one often and you will find yourself getting better and better.
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