Bass Fishing: Early Winter Transition: VFJ28

[@cooterpolluter]

I promise I mean this as a compliment. This is such a nerdy video. Thanks for this.

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, IC. Yeah, there's a real world out there that's for sure! Not sure what else to do about it. Left chuck-n-wind, hoping-the-fish-will-come-to-me, fishing a long time ago. Might as well be playing the slot machines at that point. Some people have complained that their head's hurt after talking fishing with me. I guess I've been doing it so long that it just doesn't hurt anymore. :) Cheers, Paul

[@fishingwithvin]

I'm always learning something new from your great educational videos an I really appreciate what you do!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, NTF. Thanks so much. Best, Paul

[@striperhunter-ic2wt]

Very nice video journal, thanks for putting this out. I hope you and your family have a great holiday season.

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Morty. Thanks. We will.My wife is a teacher, and son a student. So both will be home for the holidays. Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season too. Paul

[@guywithagoprofishingshow3011]

you are a huge wealth of knowledge,Paul&along side a lot of commentors;i too love winter bass fishing.It forces me to slow down as an angler & I feel compelled to check up on these fish that I declare my "home waters" through the seasonal changes here in West Virginia.I just realized our Lab waters are very similar-dish pan and an average of 5 ft depth with an 8 ft deep spot in the main basin.structureless but full of vegetation that turns into a green strand of goo in winter.I just caught a 4 1/2 lb Largemouth 2 weeks ago on an 8th oz chatterbait..(cold water presentation=downsizing big time)so there are some big gals in there

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Brian. Thanks. Great to have another kindred spirit along. Yes, winter bass fishing is a neat challenge. Pretty much requires some real fishing. Love it. Good to hear you're catching. That 1/8 Chatterbait is a good winter bait for me too, I use them similar to a light bladebait. Still playing around with winter lure options here; More to discover. Cheers, Paul

[@robertbrost7777]

I see you are swimming your Ned lure. I tend to try to stay near the bottom with mine due to my lake being inhabited by Pickerel. They will beat a bass to a moving lure every time in the Winter!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Yeah, pickeral are pretty active in cold water. I usually start swimming; If the fish are willing. No pickeral here either, although I did love catching them back in NY.

[@michaeltichonuk2176]

Most Excellent once again! You really captured the brilliant colors of the bass! Well done, Paul! Visiting El Centro Ca ,now, then Presscott Valley after Christmas. It will be very interesting, and a challenge, to learn if or what subtle differences there will be from my Ga fishing. From desert to mountains... Have a Great Holiday season and Best wishes !! ...man, those bass are magnificent in their winter colors...whew..

[@ismaelsolis8494]

Hey Michael I’ve fished sun beam lake in el centro ca. Great little lake. Just to let you know the lake is divided in to two sides. The lake closest the fwy is tough to fish. Only caught two fish from that side. The other side is stacked with bass. I caught most of my fish with a senko green pumpkin on a shakey head and small white keithechs swim bait. Good luck out there.

[@michaeltichonuk2176]

@@ismaelsolis8494 thanks you for the info!! I will put it to use this week! I had some canals close to sisters but the have converted to underground pipes recently. I'll let ya know how I do!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Michael. They are especially pretty things this time of year. Those metallic gold/bronze/olive backs, metallic yellow sides and flanks, and pronounced markings, are tough to capture via GoPro. Wish I could carry a better camera, but don't want to risk it in the boat. Are you on your "apocalypse" run? Sounds interesting. Let us know how it pans out. Have a great holiday. Sounds good already. Cheers, Paul

[@michaeltichonuk2176]

Paul, located some open canals. Carp are plentiful. Canals are combination of cement troughs (solid bottoms and side) and soft shallow flowing. Carp will be new spieces. And new environment, desert. I just have to fish Gila River. Yep, Fishing through the Apocalypse! It very well could be my Apolcoapse...certainly a major change!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Carp are fun! Spooky critters. Live bait is usually most effective, but they can also take small jigs up close (they are myopic), and I've caught a few on Mepp's Aglia's (#2) fished slow, just so the blade is revolving.

[@davidbaker9271]

Awesome video i caught my pb in 46 degree water 6lb

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hey, David. WTG! Yes, the cold water period is the best period to tie into the biggest bass. It's often a long one, and we often have it to ourselves. Paul

[@stanmack6171]

Should’ve popped me some popcorn 🍿 Your videos are always educational and great from beginning to end. Thanks for posting!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Stan. Thanks. Wish I could be more consistent, then we could all have the popcorn ready. Cheers, Paul

[@HookLife]

Another excellently educational VFJ. Well done Paul. Cheers 🍻

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, WWF. Thanks. Iced up now but I got some fishing in just prior. Editing now. Cheers, Paul

[@robertjaynes4322]

Loved the video man thanks for making these VFJ to help us !!!!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Robert. Glad you found it helpful. Cheers, Paul

[@robertjaynes4322]

@@thenatureoffishing7591 hey paul , I love jig fishing are there any tips you can give e me yo help me catch these lethargic bass ??

[@bitenbass]

New sub from NJ nice info

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, BW. Great! Glad to have you along. If you haven't perused things here yet, my channel is (currently) focused on Largemouth Bass, and has 3 "playlists": Documentaries, Video Fishing Journals, and Tackle Know-How. I see my Video Fishing Journals as an archivable library, that can be referred back to each year, as seasons roll around again and again. All seasons are similar, but, each journal hits different water body types, and confronts differing conditions & circumstances (“C&C”) that we must read and adapt to. I hope you are into the details, as that’s what we dig into here. This is not a vlog, and it takes me time to present this stuff thoroughly and, hopefully, clearly. I get vids out as time permits. Feel free to participate with questions, comments, and observations; I'm here to learn too. And, feel free to share with like-minded friends. The more the merrier. Cheers, Paul

[@bitenbass]

@@thenatureoffishing7591 very cool looking forward to checking them out!! Thanks!!

[@LargeMouthLunkin]

Great information and classic reels!!!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, LLM. Yes, I'm still using some classic/retro gear. They do the job. I don't think of them as classic or retro, they're just my stuff. :) Cheers, Paul

[@anokangler]

WOW. Thanks for another amazing upload!! Newly subbed and looking forward to getting caught up!! I wanted to stress the importance of your content because, I feel, there is a huge focus on gear and technique while bass behavior is often SO overlooked. Thanks again for such informative videos!!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Jam. Great to hear from another kindred spirit. This is the kind of info I always wanted. Sometimes we just gotta do stuff ourself! :) I can understand why there is such a focus on gear and technique; I love that stuff too. What's actually going on in nature is tougher to get at though. Luckily, I have the nerd gene right next to my fishing gene! Focusing on gear and technique will catch us plenty of bass. I've just wanted to know the why's beneath the what's, where's and how's. Cheers, Paul

[@anokangler]

@@thenatureoffishing7591 absolutley! I didn't mean to come off as bashing gear and technique it's just an amazing feeling when you are able to identify certain behaviors and base gear and technique on those variables. Thanks again Paul for sharing your wealth of knowledge!! 🎣🎣

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

@@anokangler I didn't see you as bashing gear and technique at all. We're in the same boat, understanding the fish helps us with our gear and technique choices. 🎣

[@kcbennie]

Man, I love these videos!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Thanks, kcbennie!

[@duanemccarron9549]

Valuable info right there! Lived up north longer than I care to admit. I remember well those fishing-less months. Not into ice fishing, lol. Happily now in Fla . . year-round bass angling! Prespawn is on and they are chewin'!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Duane. Sounds like a great situation there. Luckily, my iced period is relatively short. I have friends who're dealing with 5hr days now. If they aren't ice-fishing or hunting, the winter can be a long one. I like both, luckily. But, I'm pretty happy where I am with such a short ice period. I do cut holes in the ice nowadays, but only to stick cameras down. Neat to see how northern bass deal with that. Good luck in your fishing. Cheers, Paul

[@jimmyjamesluciano]

were you swimming a 3” senko? 2/0 ewg? also... what’s this interesting flotation device you operate with flippers and waiders??

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, James. That was a weedless "Ned-Rig", an Elaztech grub (half a stick worm) on a 1/16oz Brewer Classic Slider Head. And I was fishing out of a "float tube", great for small waters. Cheers, Paul

[@weswarden2216]

Winter bass fishing, believe it or not is one of my favorite times to fish, lakes r empty so i basically have the whole place to myself. U can catch some giants too if u kno what your doin. Really separates boys from men lol. Great vid man keep em comin!

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Wes. Agreed. I do like having waters to myself too. That may be part of what my jungle warfare series was about. And, yes, bass are at their fattest, and most vulnerable, during the cold water period. Paul

[@gizmocarr3093]

The Nature of Fishing Some things I noticed in the video relate to discoveries I found too. Bass like green weeds in winter if they still exist. They provide warming water and better oxygen content. They also harbor hiding places for small prey like tiny crawfish and minnows. One small clump of green weeds is enough to draw bass. A pond full of weeds is even better. I never checked the oxygen levels, but only guessed that they would be higher. Fishing a shallow stocked trout pond this winter I started catching bass and trout around green patches of weeds. As the season went further into winter and the water-cooled to 38°, I started catching more bass than trout. I even caught bass by casting my lure on to the ice forming in shallow water and pulling it off letting it drop into the edges of green weed patches. I consider as you do line diameter is the most important factor over others. I discovered using green braided 6-pound line with a diameter of .005” of an inch worked better without a mono or fluorocarbon leader. The small diameter and its tendency to float helped because it slowed the sink rate and let me suspend the lure longer in shallow water. I noticed you used a Charlie Brewer Slider jig hook and a TRD worm. I was much more successful using 1/16th ounce jigs with a two-inch paddle tail swimbait. I used Do-Nothing worms for years and they are sadly over looked currently, but so effective it is almost a secret few anglers consider. The rod and reel I used to fish these tiny baits consisted of a 5’ 6” ultralight rod and a BFS baitcasting reel. This is not to say spinning tackle would work just as well. It is a little late now; come spring and the ice melts, it’s likely a good place to start catching bass. One bass spit out a few minnows even smaller than the swimbait and seem to be goring on them. That made it a no-brainer what I needed to do.

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Gizmo. Interesting comments. The devil is often in the details. I'm a Brewer disciple back in the day; Still am. Yes, UL is often the way to go in the cold. Have a nice holiday, Paul

[@gizmocarr3093]

@@thenatureoffishing7591 I enjoy your videos and consider your fishing information both helpful and entertaining. Thank you for kind reply.

[@FishingFreshies]

SWEET!!!!

[@richclark7475]

I love your videos and I am glad that I found you. I live in Boulder and have been trying to figure out where the ponds that you fish are located. Are all of the ponds in your videos public or a combination of public and private. Thanks

[@thenatureoffishing7591]

Hi, Rich. Thanks! I am not disclosing locations, for several reasons, the biggest one being that I do not want local anglers I share waters with to feel as though I'm disclosing "their" home waters. In general, I'm not a secret-keeper, bc there is so much fishing to be had out there, in both space and time. And, to be frank, the waters I fish, choose for certain outings, are not necessarily the best waters out there. I fish for different, often more obscure, reasons than many anglers. The waters I hit do not offer much more than other urban/semi-urban waters along the Front Range corridor, from Pueblo to Ft Collins. Trust me, there's a ton of good bass water out there. If you do recognize locations, great. Happy to see other anglers out there. Paul

[@richclark7475]

I completely understand. I look forward to the next video. Cheers!