Winter: Jiggin' Spoons

Jigging spoons make a great presentation for winter bass suspended against deep-water vertical structure such as ledges, channel walls, pilings, and standing timber. Rig a medium-heavy spinning or baitcasting outfit with 12-pound line and tie on a jigging spoon that imitates the local baitfish. When you're working open water, cast away from the boat and let the lure drop all the way to the bottom. When you're in structure that might hang you up, like timber, let the lure drop free-spool to the bottom. Work the lure right up against your target structure, lifting your rod tip to swim the lure up, and dropping the tip to let it flutter down again. Watch your line carefully. Bass will usually hit while the lure is falling.

Winter: Warm Inlets

Not all lakes offer this pattern, but when you can find a warm-water inlet in the wintertime, it's very likely you'll also find some great bass fishing. Look for culverts and small creek in-flows that might be carrying in rainwater or run-off from flood flats outside the lake. This water is usually much warmer than the stuff that's been sitting in the lake all winter, and bass will flock to these inlets to hold in the more comfortable currents. Position your boat just within casting distance of the in-flow. Rig a heavy-action baitcasting outfit with 15 pound line, and tie on a jig-n-pig. Cast all the way to the mouth of the in-flow and retrieve with the current. Use the jig to feel out bottom structure. Bass will be holding tight to the best structure in the warmest current.

Fall: Flippin' Breaks

As bass move back to deep water in autumn, they often concentrate at the first breaks between feeding areas and the open lake. A good pattern here is flippin' brush piles, fallen timber, and isolated weed patches that border these breaks with a jig-n-pig. Rig your flippin' outfit with 25-pound line or heavier and flip your jig into pockets in the thickest cover. Let the jig drop to the bottom and sit there for a couple of seconds. Then give it a hop and let it sink again. Do this three or four times in each pocket. There's a good chance that a bass will nail the lure as it falls, so watch your line for the slightest twitch. When the strike comes, hit the fish hard and drag him out of there fast.

Autumn: Big Cranks

Over the summer, the lake's populations of crawfish and baitfish have had a chance to do a lot of growing. And now that fall is settling in and food sources are growing scarce, bass tend to be looking for the biggest meals they can find. Big crankbaits can be a great way to get their attention. Look for rock piles, stump fields, and other known crawdad areas in 5 to 25 feet of water. Position your boat parallel to rows of stumps or linear breaks; work rock piles from a variety of different angles. Tie on a half-ounce crankbait that best matches the color of the crawdads in the water. Bang your lure into rocks and stumps along the bottom.

Autumn: Green Weeds

 As autumn progresses, the weeds in the lake slowly die off. Because much of the food chain resides in live weeds, those isolated patches of green become more and more important as the season moves along. Bass will congregate in and around these remaining green weedbeds looking for baitfish. To fish this pattern, locate your boat parallel to the weedline of an isolated green bed. Rig a baitcasting outfit with 12-pound line or heavier, and tie on a crankbait that best imitates the lake's main food source-robably crawfish, shad, or some other kind of baitfish. Work the edges of the healthiest weeds using a steady retrieve with occasional twitches.

Summer: Thick Weeds

On hot, sunny days, bass often seek the cool water and shade beneath a thick weed canopy. One great way to get their attention is with a weedless spoon rigged with a grub or twin-tail trailer. Rig a heavy-action, 7-foot baitcasting outfit with 20-pound line or stronger. Cast your spoon as far into the weedbed as possible and begin a steady retrieve right over the top of the weeds. It's important to keep the lure moving at a constant speed so bass will be able to track its movement. When the lure comes to a break in the canopy, that's when the fish will strike. Let the bass take the lure, then slam the rod tip back and haul the fish to the boat. If you give him a chance to get his head down, he'll tie you up in the weeds.

Spring: Post-Spawn

After the spawn, female bass scatter to various depths and cover. They become extremely finicky as they recuperate from the long nesting process. But the males stay close to the schools of new-born fry to protect them from predators.


One of the best post-spawn patterns is to work the weeds, brush, docks, and other structures where big males will be guarding offspring. Swim a Texas-rigged salamander right through these areas, using a heavy-action spinning or baitcasting rod rigged with 12-pound line. Protective males will be very aggressive.

Spring: Spawn

Most bass pros would advise against fishing for spawning fish. When you hook a nesting bass, you put her eggs at risk to predators. And protecting the fishery is a serious angler's first concern. Besides, you can usually find pre-spawn bass in cooler sections of the lake, or post-spawn bass in warmer sections of the lake.

When you're tournament fishing and don't have a choice but to go after spawners, Texas-rigged softbaits, especially salamanders, worked near spawning beds are one of your best bets. Sight fish over the beds when the water is clear enough. Use a heavy-action spinning or baitcasting outfit rigged with 12-pound line. Throw your salamander beyond the beds and let it sink. Then swim it slowly across the bottom, right through the nesting areas. Protective females will attack the lure just to get rid of it.

Spring: Pre-Spawn

 One of the best producers for pre-spawn bass is the jig-n-pig flipped into heavy cover. Concentrate on brush piles, fallen timber, and green weeds near likely spawning areas. Also work any cover outside bays and coves to find bass moving from their deep-water winter holds to their shallow-water spawning beds.

For this technique, use a flippin' stick rigged with 20- or 25-pound line. Flip your lure into pockets in the thickest cover and let it drop to the bottom. Let it sit for a couple of seconds, then lift it and let it drop again. Do this three or four times in each pocket. When you get a strike, come back on your rod tip with everything you've got and haul the fish out of there.