Ott DeFoe
The first thing that comes to my mind when a cold front hits is that I’ll have to slow down my fishing. The second thing I remember is to go where the bass have been the day before the cold front hits. Bass don’t immediately vacate the area where they’ve been holding when a cold front arrives. So, I return to the areas where I've caught fish the day before. I fish much slower and work every piece of cover or structure much slower than I have even on the previous day.
If you're on the lake, and there’s an extreme temperature drop, one of the things to remember is that the bass can feel it before you do. For the most success, immediately start slowing down your retrieves and the way you fish. Then, I almost immediately downsize my lures. For instance, if I’ve been catching bass on a big crankbait when that cold front hits, I’ll begin fishing a smaller jerkbait which is my first thought and my first approach to dealing with the weather change.
When a cold front hits, I don’t change colors of my baits that have been catching bass. I’ll primarily fish the same color of bait that I’ve been using before the weather change. If I’ve been burning the crankbait or giving it a steady retrieve, when I switch to the jerkbait, I’ll crank it down, stop it, jerk it and let it sit still for a three to five count. Then I’ll jerk it, stop it and allow it to sit still again.
When a cold front hits, most bass fishermen believe the bass stop biting, but that’s not true. Getting a bite may be more difficult. However, if you slow your presentation down, downsize your lure and fish it with a slower retrieve, you can make bass bite. Remember, when professional anglers go to a tournament and the weather is bad or changes, we’re still required to catch bass regardless of the weather or the water conditions.
The best way to learn how to fish a cold front for bass is to take any opportunity you can to try and catch bass when a cold front hits this spring. There’s no surefire way to always catch bass on a cold front. However, these tactics and lures are the ones I try first.
Fishing in bad weather presents its challenges. But any day fishing is a good day.
