Bass Finally Show Themselves After Cold Front Transition

Creek channel bank with medium rocks towards the backs of big creeks and just inside of main points and secondary points with similar rock – banks along a creek channel swing were most consistent. Jig on bottom slow but moving and jerk bait count down 10 seconds before twitch.

After struggling to get bites the past couple of days, fishing a couple of hours on each Friday and Saturday in the bitter cold, today the fish finally showed themselves and finally bit. Friday and Saturday were very tough as the water temp dropped quite a bit, most of the large gizzard shad seem to have left the big rock banks. With the water level still higher than normal for this time of year, the fish seemed to be very scattered. Friday and Saturday I caught a few short fish each day on the Osage from the 19-17mm mostly targeting points with wind, this fish bite which can be a very good one in the winter is either just not there yet or the fish were well off the banks. This morning, I consulted with two of my good friends and Bassing Bob experts, James Dill (ace w Jig) and Marcus Sykora (ace with jerk bait) to see what they suggest. I got on the water about noon with a game plan from each of them that produced bites. James suggested the jig on smaller rock banks in the backs of creeks, fishing the jig from to bank to 8′ of water, paying close attention to the channel swings on my graph and changes in the bank rock….on my second cast I caught the 3 pounder on the jig. That pattern held up as I caught about 5 fish and the obligatory daily drum. Marcus suggested a similar pattern for the jerk bait, the back 1/3-1/2 end of a creek, watch graph for channel swings, look for transition banks with medium sized rocks and 30-40 degree banks with bait fish near or in channel. When I picked up the jerk bait, it took awhile, but finally that bite was on just as he suggested. I think the bottom line for me with the advice from the experts and as Marcus and James always have said, “go where the fish are going”. It sounds basic, but as we know many fish have been in the backs of creeks as the water has been high for sometime now, as the cold has begun to set in, those fish are moving out from those shallow areas and they travel along creek channels. I am anxious to get on the water tomorrow to continue to check this pattern. While no hawgs today, it just felt good to have a consistent bite and a bit of confidence fishing.