What a winter blast!

Even in Florida it’s colder than a (insert favorite reference to a well digger or witch here).

But, since y’all like to come down here and start the tournament season way too early every year, we’ve discovered ways to catch fish, quality fish – tournament winning fish – under any conditions.

Tournaments are the best laboratory for the development and exchange of ideas on how to catch ‘em. Kevin VanDam is among the best ever at refining those ideas into cold, hard tournament winnings.
Here’s a great tip he personally shared with me years ago about catching cold water bass in my own home state. I’ve won thousands of dollars doing this during the prespawn period in Florida and I’m sharing it with you now:

“Hey Kevin,” I opened the conversation as he readied his tackle to take on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain and a stout field of fellow Bassmaster Elite Series pros, “when it gets really cold down here, we often slow down and flip or drag soft plastics, but I imagine you’ll be doing something more fun and likely more productive? Lipless crankbait maybe?”

“You bet,” came the reply. “I’m going to work offshore grass beds, hydrilla mostly, with a Redeye Shad. It swims down when paused instead of dropping like a rock. It has a shimmy action that scatters light like a real baitfish. That combination of a slow rate of fall and the lifelike action can be critical in cold, clear water anywhere we fish but these Florida bass can be extra picky, so it makes even more of a difference here.”

“Color can be important here too,” I noted, “what’s the choice for this tourney?”

“Chrome sexy shad,” said VanDam.

It’s a perfect choice. Chrome/blue back and gold/black back have long been staples in Florida and the chrome base with a sexy shad overcoat combines the best of those hues.

If you manage to skate your tow vehicle and boat over the icy roads of North Florida (don’t get to say that very often) and find yourself fishing in Central or South Florida as winter grudgingly gives way to spring, toss a Redeye Shad around grass, submerged and standing, and intercept those big females as they begin to make moves toward the spawning flats, coves and canals.

Remember to lift and drop the lure letting it flutter to the tips of whatever grass you can find. Violent, dip-and-rip form is neither needed nor productive under cold conditions. Just lift and drop and stay in contact with the bait. Fluorocarbon line will transmit vibrations, or lack thereof, even when slack, but if you use braided line – and I often do – be sure to follow the lure with your rod tip to keep the line semi-tight for the purpose of bite detection as slack braid doesn’t telegraph anything, but it will float the lure higher in the water at a given speed, and around grass it blends in nicely so there’s no reason not to use it, especially considering the extra strength it lends when fighting the biggest bass of the year from heavy cover.

You might want to dial back the rod action to a medium heavy or even use a glass or composite cranking stick with a parabolic bend when fishing braided line and any lure that sports treble hooks. This will keep your trophy pinned to the bait during that critical moment when you reach to grab it at boatside – the moment when most big fish are lost. My favorite rod for this these days is a Lew’s Custom Lite (model CLBJR) – it’s 7’4” with a medium heavy backbone and a moderately fast tip. While it boasts just enough stiffness to pop my bait out of the clingy grass tips, it also has enough give it the action to not rip the hooks out while landing fish.

Bundle up and come fish with us in the Snowshine State. And bring those rattling lipless crankbaits!