Bring blade to the next bass fight : The boat cover was stiff with morning frost; the dock beside the ramp slick with ice. Exposing any part of your body to the chilly air, even for a minute, brought a rosy red color to the surface. It might have been a good morning to stay inside, but sometimes there's no stopping the fishing bug.
It used to be that bassin' was a three-season game: spring, summer and some of fall. But more and more anglers are learning that bass bite during every month on the calendar, and the late-fall and winter seasons are as good as any.
Here in the North, we ice fish for largemouth, and this hardwater angling is wonderfully good. But before the ice sets in - or when it doesn't - there's still hot activity for largemouth, if you know how.
Those who have dealt with frigid soft water like a couple of lure types. Jigs are useful, so are lipless crankbaits and jerkbaits. But there is another, an old-school bait, that is probably better at catching frosty fish, though it is widely misunderstood.
As a type, these lures are referred to as "blade baits."
Blade baits get that name because they resemble the tip of a knife, reassuringly a fillet knife. With a snap or split ring at the top and a pair of treble hooks, one beneath the belly and another at the tail, a blade bait is a formidable looking lure.
The problem is blade baits are best fished in a way that separates them from other double-treble baits. Though they can be retrieved on a straight line, they're better worked with a fluttering/dead-stick motion - a retrieve that's not in many anglers' lexicon.
On this cold morning I found the water temperature between 41 and 43 degrees in the back bay of a tidal river. The water was definitely clear, all the algae and muck that color a river in summer were completely gone.
Over a submerged rock pile I tried a jig and trailer and felt a solid bite. But after thirty minutes without another, I got restless. Reaching into a nearly-forgotten compartment I pulled out one of those knifey-looking blade baits.
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