Who would have thought we’d be bass fishing in February and early March in Michigan? In this KVD In The Zone, Kevin VanDam shows Cold Water Bass Fishing Techniques and how to catch bass in northern lakes when the water temperatures are in the low 40’s. Scuffing the bottom with a Strike King Rage Swimmer is a deadly technique when largemouth bass are schooled up in cold water.
Strike King Rage Swimmer : https://bassproshops.vzck.net/da76kq
Lew’s Custom Lite spinning reel : https://bassproshops.vzck.net/5g74Y9
Lew’s / KVD fishing rods: https://bassproshops.vzck.net/LXZ94o
Not many times in Michigan do you get to go out in February at all. As a matter of fact, in my lifetime, this is the first time I’ve been able to fish on soft water in a boat. My first trip was February 5th. Now, we’re here at the end of February, we got a big warm front, and I had to get out in the water.
Early Fishing Success
There’s one! I think that one’s a bass. We have us a smallmouth. He is cold, man. That water is 43°, but we got a warming trend right now, and we got the wind blowing. That’s one of the biggest things. He’s not a big guy or anything, but when you got a window like this, I mean, it is the end of February here in Michigan.
I’ve never even been able to get out in a boat this time of year. Got out here today really excited. The air temperature is supposed to get almost to 70°. That just doesn’t happen in February.
Adapting to Cold Water: Cold Water Bass Fishing
I’m thinking power fishing, you know, Red Eye Shad jerk bait. But as soon as I saw that water temperature, I’m like, it’s still really cold. I started fishing the typical spring pattern. You want to be on the northerly banks; the wind was blowing out of the south. It’s pushing that warm water in.
Those fish should be pulling up on those edges. I caught a couple of pike and a smallmouth bass on a jerk bait, but it just wasn’t there. The water was still 41°. Even with the wind blowing and the warming temperatures, the lake was cold. These fish are still locked into their winter pattern.
As bad as I want them to be up there shallow and up on those flats, the water is still cold. They’re still where they wintered at. They’re going to be where the food is at.
Finding Success with Jerk Baits
When I caught the first one on a jerk bait, I’m like, yep, I know they’re not going to be alone. There’s going to be more than one. I was getting a bite almost every cast there, and I’m seeing them on my Mega Live. I’m seeing all the bluegill, and I knew that I’d found them.
After catching half a dozen on a jerk bait, I knew I had to try some other things. I threw the Ned rig out there and immediately caught one on that. But I love a Rage Swimmer. A Rage Swimmer is one of those baits that are super finesse.
You can trigger bass that are really inactive with it, but you can still cover water. I’m fishing it down on the bottom, scooting it along. Looks like a perch, looks like a bluegill, looks like a crawfish, looks like something good to eat.
Continued Success with the Rage Swimmer
Got him! Gosh, still a lot of fun. Man, not a big one, but got back from Texas last week. You know, got to see some great pre-spawn action down there. But up here in Michigan, that’s still, I mean, in my lifetime, I’ve never been out in the boat this time of year in February. It just doesn’t happen.
Come back, you know they’re going to be grouped up this time of year. These northern lakes have big populations. I think that’s a good one. Look at that head shake. God, he felt bigger than that. Just can’t even hardly jump, but sure are pretty.
Strategies for Early Season Fishing: Winter bass fishing techniques
The thing I love to do, you know, early season like this is definitely fish this time of the day. I mean, you don’t have to worry about getting out early. I do. I like the early bite, no doubt. I mean, right at sunrise, there’s always a good window where they’re biting. And then after that, it seems like, you know, the afternoon, late in the day. So, you know, just get out there, let that sun do its thing.
Even though the water’s 43° right now, that sun is radiating anything dark on the bottom. And that’s what I look for, areas that got dead vegetation, pad stems, dark bottom, even just rocks, anything like that that will get that radiant heat to it.
Depth changes, depressions, little ditches, things like that, even in these northern natural lakes, it’s what you look for. In Texas, it was all about finding these little drains and ditches into these spawning flats. It’s the same thing here in Michigan.
You find something where it’s a little bit deeper with warmer water all the way around it, and they’re going to be in there. They’re right in the center of this little ditch right here. Great time of the year right now to get out and get a lot of bites.
Dialing in the Pattern
Look at that, he barely bit. They’ve been biting weird like that. I caught that one right in the bottom jaw, right there. Little 325 Rage Swimmer, KVD Magic, something natural colored. That’s what they’re feeding on. When I grafted into this little depression right here, you could just see the bluegill on the Mega Side Imaging.
As soon as I dropped the trolling motor on the 360 and on my Mega Live, it was just wall to wall bluegill. That’s where they’re going to be at. That’s what they’re eating. That Rage Swimmer, there’s something about that slow wag of that tail that is so good. I mean, just good solid ones, black spots on the tail, healthy.
Optimizing Bait Presentation
Once I started casting around with that Rage Swimmer, I really dialed it in. There’s a pretty big hole that these bluegill were in, but the bass were really locked into just one corner. It was right where the wind was pushing into it, which would make sense.
Anything where it’s going to create some current, a little bit of a funnel, a little bit of an edge leading up onto this flat, that’s where those fish are going to be stacked. So many people love swimbaits, and so do I.
This Rage Swimmer is a great bait, but they don’t fish them down on the bottom like we do up in the north. It’s so night and day difference, the number of bites you get. Look at how he ate that thing, all the way down.
All I’m doing is just scooting that along the bottom, just kind of slow hopping it, because pretty much everything up here lives like that. It’s just a good solid keeper.
But the way this thing works on that jig head, it’s just kicking up mud and sand. They’re really acclimated down there anyways right now to the bottom, and it looks like a perch or a crawfish or anything.
That’s where most of their forage is at. There are times when the bluegills are suspended, and then you can take that Rage Swimmer and throw it through the water column. But early in the spring like this and really most of the year, this is how I like to fish them up here in these clear water places.
They’re not relating to shad, and all the forage that they eat is down there. So, scooting that thing or just scuffing it along the bottom is really key.
Testing New Gear
I always like testing out new baits and new products and things like that. I got one of these new Custom Lite 200 series shallow spool reels from L.
The idea behind having a shallow spool is that you don’t need to put near as much line on it to keep it completely full for the best cutability. But the other thing that I learned is it really manages the line super well.
I’ve got it spooled up with 8 lb. braid and then just a fluorocarbon leader. The way that line lays on there with that shallower spool, it just comes off and goes on perfect every time. I don’t get any wind knots, don’t really have any problems.
For bass fishing, I’m not going to have a bass ever strip 100 yards of line off, so it saves you line. Again, just being able to manage it so much better, it really handles the line well.
A Productive Day on the Water
For only fishing a couple of hours, having a good day, I caught a whole bunch of fish. Most of them were just good solid keepers, but I caught a few up to three lbs. It just felt really good to be able to get out early season like this.
The best times are actually coming. I love it when that water temperature starts getting into the mid to upper 40s. You get into March up here, late March, you’re going to start catching them with a Thunder Cricket.
Red Eye Shad is just dynamite. That’s when a lot of these fish are going to move out of the basin, move out of these wintering areas, and start patrolling these flats. That’s when spring fishing gets really good up here in the North.
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