Will Bass Hit Topwater When It’s Really Cold?
I’m a topwater junkie but it’s not like I live in Florida or Texas where it stays warm all year round. Nevertheless, I have access to a power plant lake that allows me to keep the surface bite going through the coldest months. My absolute best days have come in November, but I’ve also gotten on really good bites with buzzbaits and walk-the-dog style lures in December and January.
Even in places where the water is not kept warm artificially, under the right circumstances you can have a banner day with a spook, plopper or buzzbait. It seems to be particularly likely on places like the Ozarks lakes, where a wintertime low pressure system fires up the bass.
For those of us who’ve followed Bassmaster for a long time, it’s hard to forget the 1992 Oklahoma Invitational on Grand Lake. In the prior year’s Invitational at Grand the temps got as low as 11 degrees and Ron Shuffield won with a black and blue jig. It wasn’t much better when they returned – despite only slightly better conditions, Jim Morton used a Spunky Bug buzzbait in less than a foot of water during a frigid November week to win by over 6 pounds
Here's the recap of that event:
Over three decades later, frigid wather topwater fishing still isn’t widespread, not should you expect it to be. Still, there are windows when it opens up and invites you in. Here are several experts talking about when, where and how to make it part of your game plan:
Ben Milliken
Randy Blaukat
KVD
Tactical Bassin
Dustin Connell
