Anglers in the West are blessed with decent weather in the winter that affords us with the opportunity to fish for bass twelve months out of the year. During the winter, most parts of the country are having conversations about winterizing their boats and dealing with reality of lakes freezing over. Bass fishing is long been viewed as a warm water sport where anglers usually put their rods and reels away during the colder winter months in favor of a hunting stand.
Not so in the West.
Our winters consist of bass migrating from shallow water into deeper water where they can usually be caught. This article will showcase three dropshot techniques that catch bass in deep water as the cold days of winter set in.
It is no secret that bass are cold-blooded creatures which means that they do not feed as much during the winter as they do in the warmer months. Do not be fooled, winter offers great opportunities for anglers to slow down and focus on techniques that put bass in the boat. There are still plenty of bass to be caught during the winter.
3 WINTER APPROACHES TO A YEAR-ROUND BAIT
The almighty dropshot is probably the number one technique for catching winter bass. The dropshot has long been a standard for catching western bass twelve months out of the year. Dropshotting simply puts fish in the boat when other techniques won’t produce.
Angler’s Marine Pro Tony Lain has three approaches to dropshotting during the winter that are key to catching fish. His approach to dropshotting during winter relies heavily on using his Lowrance electronics to locate bass in their winter hideouts. This usually translates to probing depths up to 60 ft.
“A dropshot is my number one lure for catching bass in deep water,” Lain says. “I use my electronics to locate fish in their winter hideouts and I mix-up my retrieves with a dropshot to determine how active the fish are.”
According to Lain there are three main ways of catching bass from deep water on a dropshot. The fish either want a presentation that is dead stick, shaken, or dragged.
MOTIONLESS
Dead sticking is a technique that involves casting a dropshot into 40 to 60 ft of water and letting the bait sit motionless. Lain’s leaves his dropshot in the same place for as long as two to five minutes at a time.
This technique is deadly, no pun intended, on winter bass; because once water temperatures begin to dip below the 50 degree mark, conditions rapidly slow down a bass’ metabolism.
These cold blooded creatures really get sluggish in their movements and feeding habits once the short days of winter set in. A bass is far less willing to chase anything in 40 degree water or while they are hugging the bottom out in 40-plus depths.
Dead sticking a dropshot for winter bass allows a hungry bass to slowly approach a bait in deeper water to investigate. Bass are known for being curious creatures. According to Lain, dead sticking a 4 inch Morning Dawn (pink) or shad colored RoboWorm on 5 or 6 lb test is a very productive way to catch winter bass. “Once I locate a bass or bait on my Lowrance electronics, I will make several cast from different angles and dead stick my worm for several minutes at a time.” Lain says, “Most of the bites come when there is zero movement with the bait or even on the fall.”
Lain states that having a sensitive rod and a smooth spinning reel is a must for probing deep water. He opts for a 6’8”Daiwa 
Steez dropshot rod paired with a Daiwa Ballistic spinning reel. Lain spools his 2500 Daiwa Ballistic spinning reel with Daiwa J-Braid connected to 5 or 6 lb Toray fluorocarbon line. He connects the braided line to the fluorocarbon line via a double-uni knot.
Lain’s entire set up for deep water dropshotting centers on being able to feel a bass strike his worm in depths up to 60 ft of water. The braid to fluorocarbon connection offers Lain the benefits of braided line having zero stretch, paired with the fact that fluorocarbon sinks and is virtually invisible in water. Lain says that the braided line allows anglers to feel more bites in deeper water.
DRAG
“I start off dead sticking my dropshot, but if that doesn’t work I will use my electronics to start dragging baits in deeper water.” Lain says, “Dragging a dropshot around in deeper water is my second favorite way to catch winter bass.”
Lain indicates that he uses his trolling motor and fish finder to drag a bait to where he has located a bass on his fish finder. Lain employs the same rod and reel combination in his dragging technique; but the difference is that instead of dead sticking a bait for minutes at a time, he is casting a bait past where he has located a bass on his electronics and slowly drags it into a bass’ strike zone. The drag is slow and methodical, whereby an angler is on and off the trolling motor for seconds at a time.
Lain states that maintaining bottom contact and having a good feel for what is on the bottom is a must. A good drag can take anywhere from five to 15 minutes per cast.
“Having a very sensitive rod allows me tell the difference between rock, mud, or brush,” says Lain. “I have even found grass beds growing down in 60 ft of water.” Dragging also allows an angler to cover more water than dead sticking, while still maintaining bottom contact at a very slow pace.
SHAKE
FLW co-angler Gabe Diaz also likes to target winter bass with a dropshot. Diaz is known as the bass shaker on the tournament trail, because he favors a method of shaking his baits.
Diaz elects to use creature style baits such as a Missile Baits Baby Destroyer or a Yamamoto Creature bait on a dropshot. According to Diaz, he selects crawdad-style creature baits, because bass get conditioned to finesse-style baits. He favors smaller creature baits rigged on a dropshot to entice larger female bass during the winter. Diaz believes that female bass have to eat crawdad to get the calcium necessary to develop their eggs for spawning.
Diaz fishes his creature baits on six lb Seaguar fluorocarbon line with the same braid to fluorocarbon leader as Lain employs. He also opts for the same 2500 Daiwa Ballistic spinning reel as Lain uses. The main difference between the two anglers is that Diaz opts for a “shake-stop-shake” technique compared to Lain’s drag or deadstick.
Diaz throws his creature dropshot rig out deep on points and humps that are near spawning grounds. He believe that bass have a winter resting hole that is not too far from areas that they frequent shallow water.
RIGGING
Both anglers rig their dropshots by placing the hook 10 to 12 inches above the weight. Lain employs a Gamakatsu Dropshot Hook for his baits; while Diaz Texas-rigs his creature baits with a 2/0 straight shank hook.
As for as weight, both anglers start with a ¼ ounce dropshot weight and they increase the size of the weight up to a ½ ounce to get their baits down to 50 ft quickly. Both anglers also agree that maintaining bottom contact is a must for catching winter bass in deep water.
FEEDING DIFFERENCES
With the slowing of the bass’ metabolism, fish will seek out and attack food very slowly. Winter bass have a far less need to feed as much during the winter months compared to the warmer parts of the year.
This doesn't mean that a bass will altogether forgo feeding when water temperatures get cold. Instead, a bass will simply feed and chase less. A bass’ strike zone is very small in the winter.
Light line and slow bait movements are a must to consistently put bass in the boat during the winter. Sure there may be times during the winter when anglers can find fish actively feeding and willing to chase big swim baits and other reaction baits. But as a whole, winter bass are out in deeper water showing very little signs of feeding behavior.
TARGET AREAS
Nitro Boats pro Todd Woods relies heavily on electronic mapping software to find contours and offshore spots that bass relate to during the winter. “Using a Navionics Platinum+ Chart in my Lowrance HDS 9 allows me to target spots that are overlooked by most anglers,” Woods says. “I target deeper humps and long slopping points that lead to spawning coves.” Woods shared that having good electronics and mapping software is a must for finding bass in deep water.
Woods says that winter bass usually congregate in the same general areas where they spawn. This doesn't mean that they are in shallow water.
Woods said large groups of bass will typically congregate on the bottom out in deeper water. He believes that most of these bass are made up of both actively feeding and inactive fish.
BONUS TIP
Woods’ secret to catching these winter bass is offering them a Yamamoto Thin Senko in Shad pattern on a dropshot. He rigs his bait wacky-style on 6 lb Gama Fluorocarbon line with a size 2 Gamakatsu Dropshot Hook to get more movement out of his bait. He suggests downsizing baits and slowing down to account for the colder water.
The three dropshot techniques discussed in this article are well tested methods for catching winter bass. Although our winters can be milder compared to our colleagues in North and East, it is still very important for anglers keep safety in mind when out on the water fishing. Please remember to dress in layers, have spare clothing in the boat, and ALWAYS wear a life vest!
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