As the number one ranked bass angler in the world, Jacob Wheeler has proven that he can catch bass in all situations. The reigning back-to-back Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year fishes often to keep his skills sharp and to stay ahead of the curve, even during the offseason when the water is cold and other professional anglers are taking a break or spending all of their time in the woods.
When fishing during the winter months, Wheeler uses many techniques and lures, but three of them stand out as his top winter baits.
The First Bait Wheeler Grabs
When the water is cold, Wheeler always has a Rapala Shad Rap tied up and ready to go. His preferred size is a #5 and it's one of the first baits he'll try, especially after it rains.
"When you get the first rain in the fall and the water temperatures have dropped, the fish start to get into a reset as they change into their winter patterns," said Wheeler. "The temperatures vary based on where you live and it could be the 40s or even 30s up north and around the 50-degree mark in the south. That's when I throw a Rapala Shad Rap; there's something about that bait when the water is cold."
Some of the first places he'll look for are rock and areas where rock transitions from one type to another. "I'll always start at the places with the last depth before it starts to transition to flatter banks," he said. "It could be 45-degree banks and places where chunk rock turns to pea gravel. It will work around grass, but generally, any rock transition will be a good place to throw the Shad Rap."
Wheeler fishes the Shad Rap on a spinning rod with 8-pound Sufix Advance fluorocarbon and sticks with the basics for bait colors, utilizing either shad or crawfish patterns. One thing he will adjust, however, is the bait's action. He'll add lead Storm SuspenStrips to alter how the bait floats and suspends in the water.
"The cool thing about the Shad Rap is that it's a small bait but will still get down to 6 feet of water," he said. "It has great action and you can make it even better by adding a SuspendStrip so it will have a slow float. It's a balsa bait, so it is pretty buoyant and adding those can slow it down and you can bump it into something and let it slowly float up, which triggers more bites when it's cold."
Jerkbaits and Forward-Facing Sonar
Wheeler is seen as one of the best with his forward-facing sonar. For him, the jerkbait is the perfect tool for utilizing this technology and it's not just a wintertime deal.
"A jerkbait works all the time, but it's the best winter bait there is and forward-facing sonar has taught me so much about the bait and how fish react to them," he said. "One of the most important things is the cadence and the pauses. Long pauses are important, not just because the water is colder, but you also need a longer pause just for bass to come up from deeper water to meet the bait and you can see that all on your screen. Once the fish is closer to it, you can speed it up a little and they'll usually bite it on the next pause."
Wheeler will use the Rapala Shadow Rap deep and shallow, but most often, it's the deep version. What he likes about this bait is the action, especially when paused.
"It has a unique little shimmy when it's paused, almost like a soft plastic stickbait as it slowly sinks," he shared. "It's not as erratic as some jerkbaits, but the subtle shakes as it falls are good for triggering bites on the pause."
Small Swimbaits
Another versatile bait that Wheeler will fish anywhere he goes during the winter months is a small Storm Largo Shad swimbait, both in the 3 and 3.5-inch versions.
"Forage size is critical, and I'll always try to match the bait to the size of what the bass are eating," said Wheeler. "That bait has an excellent baitfish action as it rolls and kicks and what makes it so good is how durable it is; you can catch ten fish on one bait where other swimbaits tear up quickly. I'll match the bait with a VMC Hybrid Swimbait jighead, a ¼-ounce in shallow water but I will go up to 3/8-ounce in deeper water."
Wheeler says he'll fish this swimbait from 2 feet to 42 feet or deeper because it's a versatile bait that excels in many situations. "Some of the best times to throw it are when the water is too clear to crank," he said. "I'll fish it on secondary points, grass edges, and places where steeper banks turn to flats."
He will fish the swimbait on baitcast gear with 12-pound test Sufix Advance fluorocarbon in some situations but prefers spinning gear with 8-pound Sufix NanoBraid with an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. "Both are good, but if you use your forward-facing sonar for bass around bait, it's much easier to flip your bail and drop the bait quickly with spinning gear."
Plenty of baits will put fish in the boat when the water is cold, but Jacob Wheeler generally keeps it simple with the most efficient baits for the job. A small crankbait, jerkbait, and swimbait cover the bases for him when targeting cold water bass.
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