During the quieter months when the weather is not great and the fishing is slower, you might have to think outside the box to be able to catch bass. They are 100% there all year round but they won't chase a fast-moving lure in the mid to top water but they might chase something if it's not too much effort. If you lure fish like this then you will find that these lures will go straight over their heads and they won't even bother chasing anything at all. They will not use energy by chasing anything that is swimming in the water unless you can convince them otherwise.
If you have ever been rock pooling with your kids in the summer just think how that Blenny, Gobie or a Rockling was behaving. 9/10 they are stationary or move ever so slightly to avoid being spotted by a bigger predator. They move from time to time and this is how you must present your lure if you want to catch anything in the winter. When we cast a soft plastic into an estuary or a gully it takes us a while to reel it in. Sometimes just the noise of the lure hitting the water and sinking to the bottom is enough. We would let it hit the bottom first after a pause we would then wind a medium pace for 10 secs, and then slowly for the rest of the way in periodically let it drop and lure will be stationary before we start to turn the reel handle again. It might take us 5 mins to reel in a SP in the winter compared to 1-2 mins in the summer.
You have to tempt them by doing something they are used to seeing. They will not waste energy by chasing a lure at all if they have to. We have had so many takes in the winter by leaving the lure on the bottom in a weed patch or just sitting there in a gully not moving at all. All the bass want is an easy snack. The majority of the fish we have caught in the winter is when it is dark especially when it's entering a new moon phase and it's pitch black but not always. White is clearly the colour that works the best but we have caught on green, black, brown and red also. We don't necessarily use lures with tails in the winter either as you can imagine so we find Senko's work very well along the bottom with slight movements during the colder months.
Lures we use in the Winter:
6" Senko
5" Senko
6" Senko Worm
Sleeper Lures
5" Shads
5" Ribbed Shad
5" Stick Lure
6" Stick Lure
