Around February in North Carolina and Virginia, jerkbait fishing can be the hottest technique on the water.  This pattern plays a major role when the water temperatures hover between the upper 40’s and low 50’s.  The reason jerkbaiting is so good at this time is because of the colder water and its effect on the bass’ habitat.  When the water starts to get colder the baitfish start to die off and the bass take capitalize on this situation by picking off these dying baitfish.

    I generally begin my search for these jerkbait fish on main lake and secondary points in the lower half of the lake.  I begin my search in this area of the lake because it typically harbors the clearest water, which is extremely important to successful jerkbait fishing.  As with any winter pattern, I begin searching for vertical drop offs along these points.  The long tapering points that are so good during other times of the year seem to be lower percentage areas during the coldest months for me.  Other good areas for this technique are channel swings and bluff banks located in the major creeks.  These are my highest percentage spots for this technique but by no means are the only ones that will produce so keep your mind open to experimentation.

    Now that you have a good deal of the lake eliminated, you need to narrow down the spots that you have left.  By reading the information above you might have noticed that depth is going to play a big role in this technique.  Depth is relative to different bodies of water so whatever you deem is deep would make a good starting part.  Since we are fishing over deep, open water, I tend to go to 10lb. mono and a bait that will get down a few feet like a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 or even a Staysee 90.  There are two very important things to remember about cold water fishing.  First, this time of year bass seem to like areas where they can make quick vertical movements instead of long horizontal treks in order to reach shallower waters.  Secondly, baitfish are the key to finding bass this time of year.

    Once you have your high percentage areas located you need to make sure you present your lure correctly to these fish.  When winter jerkbait fishing you need to remember to pause.  The traditional jerk-jerk-one second pause cadence will not get it when the water is in the 40’s.  Deliberate pauses of 5,10, or even 15 seconds could be necessary in order to trigger the bass to strike.  During the pause always keep an eye on your slack line as most of your bites will just start to swim away and you do not want to go start your cadence and not be prepared for the bite.

Keep these ideas in mind next time you are out on the lake and the water is cold and I bet you will find yet another tool to employ to catch some more fish! Plus this technique can produce some really nice bass.