How To Fish A Jig In The Winter | Mike McClelland

Hey everyone Mike McClelland here to talk wintertime jig fishing with BassResource and to me if there was one bait that I could tie on in the winter and go out and throw for eight hours a day it would definitely be a jig and the reason for that is I mean when you get into those winter months of the year, I mean there's going to be resident fish that live relatively shallow that you can catch on a jig. But typically your fish are going to be grouped up. They're going to be relatively deep they're not going to be very aggressive and what better bait is there to fish slow and lethargically than a jig. 

You know the biggest thing about wintertime jig fishing is you've got to kind of think through your application in the specific jig that you want to use. You know typically everything that I throw in the winter is going to become much more finesse. To me those fish they're not very active they're not going to want to move a lot so I'm going to throw a lot of finesse jigs and you know typically I'm going to be throwing heavier jigs in the winter than I'm going to be throwing any other time of the year. Typically 5.8, 3.25, 1 ounce I'm either going to throw a little Bass X ball head style jig or I'm typically going to throw a football jig.

Trailers are another thing that become really, really specific in the wintertime. Fish don't necessarily want a lot of action in a trailer in my opinion, in the winter. It's that time of the year where they're just not moving around a lot, and you know nothing in the water column is. That's the one thing that we always as anglers have to equate to things is as the water temperatures get colder you know everything in the water column slows down, the brim slow down, the shad slow down nothing is moving very fast so you know a real finesse small compact style jig is something that you want to keep your mind on. 

You know a twin tail trailer is a super good trailer, Big Bite Twin Tails, a little big bite three inch Fighting Frog is another one of the trailers that I love to use in the fall. Kamikaze Craw is a good bait but again in the winter time on a heavier deeper jig that little Scentsation Quarantine Craw you know something real finesse. Something that I can get down there shake around in their face have a little added scent to generate some bites is really, really key. 

Typically in the winter you'll still catch some fish on points you'll still catch fish in a variety of different situations but a lot of times in the winter time I really like to focus on the creek channels themselves and even a lot of bluffs. I mean in the winter on the Ozark lakes I mean you can go out and you know just about pick any bluff on the lake that's got bait on it. Now I'm not saying you can pick any bluff on the lake, you've got to use your electronics, find where the bait is but once you establish where the bait is, what depth it's at you're going to typically catch some fish on a jig in the winter. 

Wintertime fishing is probably that one time a year that I am going to size things down. I mean I'm going to drop back, I'm going to use my Sunline Sniper. Like I said it's a lot more softer, it's more pliable, it just works better in the wintertime. A lot of times I'll throw 10, 12, 14, 16 pound tests depending on the type of cover that I'm fishing around and things of that nature. But generally you don't want to put a lot of action in your jig. It's a lot of either fishing a jig directly around a brush pile, in the timber, just around bait balls, things of that nature and fishing a jig extremely slow. 

A lot of times when you find fish in the winter, they are really going to be grouped up. Once you catch 1, you might sit there and catch 10, 12, 15, 20 fish out of 1 school. Jig is definitely something that comes into play. 

Football jig is another thing that I'm going to utilize. Generally 5/8th is about as small of a football jig as I'm going to throw in the winter. I'll throw up to a three 3.25, 1 ounce football jig and I'll play with my colors quite a bit. A lot of times in the winter everything becomes a little bit muted as far as colors. So a lot of times in the winter I'll use a peanut butter and jelly, more of a pumpkin seed colored skirt, things like that a lot of times can generate more bites in the winter. And I just really believe that a jig is one of those baits that if I could only pick up one bait and have anything to throw in the winter time it would definitely be a jig.