Winter Worm Fishing Tips for Bass Fishing

Hey guys, I'm Michael Neal with BassResource out here, and I want to talk to you about wintertime plastic worm fishing. And the wintertime is the time of year where you really have to slow down. The bass are cold-blooded, and they're just really lethargic in the winter. In most circumstances they're not going to chase something fast, and a jerk bait is good, and lipless baits and things like that. But something that I think gets overlooked a lot is really finesse fishing in the wintertime with spinning tackle.

And a shaky head is my go-to for the wintertime, the water is getting clearer, it's something you can keep down there in front of those fish and get a lot of bites. And a lot of people go with just straight tail worms on a shaky head, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but something to give the fish a little bit different look, just a 7-inch ribbon-tailed worm.

This is the Baby B2 from Big Bite, and this color is called tilapia, just on a 3/16th ounce shaky head. Nothing real fancy, but this worm is not super overpowering. With a small ribbontail worm, you're not going to have a ton of action, and that's something that the fish kind of shy away from a little bit in the winter, would be a worm with a really big paddle tail, or something that's going to create a whole lot of commotion.

Everything in the winter in the water moves slowly, so you want to keep it natural to those fish. So a lighter head, with a smaller profile worm is what they're going to really look for.

And I like light line myself, I'll go as light as six, probably my go-to is an eight-pound Sunline shooter, and a ten-pound Sunline SX-1 braided line leader. Especially in the wintertime, a lot of times you've got some wind, and I hardly ever throw a spinning rod anymore without that braided line as my backing. It keeps the wind knots down, it helps with sensitivity, and it just helps you make better casts, longer casts, and you don't have to respool often. You have to retie the leader, but you don't have to actually respool.

And as far as a rod choice with this, I've got one rod that I really throw anything finesse-y on, as long as I'm not offshore smallmouth fishing, and that's just the Denali N3 seven-foot medium action rod. It's just got a good tip, and a lot of backbone where you can set the hook with these fish on a shaky heady or a drop shot or a wacky worm, whichever one, but this is a great rod choice for that.

And the shaky-head, like I've said, I've caught a lot of fish in the wintertime on it, but it seems like I also catch a lot of big fish on it in the wintertime. I think it's something that they don't see a lot, and they get used to people going down the bluffs and things throwing jerk baits or umbrella rigs or swim baits, real shad imitators, but a lot of those bigger fish will get on a shaky head in the wintertime. And I don't know what the really reason is.

And one other little tip I'll give you with it is a color I throw a lot in the wintertime, and it doesn't matter how clear the water is to me, I like Junebug in the wintertime. That right there is Tilapia, it's a great color, but Junebug or something darker in the wintertime seems to get a little bit bigger than average-sized bite for me on plastics. And like I said, I have no idea why, just hundreds of hours on the water that's a little bit of experience, a little bit of a tip for you.

So make sure you check it out, shaky heads in the wintertime is a great way to fish a worm, seven-inch ribbon tail is a great choice, Junebug or something dark. See if you can't get your line stretched.

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