Strike King pro Scott Suggs expects to see fish in winter patterns and uses his favorite finesse baits to attract a bite in the cold temperatures.
“I like to throw finesse-y type stuff,” says Suggs. During December, he loves to Carolina rig many of his finesse baits. “I look for little channel turns because that’s where bass congregate and group up – you can make repeated casts and catch them over and over,” he shares. With water temperatures being so low, Suggs expects that bass will be fairly stationary and close to the bottom. “It is one of those times where they are staged up, not moving a lot. It is slower fishing with smaller profile baits,” he says. Suggs says that he never hits the water in December without each of his bait selections tied on.
For all water conditions, he utilizes a Blue Gizzard Shad Umbrella Rig and Pearl Flash Rage Swimmer.
“Rage Swimmer is really good, especially when they are schooled up. When they are sitting in brush piles, you can watch it on active target and sweep it above the brush pile,” Suggs advises.
His choice for clear water is Ned Ocho Green Pumpkin, while he opts for Summer Craw if the water is stained. Black Blue Swirl is his go-to in muddy conditions.
“I like to put it on a 1/4 oz., even a little heavier head, so I can stay in contact with the bottom. I reel in real slow on a spinning rod. Almost a guarantee that you’ll catch ‘em,” Suggs says.
He opts for Craw Daddy in clear water, and switches to Blue Craw if the water is stained. He opts for Black Blue Swirl in muddy water.
“I like to find isolated rock piles and throw the Ned Rage Bug on a weedless Ned head. The Ned Rage Nig perfectly imitates crawfish around rock piles,” he shares.
If the water is clear, he will throw the Filler Worm in Morning Dawn, while more stained water calls for Magic. Tequila Sunrise is his preference when fishing in low-vis conditions.
“On a cloudy day, fish will pull up off of the bottom. So on the low pressure/cloudy days, I will throw this with a 15” leader,” Suggs shares.
He opts for Green Pumpkin in clear or stained water while he will switch to Black Blue Flake/Blue Tail if the water is muddy.
“I will drag the Pro-Model Tube through structure and above rock piles to find schooled up bass,” he says.
