Bass Fishing

[edmonton floater]

Me and the lady are off to the Creston/Spokane area in a couple weeks for a few days and I was hoping to get out on a lake to do some bass fishing, But i could use a hand with what kind of lure drives them nuts.

Any info would be a great help!

[Sledder1]

Snot green Tubes(with tube jig of course), and drag them slowly across the bottom.

The warmer the water, the more their metabolism is up, the more hungry and active they will be.

[horsetrader]

Depending on where your fishing and wether its largemouth or small.
One of the best baits is still a jig with rubber body bounced along the bottom
or a worm rig texas rig dragged through the timber or wacky rigger and dropped down through the brush. lot of other will post more ran out of time

[fish gunner]

bass in duck lake can be very slow in winter, if there is even open water.
prime rainbow time in the big lake.maybe see if any local AO can get you out.better fish,better chance of action.

[edmonton floater]

Thanks for the info Guys!
I will have to hit Wholesale Sports or Cablea's and pick up some more worm jigs and various other good things before we head out.
Fish gunner- from what I have heard from sources in Creston, Duck Lake has almost completely thawed out already but I will most definitely have to check out Big Lake!

[HunterDave]

The warmer the water, the more their metabolism is up, the more hungry and active they will be.

I agree. Back in Ontario no one that I knew of ice fished for bass because you simply wouldn't catch them. They are super aggressive during the summer when the water warms up though. I've had allot of fun catching them with floating lures in the evening. When they are feeding on bugs on the top of the water all that you have to do is cast a floating lure where you saw them surface and 9 times out of 10 they will attack the lure. Unfortunately, I don't think that'll happen when the water is as cold as it is.

[OttCan]

In cold fronts we used to throw a lure that could be fished slow, like a rattle trap, it would drive them nuts...aggressive fish would hit it hard! If we had a hit, we'd follow up with a slower presentation, tube jig with a 1/4 oz head, or a shaky head or even just a wacky rigged senko, unweighted.

Also, if it's a warm day, find shallow bays and chuck a frog or a top water bait...sit back and watch the EXPLODE on it!!


I'm extremely jealous!! Let me know how you did...I'm dying for some bass fishing!!!

[Dust1n]

Spokane is my favorite place to fish and has some hogs in there!
I fish the area in August with fly rods and topwaters.
Pumpkinseed color tubes dragged really slow work.
The bass will turn on and off like a switch so if they wont take a fast presentation slow it down and pop it.
Its winter so theyre metabolsim is slower and they will be in the heaviest of cover so weedless jigs are a good thing to have around in black and dark blue or burnt orange.
30lb+ line is a must to haul out bass in cover without breaking them off and you dont need the fancy killer hookset pros use either.
Use a FlouroLeader its invisable which makes the fish less hesatent to bite.
Bait works but i have better luck off lures in August.
They wont be looking up but take some popers in frog color when dark hits it may bring up your lunker.
BTW ask the guys at white elephant for tips, they are a bit hesatent about giving them up but if you BS long enough they will had it over. They also got really cheap tackle.

[fishing101]

If you know some lakes your interested find out what the water temp is. That will be the first key to figuring out what you need and where to look. If your fishing from a boat is the best.

i would look for shallow southern arms. If the water is in the mid to high 40's the fish will be in pre-spawn. This is when they will be feeding the best. This time of year use a square bill crank bait like a spro, or strike king. Get some that are shallow runners and some that will get you to like 8 feet and you want to be hitting things.

Grab the usual tubes and some senko's. If the water is a bit colder look for deeper points. Try a jerk bait, but work it slow. Something in the natural colors. Get yourself some football heads and tip them with a hula or sprider grub. Just moving it slowing along bottom. Lots of times not moving it is better. Usually smokes, greens, and natural colors work best.

That should catch anything out there. If you want to get a bit more advanced you can brake out the drop shoot or the hottest thing in bass fishing the alabama rig.

[crestliner]

If you know some lakes your interested find out what the water temp is. That will be the first key to figuring out what you need and where to look. If your fishing from a boat is the best.

i would look for shallow southern arms. If the water is in the mid to high 40's the fish will be in pre-spawn. This is when they will be feeding the best. This time of year use a square bill crank bait like a spro, or strike king. Get some that are shallow runners and some that will get you to like 8 feet and you want to be hitting things.

Grab the usual tubes and some senko's. If the water is a bit colder look for deeper points. Try a jerk bait, but work it slow. Something in the natural colors. Get yourself some football heads and tip them with a hula or sprider grub. Just moving it slowing along bottom. Lots of times not moving it is better. Usually smokes, greens, and natural colors work best.

That should catch anything out there. If you want to get a bit more advanced you can brake out the drop shoot or the hottest thing in bass fishing the alabama rig.

Is the Alabama legal in both creston and spokane?

[edmonton floater]

I believe the Alabama is legal in spokane but not in Creston as we are not allowed that many hooks on one line.I am going to definitely have to get some water temps when I get there and decide on what kind lure or bait to throw at them. Kind of worried about everything still being solid frozen but a guy can hope lol!

Thanks for all the great info I am going to definitely put it to good use!

[JTRED]

The ice on Duck Lake here in the Creston valley is getting kind of rotten, might be alright but I'd still be careful. I haven't been out for two weeks but the weather has been really mild and other fishermen had mentioned it was getting sloppy on the ice. Some of the channels may be open and good for fishing. I saw a few weeks ago that the channel in W. Creston on Nick's Island rd was open by the two bridges and that spot can produce nice bass.

[edmonton floater]

The ice on Duck Lake here in the Creston valley is getting kind of rotten, might be alright but I'd still be careful. I haven't been out for two weeks but the weather has been really mild and other fishermen had mentioned it was getting sloppy on the ice. Some of the channels may be open and good for fishing. I saw a few weeks ago that the channel in W. Creston on Nick's Island rd was open by the two bridges and that spot can produce nice bass.

Sweet! thanks for the update JTRED!
Hope the ice runs away in the next three weeks before we leave!

[JTRED]

Hey Ed. Floater the ice is definitely still there on Duck Lake. I asked a friend who lives near the lake(he's got a place near it and spends a lot of time out there) and the ice is still very much there. Depending on the weather you might get lucky but you never know. Bring an ice auger or you might be limited to the channels, but that would not be the worst thing in the world. Kootenay river and Lake are always open water (just not great for bass so bring your trout tackle also). Lots of perch in Duck lake as well just not anything in the huge class. Oh by the way the ice isn't as rotten as I'd originally thought, people are still out there drilling holes. Hope it works out for you and enjoy the valley(just don't tell too many people how spectacular it is, I like it kind of quiet and tucked away).

[archeryman]

Never read any of the responses but if you are after Smallmouth, my goto favorite lure if I want to catch a Bass is the jointed shad rap in red craw. I grew up fishing Manitoba and North Western Ontario. Have put a lot of Bass in the boat with this lure!

[N8orDie]

If the water is cold and bass aren't chasing hard baits: Go to any tackle shop and get a 'worm blower'. It's like a little white glue bottle with a syringe needle stuck on it. Use it to inflate worms so they float. Use slip sinker walleye rigs with the worm about 18" from the sinker. They float up from the bottom and wriggle. Work them slow, dragging the sinker along bottom by lifting the rod tip. Even the most sluggish bass with hit these floating worms.

Cold front smallmouth:

http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q493/N8orDie/IMG_0210.jpg