Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue - Wintertime Tactics

As the days shorten and the temperature drops, bass activity falls like a thermometer’s mercury. Bass begin to suspend at depths where the temperature is most comfortable and baits is easy to find. Suspending baits like Smithwick’s Rattlin’ Rogue can help find and corral a limit of wintertime bass.

In the Deep South, frozen lakes and rivers are very uncommon even in the coldest years. Also, cold in Louisiana is a relative term. The temperature may reach the seventies even in the heart of winter. Although winter bass can still be found in schools, cold weather seems to make bass suspend more in the middle depths. A Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue is great for locating schools, catching loaners, and producing fish in the coldest of weather.

Any angler using suspending baits should learn three basic retrieves to add fish to the livewell. For lack of better names, I will call the styles steady retrieve, jerk bait, and cigarette. Mastering these techniques take patience and practice. Winter bites can be few and far between so persistence is a must.

The first retrieve is a simple steady retrieve. It is a cast and wind style of fishing. The key is working the lure at the proper speed. In the dead of winter, a very slow but constant retrieve will cover more water. Add other casting techniques like fan casting or drifting to cover humps, drop offs, and other target areas more effectively. In your area working the lure over grass, stump flats, or other cover will produce strikes. However, the angler is looking for suspending schools of bass that may be structure related rather than cover related. Some days it is feast or famine when searching for suspending bass. A steady retrieve can help find a productive area of bass.

The next technique is called jerk bait. Since a Rattlin’ Rogue is a jerk bait, it can be used like one. By adding twitches and pauses to a retrieve, the Rogue’s rattles are engage in this type of retrieve. Again, slow is best in the winter. Bass are not willing to exert energy to chase a meal. Cold weather takes it toll on schools of shad. As shad die, they twitch and jerk trying to reach the surface. The jerk bait style mimics a dying shad, which is an easy wintertime meal for suspending bass. However, hard jerks and rapid twitches can entice lethargic fish to strike by sending loud vibrations through the water. Vary the retrieve until a pattern can be found.

The final technique is called cigarette. Often in late winter tournaments in Louisiana, you will here about an angler catching fish on a Rogue. The fisherman will normally state how slow the bite was during the tournament. He tells a story about casting the lure out and smoking a cigarette, then twitching the lure and smoking another cigarette. This is very similar to dead sticking. After a few twitches or jerks, allow the lure to remain motionless for about thirty seconds. Repeat the jerks and pauses. If you have enough patience, this is a great cold-water technique.

The Rogue is great bait for catching suspended bass. Apply some new techniques next time you head out to the lake. You never know how productive a lure can be until you have given it the proper chance to produce. Remember, slow is the norm when working a lure in the winter. Next time you are out corralling a stringer of bass try a suspending jerk bait.

Thanks to Lurenet.com! Visit then at www.lurenet.com.

About the author: Jeff Bruhl is a member of the Louisiana Outdoors Writer Association, pro angler, and a pharmacist. His website, www.marshbass.com, covers freshwater fishing across Louisiana and the gulf coast. Each Saturday morning between 5-7 am CST, a bass fishing report can be heard on the Outdoors with Don Dubuc Radio Show (www.dontheoutdoorsguy.com) on 870 AM from the New Orleans station. Jeff has made numerous television and radio appearances on shows like Paradise Louisiana, The Big Fish, and ABC26.com. From tips on youtube.com to weekly reports on his website, his articles and reports provide tips and tactics for bass anglers in the sportsman paradise. Jeff’s sponsors include Abu Garcia, Xpoint hooks, Bud Light, Louisiana Fish Fry Products, Power Pole, Stanley Jigs and Spinnerbaits, Skeeter, Dockside Marine, Rat-L-Trap, and Berkley. For more information about fishing in Louisiana, drop Jeff an email at jeff@marshbass.com.