If
you're a tournament angler you've been there. After
a great day of pre-fishing for the upcoming tournament you're
sitting around working on tackle and re-spooling reels when the
weather report comes on. You really aren't paying that much
attention to the report until you hear, "A large cold front
is moving in from the northwest this evening. It should bring clear
skies and cooler temperatures for the weekend." Now they have
your undivided attention as you realize your game plan will probably
change drastically and you will be fishing for "cold shoulder
bass".
A couple of things can happen at this point. You can become resigned
to a poor day of fishing, lose focus and confidence and end up losing
the tournament before you even launch the boat. Or you can think,
YES! This front has just cut the playing field in half and I can
win this thing.
Let's look at a couple of ideas that may help you cash a
check during a cold front tournament. First believe me when I tell
you "fish bite during post-frontal conditions." As a
guide I've watched my clients catch too many fish on post-frontal
days to buy into the "fish won't bite after a cold front" malarkey.
Active or neutral fish may become negative and their strike zone
may shrink way down for a few days, but they will bite.
Do You Go Deep Or Shallow?
There are a couple of different theories here. One says that larger
game fish will move deep after a cold front and hug the bottom.
The second says that game fish will become negative and move extremely
tight to heavy cover. I think both theories are accurate and here
is why.
Deep Fish
Most of our guide trips are for walleye. I know... I love
to chase bass and all my tournament fishing is for bass, but the
walleye is the most popular fish in our area, so we fish for walleye
90% of the time. Prior to a cold front moving through we can slip-bobber,
troll or crank shallow breaks and be quite successful on walleye.
But after a cold front it becomes strictly a live-bait bite, mainly
leeches fished ever so slowly at the base of deep breaks, adjacent
to large flats. It's during these times that my clients
catch some very respectable bass, from areas that normally do
not hold quality bass. I have to believe that the bass holding
on the edges of the adjacent flats had to transition to the deep
breaks to weather the post- frontal conditions.
Shallow Fish
I've always found it hard to believe that
the whole bass population of an expansive, shallow, weedy bay
would migrate out of the bay after a cold front, looking for a
deep-water sanctuary. The pontoon boat tied up to the dock in
front of our home has proven me right time after time. Our home
is located in a large, shallow, weed-choked bay, which is loaded
with panfish and small bass. You can walk down to the dock on
any warm sunny afternoon, stomp on the pontoon boat and see good
numbers of small sunfish and bass scoot out from under it, but
rarely any really large bass, until a cold front moves through
the area. Then you can stomp on the pontoon and see the regular
sunfish and small bass along with a number of large bass. Those
fish are in less than a foot of water on a mud bottom, tucked
way up under the pontoon boat. The larger bass only seem to go
there after a cold front.
What Do Others Think?
Captain Chris Johnson, owner/operator of Fishcrazy guide service
(www.fishcrazygs.com)
targets both smallmouth and largemouth bass around the Door County
Peninsula of Wisconsin. Chris is also a professional tournament
angler fishing the Pro side of the Bassmasters Weekend Series in
Division 24 (Wisconsin) and is on the field-staffs for Strike King
Lures, Sufix Line and Zebco/Quantum.
When chasing smallmouth on Lake Michigan after
a cold front, Chris said he likes to target offshore humps. "I like humps with
ledges or lips, the down current side of these humps usually produce
the best when dealing with cold front conditions." When I
asked Chris about which line he uses for tough post-frontal bites
Chris indicated that he stays with his normal 10-pound braid with
an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader. However, he does downsize his lures
and weights for cold front conditions. For largemouth Chris said, "I
like to look for areas that draw heat, mainly rocks or wood." After
a front moves through the area his lures of choice for largemouth
are the Strike King Zero, fished weightless or small crankbaits
dragged along the bottom. His main point, "More important
than the line and lures is the mind-set. You have to force yourself
to fish very slow and be patient."
Howie Lee is a well known tournament angler in the upper Midwest.
He is also the owner of North Star Jigs (www.northstarjigs.com).
Howie's main point was downsizing. "When fishing cold
front conditions I like to downsize my lures. I will stick with
a jig but tend to use a 3/16 oz like the Sump'n Sump'n.
For trailer I've been using the Zoom Speed Craw or a Yamamoto
Twin Tail Grub." If confronted with an early spring cold
front Howie said he liked to move out to a little deeper water
and fish a jig real slow.
Brad Leifermann is a very well known and respected
professional tournament angler in the northern region. He fishes
numerous tournaments including the Silverado and Bassmasters Weekend
Series in Division 25. Brad won the regional championship on Lake
Patoka in 2006. Here are some great points brought up by Brad. "The inevitable
cold front is sure to arrive on a tournament day. The key to catching
fish after a front has moved through is making the mental adjustment
before you even drop the boat in. You know the fishing is going
to be tough and it's going to be slow fishing with light line
and small lures. When I pre-fish I always try to locate both deep
and shallow fish, then if the weather changes I have alternatives.
It seems to me that cold fronts affect deep fish less, but shallow
fish can sometimes be easier to catch if heavy weed clumps such
as coontail exist. I've found that some fish will move
tight to these clumps and can be caught with a jig later in the
day as the front passes. If all else fails, docks can always produce
a few fish if the angler just slows down and works the docks with
smaller baits. For the most part, after a cold front you can
forget the top-waters, crankbaits and other fast moving baits. The
drop shot, jig, senko or dead sticking worms are my choices when
confronted with post frontal conditions. If it's possible,
I try to fish the windy side of a lake after a front. If I'm
on a river I look for current areas that will hold fish, such
as wing dams and side channels with current breaks."
Don't Panic, Downsize the Bait and Slow
Down
All three of these professional anglers spend hundreds of hours
on the water each season and I thought it interesting that the majority
of their points on dealing with cold front conditions were similar.
So, when you're confronted with the dreaded cold front don't
panic, be prepared to make some reasonable adjustments to your game
plan. Remember, be patient and think about slow presentations. No
power fishing this time out. Put away the big baits. If you're
chasing bass you're going to have to go to small subtle baits.
If it's a fun fishing day or you have kids out fishing, then
go to live bait. Even during a cold front it's hard for
a bass to pass up a tantalizing leech. But more important than
anything else is to keep a positive mental attitude, believe that
the fish will bite and expect them to bite. This will put you
ahead of half the tournament field before the first boat is even
launched.
As always, stay safe and we hope to see you on the water.
Wayne Ek is a fishing guide, tournament angler and writer in Alexandria
Minnesota.
You can reach Wayne Ek at Agape Fishing Guides, www.agapefishingguides.com
