Bass Fishing During a Cold Front

Every angler has been there. A cold front passes through the night before you go bass fishing. As it passes it’s likely to bring heavy rains and a strong wind from the west. Soon as the cold front passes, the rain stops and the wind starts blowing from the north dropping temperatures, and probably causing the bass to shut down altogether. So much for bass fishing tomorrow. You may as well just kick back on your bass boat and read a book about bass fishing because you’re not going to be doing anything but wetting tackle getting frustrated anyway. Maybe not.

Don’t cancel you day on the water so quick. Bass fishing a cold front can be a successful endeavor with a little know how. As with every bass fishing situation, bass fishing a cold front requires changing up on your fishing locations, some adjustments to lures and their presentation to catch the bass. One thing to remember is that the cold front affects the thing bass feed on much more than they actually affect the bass itself. The bass changes it’s feeding habits to adjust to the changes the cold front has caused in the critters the bass hunts for food more so than how the cold front has affected the bass. So you have to adjust your bass fishing tactics. The bass doesn’t give up eating and thus you shouldn’t give up on catching that bass. Keep a positive attitude. That positive attitude is as important as anything you have in your bass fishing arsenal.

We already know that bass change their behavior during the passing of cold fronts during each season. They do slow down and become more lethargic as water temperatures cool in fall and into winter. I the fall bass tend to suspend near vertical structure and gradually become more lethargic as temps drop. Even bass anglers are often hard to get started in cold weather. Add to that the fact that there is less food and less cover for the bass, it only makes sense that they slow their metabolism down. But bass still feed even during cold temps. Knowing how cold fronts affect them and their feeding habits during clod fronts in each season is critical to knowing how to catch bass during a cold front, or any type of frontal passage for that matter. I recommend taking notes each time you go out bass fishing. Write down the weather, where you’re catching fish, where you’re not, etc. You can review these notes and before long have a more knowledgeable plan for bass fishing during a cold front. Because the bass react one way to cold fronts where I’m fishing, doesn’t mean they will do the same in the waters that you are bass fishing.

Early spring is the season when cold fronts are often most problematic to bass fishing in terms of knowing what bass lure and presentation to use. Weather is often very unstable during this time and the bass will be in the shallows today, then drop deep tomorrow. If you were catching fish one place before a cold front passed through, back off those areas during the cold front. Bass will tend to move away from the shallows during the passing cold front in clear lakes, especially if there is a lack of cover, and move close to deep water and suspend. In murky ponds and lakes with plenty of cover, the bass will tend to be around the grass and wood structures. Down size your lure weights during this time. If you’re fishing a half ounce, go down to ¼ ounce.

A cold front passing in summer can be difficult as it’s less noticeable to us bass fishermen. But it still affects the location of the bass we’re fishing for. There is more UV penetration during a cold front and this effects the critters bass are feeding on, thus affect how the bass are feeding. The bass are likely going to give up the grass cover for wood or rock structure. And in turn, the bass fisherman should give up fishing the grass and vegetation with jigs and frogs for the wood and more rocky structure with the bumping of a crank bait or worm around these structures.

I’d recommend going for deep bass when fishing after the passing of a cold front. There may very well be bass in the shallows with it’s heavy cover, but they will be a lot less likely to strike. The deep water insulates these bass from the light penetration and lower water surface temperatures that drop suddenly after a cold front. Fish the deeper structures paying attention to isolated patches of cover around that structure. Deep diving crank baits and dropshot rigs work well here. Try a lipless crank bait like a Rat-L-Trap which can be deadly on bass when fishing during a cold front.

Also try altering the rate that your lure falls. This can often make all the difference in the world when bass fishing during a cold front. Do this by changing to a lighter lure, using a pork or a plastic trailer of different sizes. Try using heavier lines like braid. It floats thus slower fall of the bass lure.

Sometimes the bass may prefer a jig that sinks faster during a cold front. Again, keep taking notes and keeping track of cold fronts and other weather conditions and the effects it has on your bass fishing. Write down what techniques were successful before, during and after a cold front. And what didn’t work. Soon you’ll have knowledge of the patterns the bass take on when you’re bass fishing during a cold front.

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