There may be a polar vortex freezing more than half the country right now, but don’t lose heart, we’ll be fishing soon enough. Granted, up here in Wisconsin, we won’t be on open water for another month or two, but across the rest of the country, February, can produce some prime bass fishing opportunities.
For the bottom half of the country, February can mark the end of the winter pattern, and the beginning of the prespawn… when fish will generally push up shallower and feed more heavily. Further north, if you have open water, bass will likely still be in their wintering holes, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be caught.
In January we saw the first Major League Fishing Bass Pro Series event on Guntersville, and while temperatures were pretty cold for Alabama, the bite was pretty hot. When the forward facing sonar was off, we saw rattle traps become a BIG player, as well as some crankbaits, Chatterbaits, and the cold-water staple… the jerkbait. So without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the top bass lures that’ll play around the country, for the month of February:
Lipless
A lipless crankbait is great this time of year, especially if you’re on a lake where some big grass flats are present. In the cold water months of late winter and early spring, I like to yo-yo my retrieve near that grass line or near any rock cover. A lot anglers really like red craw colors this time of year, especially further in the south, but I also like brown/green hues with a little red. Sometimes a silent lipless will produce better for pressured fish.
Strike King Red Eye Shad – 1/2 oz. – $9.99
Colors: Phantom Watermelon Red, Chili Craw, Natural Shad
Yo-Zuri Rattl’n Vibe – 3/8 oz. – $8.99
Colors: Matte Craw, Burnt Orange Crawfish, Gold-Black
Berkley Jack 6 – 1/2 oz. – $11.99
Colors: Firetail Green Craw, Mossy Ghost, Special Red Craw
Jig
To be honest, you really can’t go wrong with a jig any time of year, and if you don’t have a lot of confidence in once, this is the year to work on that. But early in the year, I definitely lean more towards a more compact jig, usually tungsten, whereas in the summer, maybe I’ll take a craw style Texas rig over the jig.
But as the bass continue to move up ahead of the spawn, you can skip a jig up around docks or flip it into laydowns and brush piles, or even steep rock banks. With the water being cold and the bass still being fairly lethargic, you’re going to want to work it pretty slow and use a trailer with a very little action such as a chunk. Green pumpkin or more natural colors in clear water, black and blue or dark colors in dirty water.
Keitech Tungsten Casting Jig Model 1 Version 2 – 3/8 oz. – $7.99
Colors: Black Blue, Green Pumpkin Black, Green Pumpkin
Trailers: Z-Man Batwingz, Netbait Paca Chunk, Zoom Super Chunk Jr.
Jerkbait
A jerkbait is a cold water staple, one that I like to have tied on year around, actually, but they just seem to excel in cold water when nothing else will work. Forward facing sonar makes it a little easier, but the trick is to figure out the proper cadence of jerks and pauses to entice the fish to bite.
In cold water, you generally are going to want to hold the pauses much longer, but try different speeds… maybe they’ll want it fast. Look for fish along points, steep drop-offs, bluff walls and creek channels.
Colors: Northern Lights, Table Rock, Hankie Pankie
Megabass Ito Vision 110 – $24.99
Colors: Elegy Bone, GG Megabass Kinkuro
Crankbait
Cranking in cold temperatures can be a winning pattern if the conditions are right. Generally, I’m looking for a bit of stained water and some relatively shallow, rocky bottom to entice that bite. If you have clearer water, wind is ideal. Sometimes, lethargic bass seem to prefer the tight wobble of a flat-sided, but on other occasions, a Shad rap will do the trick.
It really just depends on your body of water, the depths you’re targeting, and the temperature of the water. Your standard DT6 will get the job done too as you get closer to the prespawn.
Colors: Spring Craw, Midnight Pearl, Long Ranger
Rapala Shad Rap Elite 55 – $14.99
Colors: Gilded Crawdad, Gilded Twilight Zone
Chatterbait
A vibrating jig is great option for covering water and finding fish, especially in the prespawn, but even before it, you can get bites on a Chatterbait. Of course, the Z-Man Chatterbait Jack Hammer is the cream of the crop in the vibrating jig world, but at $20 bucks a pop, that’s a pretty pricey bait. If you want a cheaper option, the Elite EVO is pretty darn good.
For a trailer, I like something with either a straight tail or a fin tail. I’d caution against a craw or a paddle tail swimbait because the movement from those plastics will impede the natural hunting action of the Chatterbait. I also am a big proponent of going red in this time of year, especially with the trailer.
Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jack Hammer – 1/2 oz. – $19.99
Colors: Green Pumpkin, Fire Craw, TW Spring Craw
Z-Man Chatterbait Elite EVO – 1/2 oz. – $9.99
Colors: Lava Craw, Black & Blue, Green Pumpkin
Trailer: Hog Farmer Spunk Shad Rapala Crush City Freeloader, Yamamoto Zako
*This post contains links through the Tackle Warehouse Affiliate Program. While all products are independently selected by our expert Riff Outdoors team, if you use these links to make a purchase, we may earn a commission.
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