The reset button
COLUMN
NEWELL ’ S NOTES
ROB
NEWELL
The reset button
10
Maybe it ’ s the cold water that erases their memory . Perhaps it ’ s because fishing pressure wanes significantly when hunting seasons begin in fall and lakes start icing up . Or , it could be that forage gets a lot scarcer in the winter months and they forget what the real stuff looks like .
Whatever the reason , this is the one time of year the reset button gets pushed in the brains of bass . I call it the reset button because for just a short while during winter and early spring it seems bass forget everything they ’ ve learned about lures and artificial presentations .
It ’ s like the cache in their memory banks where lure shapes , sizes and sounds are stored gets cleared . However , this magical period only lasts a week or so on a fishery , as it does not take them long to “ remember ” why certain profiles , actions and vibrations sting a little more than others .
Starting about the last week of January in the South and working up through the country until the first week of April in the North , every lake has this special window where the bass , especially the big ones , are oblivious to our fishing tricks , and they eat like they have never seen a lure before .
During this time , bass sort of “ wake up ” out of their winter dormancy and begin ambling toward the bank . The water is still cold – in the mid- to low 40s in the South , grazing the upper 30s in the North – but the days have started getting longer , triggering that instinct to get moving shallow where the water will warm up first . They ’ re grumpy , like someone who hasn ’ t had their first cup of coffee in the morning . Their fuse is short , and they snap at anything that comes by .
Several other factors help the reset button get pressed this time of year as well .
Late winter usually means cold rain , which brings muddy water , helping to add color to lakes that are normally considered clear . In many cases that extra stain in the water makes bass less wary about crushing lures .
In major reservoirs , the water is still low due to winter drawdowns , which reduces the number of hiding places bass can use and makes the ones they do use more obvious .
Also , cold winters are hard on forage bases , oftentimes killing off shad and sending crawfish into the ground . The first artificial lure bass see can easily be mistaken for food .
Finally , the weather frontal cycle brings a more predictable feeding window : that prime time on the second or third day after a front when things have stabilized , but just before the next front hits .
When the reset button gets pressed , you can get the bullin-the-china-shop lures out and push those groggy bass over the edge – no finesse required . Think lipless rattlers in 1 / 2- ounce and 3 / 4-ounce sizes in oranges or reds ; big , ugly jigs in black and blue or black and chartreuse with full-sized salty chunks ; obnoxiously colored crankbaits that dredge up the bottom , banging into cover and making commotion ; and even those old gaudy white and chartreuse spinnerbaits with big blades that trip their triggers .
FLWFISHING . COM I February-MarCH 2018