When there is a warm winter with little or no ice, many anglers think of open-water fishing for walleyes; and there are those who think of a longer bass, crappies and bluegill open-water season. We’re focusing on using my system for the latter.

The simplest way to state my system for a warm winter is fishing fast/medium to slow/drift, which all depends on water temperature, wind, sun, and, of course, the preference of the fish. Fishing smaller or shallower bodies of water is best—places like canals, ponds and small lakes with weeds and brush.

Fast retrieves are used most in the earlier parts or whenever the water is warmer (38 to 45 degrees), or areas warming in the sun. A medium retrieve is done about at the same time, but especially if fish have slowed a bit and the water temperature is starting to head below 39 degrees. As for the slow retrieve and drifting, that is normally left until the weather turns to the point where the fish are holding tighter to their wintering areas with water temperatures between freezing and 36 degrees.

My basic lures/bait used are Blitz Blades, Rat-L-Traps, a 2-inch Power Minnow on B-Fish-N H20 jig head, Custom Jig & Spins Ratso and Ratfinkee, a 1-inch Gulp Alive Minnow on a small, smooth shank lead head, Panfish Road Runner, Daiichi Salmon Egg hook with split shot, Crappie Nibble or a waxworm. As can be seen, these are all complementary to the above retrieve pattern.

To help combine the retrieves with the baits, I’ve broken them down to show my general system:

Blades and ‘Traps’
The Blades and Rat-L-Traps are fished whenever a faster or medium retrieve is needed. This is when the fish are a little more active—normally in warmer water—and the weeds are still green and closer to the surface. It may seem strange, but again, depending on the weather, this pattern can hold for quite some time.

Weeds were mentioned since this is one of the best holding locations. I like to tick the tops, and if the fish get a bit negative, catch the weeds and jerk the lure loose. Many times a strike will take place within seconds of jerking the lure free. Wood cover is another one, but be sure to stay above or slightly ticking the top of limbs, as these lures are “wood magnets.”

In most cases, long casts will be needed, especially from shore. For this I like to do something a little different in using an 8 1/2-foot Buzz Ramsey Air Rod, which is a Steelhead model, and teaming it with a Garcia Revo or old Ultra Cast model, casting reel spooled with 12-pound-test Trilene line. This is not only extremely effective, but is a lot of fun to playing a bass. The only learning experience—detecting a strike from a “hang-up” in the weeds, since the rod has a lot of “give.”

Power Minnow
I’ve caught many fish—especially large bass—on Blades and “Traps,” but my favorite lure is the 2-inch Power Minnow with a Precision H20 jig head. It can be fished in any condition and catch many varieties, especially big crappies and bluegills.

The main technique is “finger jigging.” Jigging can be done fast or slow, but as the water cools the best has been a slower, hard jump, which is done by extending the index finger completely straight and have the line hit it hard as the reel rotates. For those of you not familiar with this technique, you have to use an open-face spinning reel and let the line hit your index finger. There is a video on the Dan’s Fish ‘N’ Tales YouTube channel at youtube.com/dansfishntales showing how to finger jig. Topping and catching the weeds is good with this lure too, and swimming over submerged brush has been very effective. At times when it has to be at its slowest, using a larger float and drifting with waves over the structure areas or along the outer edges will sometimes work. However, once it is to this point, I’ll be looking at the smaller Gulp Alive Minnow and Panfish Road Runner.

Panfish Road Runner and Gulp Alive Minnow
As mentioned above, the Panfish Road Runner and Gulp Alive Minnow on a Road Runner head, or small, smooth shank lead head jig, are a good choice when a slower presentation is needed.

Normally, I’ll use these under a float and allow wave action to do the jigging. If there is no wave action, I will give the line a short pull and stop, or bob it along constantly while retrieving. With the Road Runner, I will sometimes use a constant slow retrieve to keep the blade turning.

I will sometimes use a Crappie Nibble on the Road Runner and always apply the Kick’n Bass attractant’s crappie scent.

The Gulp Alive Minnow has its own scent, but often it is given a double dose by using the Kick’n Bass product.

Ice jigs and hooks
Eventually, everything slows down enough that ice jigs and hooks with Crappie Nibbles and waxworms will start being the main bait. It is then that the primary items will be a Custom Jigs & Spins Ratso and Ratfinkee. The Daiichi Salmon Egg hook with one or two Crappie Nibbles, one Crappie Nibble and waxworm, or a single waxworm, will also come into play.

All of these are used under a float. For longer casting distances, again, I’ll use a weighted Mr. Crappie Float, Rocket Float or Rattlin’ Float, and team it with a 10-foot Berkley C-Series rod and spinning reel spooled with 6- or 8-pound-test Nanofil.

Again, the wave action is great for giving the bait a good drift and jigging action, but if it isn’t there, use the short pulls and pauses to allow the bait to lift and fall. The length of pauses depends on the aggressiveness of the fish, and normally if it is a crappie bite, they will hit it on the fall, which in turn could be a “lift bite” that indicates the strike.

While the ice jigs and smaller hooks are mainly for panfish, I have caught some fair bass. If a bass is hooked be prepared to do some finessing to land the larger ones, and don’t “horse” the fish.

As winter starts to turn toward spring, and the conditions described start reversing, then just reverse the process of lure/bait selection and techniques. Also, be sure to add a Blitz Finesse Jig with a trailer like a Pit Boss Jr. to the mix, and try it at the beginning and end of the cycle, especially as it heads toward spring. It may not work all the time, but if it does there will most likely be a big bass caught.

While a normal flasher won’t be used on the ice at this time, a useful tool for this sort of fishing is Vexilar’s Sonarphone. This is a floating transducer that can be cast out and brought over a potential fish holding area. The transducer transmits the information to a smartphone or tablet so that the angler can stand onshore and see all of the information that would be provided from a normal depth finder mounted on a boat. More details are at vexilar.com, as well as links to videos.

If you are faced with a warm winter, don’t pack the gear and wait for possible ice—go out and enjoy the weather and the great fishing that can be found.

If you have any further questions about this or any other fishing subject, drop me a line through the Dan’s Fish ‘N’ Tales® website at dansfishntales.com, or Facebook page at facebook.com/dansfishntales.