Is this a river or a lake? Is there normally current in this water? If so, Look for any sand bars that rise up off the bottom a few feet. Bass will sit behind these sand bars to avoid the current and wait for passing food to come over them. In this cold of water I would look for any eddies or any slower water next to some current and fish with jigs or CR's.
If there is normally no current and now there is, then you are screwed haha. Sorry man. Had to inject some humor. But you know that if there is normally no current and suddenly there is current then fish do react to this. But just stay out of shallow water as fish will instinctively pull out of shallow water in fear of being stranded. So they back out to deeper water presumeably on breaklines.
Fish the first breakline or the second breakline to determine which one the fish are using. These are drop offs that occur faster then the rest of the bank. If the bank is 2-5 feet deep for a distance of say 50 feet then goes from 5 feet to 8 feet in a distance of say 10 feet then you have found the first breakline. Then look for the next breakline where the deeper water falls into even deeper water fairly quick.
Fish those areas with jigs, worms, CR's. Jigs are good bets in cold water. I heard Bill Dance this weekend answer a question about which bait is best in cold water. His reply the jig. I am not an accomplished jig fishermen but I can tell you that I have had better luck with them in cold water then in any other time of the year.
Another tactic that I have employed in cold water is fishing with slabs in deep water. Look for breaklines or channels or road beds basically any structure out in deep water. Vertically drop the slab and experiment with slowly raising the slab up a few inches to one foot and letting it fall back down slowly to ripping it up one foot then letting it fall back down. In colder water like you have, the slow approach is probably best. I have caught bass in Texas doing this.
In Florida we never have these issues so I never get to practice these techniques much out here anymore.
Good luck I hope this helps you a little.
If there is normally no current and now there is, then you are screwed haha. Sorry man. Had to inject some humor. But you know that if there is normally no current and suddenly there is current then fish do react to this. But just stay out of shallow water as fish will instinctively pull out of shallow water in fear of being stranded. So they back out to deeper water presumeably on breaklines.
Fish the first breakline or the second breakline to determine which one the fish are using. These are drop offs that occur faster then the rest of the bank. If the bank is 2-5 feet deep for a distance of say 50 feet then goes from 5 feet to 8 feet in a distance of say 10 feet then you have found the first breakline. Then look for the next breakline where the deeper water falls into even deeper water fairly quick.
Fish those areas with jigs, worms, CR's. Jigs are good bets in cold water. I heard Bill Dance this weekend answer a question about which bait is best in cold water. His reply the jig. I am not an accomplished jig fishermen but I can tell you that I have had better luck with them in cold water then in any other time of the year.
Another tactic that I have employed in cold water is fishing with slabs in deep water. Look for breaklines or channels or road beds basically any structure out in deep water. Vertically drop the slab and experiment with slowly raising the slab up a few inches to one foot and letting it fall back down slowly to ripping it up one foot then letting it fall back down. In colder water like you have, the slow approach is probably best. I have caught bass in Texas doing this.
In Florida we never have these issues so I never get to practice these techniques much out here anymore.
Good luck I hope this helps you a little.
