3 Tips for Fishing Boat Docks for Winter Bass

As the weather gets colder, bass go deep and become lethargic. However, they will still readily strike a tasty meal that drifts by. Boat docks provide an excellent opportunity to catch inactive winter bass.

Here are a few tips to help you catch more bass around docks when the water turns plunges below the mid 40s:

1. Slow Down - The metabolism of bass slows way down in the winter, so you need to slow down your presentations. Use plastics rigged Texas-style, lipless crankbaits, or suspending jerkbaits. Work them extremely slow and let the bait sit still for long pauses at times to see how they want the baits presented.
2. Fish Deep Docks - Target docks in deeper water, at least 6+ feet. As water around shallow docks get colder, bass will move out to deeper docks. Focus on dock posts, edges, corners, and boat slips. Vertical jigging can also be very effective if bass are found holding on brush piles around docks.
3. Downsize Your Offerings - Big baits catch big fish, but that changes in the winter. Scale down to more compact baits in the 2.5-4 inch range. Finesse plastic creature baits, ned rigs, and scented finesse plastics can all produce when retrieved slowly.

Bass pro Brandon Cobb often relies on docks to find hard cover oriented bass during the cold water period. Take a couple minutes and watch as he explains his approach to finding and catching winter bass when fishing boat docks...

Remember winter bass are usually less active, often preferring finesse over power fishing presentations. Always consider using finesse techniques like:

• Drop shotting: Rig a small finesse worm and a light drop shot weight and delicately "tickle" the bottom around dock supports and outside shaded areas.
• Jigging: Work a compact jig and trailer with a slow crawl or lift-and-fall retrieve under docks and along the edges.
• Ned rigging: Thread a Ned worm or similar size soft plastic bait onto a mushroom-style Ned jig head, letting it drift naturally near cover or cast it just under dock edges and slowly drag it out.