Winter time bass fishing can be a difficult and fruitless endeavor. The fish are very sluggish, and basically the feeding frenzy in the late summer and autumn is a matter of survival. Insects are long since gone by winter, and frogs and crustaceans are holed up until the weather breaks. Several articles have been written on this subject already, and they offer excellent insight into lures and techniques, but often cold weather can make the "where" aspect more important than the "how to."

Before you run to the local Gander Mountain or Cabela's outlet, I would advise either buying a map or looking in the local White or Yellow Pages. What are you looking for? Power plants and wastewater treatment facilities! For that matter, anyplace you can think of where there might be a warm water discharge. For example, there is a power plant on the Virginia side of the Potomac about 20-30 miles upstream from DC. To the locals, it is a hotbed for winter bassing. If there is a sixty degree discharge into a thirty degree river, that's precisely where the fish are going to congregate.

Beyond the warmth, the draw for the bass is smaller fish. In these locations I would recommend minnows. They are going to be hard to get at the local bait shop, so I would suggest going to a pet shop for any sort of cheap feeder fish. If this fails, lures that come closest to mimicking a minnow would be a good bet. There is nothing particularly new or innovative about this idea. It is a tried and true winter fishing technique, and if you have access to such a place, you should be successful.

Learn more about this author, T.C Leonard.
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