When late-season cold fronts put prespawners in a foul mood, just remember that, despite the interruptive nature of a temperature drop and the dreaded bluebird post-front day, the fish still want to eat.
They might not feel like it, but there’s no question that they need to feed.
And stalling periods delivered by cold fronts are rarely more than annoying delays for the bass; they’ve already sensed the days growing warmer with longer periods of sunlight, so they’ll simply lay low and wait out the front.
But rather than lament the lapse in raging prespawn action, adjust your tactics and show the fish something that’s easy for them to catch.
This is a great time to throw a jerkbait — a lure design to twitch and pause for an effective blending of interest and accessibility.
In most prespawn habitat, you’ll want to stick with shallow-diving models. And on sunny afternoons, you might want to work in some floating jerkbait action for the fish that don’t mind heading topside.
Carolina rigs baited with small lizards or curly tail worms can also deliver attractive options that don’t require much chasing.
Downsizing is also an effective strategy Bassmaster Elite Series pro Cliff Prince often implements.
In fact, Prince said he can still get bit on a lipless rattle bait during frontal conditions by simply dropping from an Xcalibur XR 50 lipless bait to the XR 25.
“I catch them on that bigger bait, too, but it seems they eat that small bait better in post-frontal conditions,” Prince said.
