This Banned Tournament Lure Can Catch You a Lot of Bass This Winter and Other Top Stories

The Starting Spot Daily Bass Fishing Headlines are the perfect way to start your day with some of the top bass fishing articles on the internet.

This Lure That’s Banned In Some Tournaments Can Catch You a Lot of Bass This Winter: Heavy Metal Lures for Winter Smallmouth; and How Ice Fishing Can Make You a Better Open Water Bass Anlger | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

In this edition of The Starting Spot:


-When the Alabama-rig hit the bass scene about 15 years ago, it caused almost as much controversy as forward-facing sonar has lately. Several bass tournaments banned the “magical” bait. But it’s still perfectly legal to fish with and super effective, especially during the winter bass season.

- For Great Lakes bass fishermen, there’s a good chance that you’ll have access to open water most winters. You’ll need to wear a few extra layers and take your safety very seriously, but you can experience great smallmouth bass fishing, especially on metal blade baits.


-Bass pros Tim Dube and Jeff Gustofson share their thoughts on how ice fishing taught them a lot about open water bass fishing. From reading electronics, fish behavior, bait selection and more, fishing through the ice can be a great teacher.

Miller’s tips to take advantage of the winter A-rig bite

by Mitchell Forde

From an article on MajorLeagueFishing.com: When Paul Elias first introduced the bass fishing world to the Alabama rig with his rout on Lake Guntersville in October 2011, the contraption seemed like the magic bullet anglers had long been waiting for, capable of eliciting strikes from big bass no matter how tough the bite. Of course, like all baits, its effectiveness faded as bass grew accustomed to it. It remains a fish-catcher, but not nearly like it was in those early years. 

However, there is one time of year when it consistently outshines most, if not all other baits. From fall through prespawn, anglers need to have an Alabama rig at the ready. 

While Bass Pro Tour rules prohibit umbrella rigs, second-year BPT pro Colby Miller still throws the chandelier frequently…MORE.

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In Cold Water, Heavy Metal Reigns Supreme

by Jonathan LePera

From a story on In-fisherman.com: If you target open water Northern smallmouth, one of the best windows on the calendar to target trophy smallmouth is during the early winter through early spring. With water temperatures ranging from the mid 30s to the mid 40s, smallmouth are less active, only feeding opportunistically. With that in mind, ensure that your boat insurance matches your obsession to chase those fish in those conditions. Dress for warmth and safety with warm beverages on hand and pack your gear as advised. Ace smallmouth anglers Larry Mazur and Neil VandeBiezen might change your mind on the best way to trigger sluggish smallmouth into biting. 

Why not just fish a tube?

Both Mazur and VandeBiezen agree that smallmouth need to be prodded into biting during the colder months, and they believe that the vibration produced by a heavy blade bait, jigging spoon or a lipless crankbait are the best options to counter their cold-water lethargy…MORE.

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Ice breakers

by David A. Brown

From a story on Bassmaster.com: Growing up in New Hampshire, pro Tim Dube spent many winter days perched on the frozen surfaces of lakes Winnipesaukee, Winnisquam and Merrymeeting. Targeting white perch, yellow perch, crappie and the occasional smallmouth bass through holes in the ice helped him hone some of the skills that have served him well in professional bass fishing. 


“Early on, with 2D sonar and a flasher, ice fishing really helped me understand what I was looking at and made it easier for when I went into open water,” Dube said. “Now, with LiveScope, I feel like I’ve become more efficient at telling what species I’m looking at…MORE.

Thanks for starting your day with Fishing On SI. Lines in!