Grappling Cold Water Bass

In cold clear water, especially around rocks and/or submerged vegetation one of the very best things you can do to catch BIG largemouth is to fish the Cotton Cordell Grappler Shad.

The key to fishing it over the grass in winter is to make it run to where it just ticks the grass a few times each cast. This is done with line size, and to a lesser extent, rod position. Once again, the deeper you want your bait to run the lighter the line (or, the smaller the diameter). A good starting point on line size for this fishing is 10 lb Excalibur Silver Thread. If you need your bait to run deeper than it will on 10 lb Excalibur Silver Thread you should switch to Silver Thread Fluorocarbon as it is denser, sinks and has a smaller diameter.

I would not recommend going below 10 lb test on either lines when fishing grass due to the size of the fish and the cover. Once you have the proper line size and your bait is running at the right depth you may find that some areas of grass are slightly shallower than others. If this is the case you can raise your rod and your bait will run a bit shallower. But for the most part you want your rod pointing more or less right at the bait so you can have some leeway to rip the bait free of grass.

The key retrieve for this bait over grass is just a steady crank, more slow than fast. If it occasionally grabs some grass, give the rod a jerk and it will clear the grass from the hooks. Many times it also cause a big bass to eat your Grappler. If it is grabbing grass often you need to adjust your line size to make it run shallower. In spring you can do very well by hanging your lure in the grass and ripping it out, but in winter it is better to only tick the top of the grass. There are exceptions, especially on cloudy and windy days, but for the most part the above statement holds true.

If there is no grass, only rocks, the retrieve that seems best is a slow and fairly steady retrieve, but with some pauses, especially as your bait clears the deepest water it can touch bottom in. For instance, if you are fishing points that drop into deep water, you will likely be casting into less than 4 feet of water. Within a few cranks you will be touching bottom with your bait, and as the bait goes over deeper water the bait touches less and less. When you sense it has touched bottom for the last time on this cast, it is time for the pause. Just stop reeling for a few seconds. The Grappler will suspend at this depth for a few seconds before it starts to rise to the surface. Then simply start cranking again at the same pace. Sometimes they hit it during the pause, sometimes right after you begin the retrieve again.

Sometimes they don't want the pause, just a steady retrieve all the way in, so it pays to experiment to see what triggers the fish on that particular day.

The reason this bait is such a killer in cold clear water is it has a very tight wiggle, regardless of retrieve speed. This can be important, because even in cold water there is times when the bass are aggressive and will trigger better on a fast aggressive retrieve. These days are usually the cloudy windy "front is upon us" days. So if you are lucky enough to be on the water on such a day be prepared to try some fast cranking. If you are in an area with plenty of fish, it won’t take long for the fish to tell you what they want on such days.

Above all, experiment with your retrieves and pay attention so when you find that magic speed or variation you can capitalize on it.