Although much bass-water in the southern US seldom gets below 50F, or 20C, the lakes in the north do. In Canada ice-over occurs from October to December (the further north, the earlier) and stays until April to June. However, open season for bass often extends into this icy time, presenting many of us with an extreme cold-water situation.

Once the fall turnover has equalized the water from top to bottom and the big summer weed flats have died off, bass, like many fish, will move to places less affected by weather conditions, where there is some sort of structure, and where there is a food source close by. They will go deep -- as much as 40 feet or more in some lakes -- and will tend to congregate around points and drop-offs.

It is an absolute fallacy to think that bass stop eating when it gets too cold. How else would the sows get the food energy required to manufacture and nourish all those eggs? The only difference is that fish tend to have an internal device to gauge the value of forage that comes by, relative to the amount of energy required to capture and process it.

If you were to place a fast running spinnerbait, crankbait or swimming jig within the strike zone of your favourite cold water bass, the fish would instinctively know that it would probably have to spend "X" units of energy to receive "Y" units from the food. For all those familiar with basic math, use the following complex equations: