Winter is no time to rest for Jacob Wheeler.
The Indiana native migrated to eastern Tennessee to take advantage of the region’s varied bass fishing opportunities, and he takes no season off to rest his casting arm.
Nevertheless, he does slow down a bit to suit the season. But that’s only because “slow” is how the bass want it.
“Day in and day out, fishing a finesse swimbait is my favorite technique in (cold) water conditions,” Wheeler admits. “Whether I’m fishing largemouth on Chickamauga or for big smallmouth or spotted bass anywhere I go, the forage is mainly threadfin shad or smaller gizzard shad this time of year. We usually hear that bigger baits catch bigger fish, and that’s normally true. But, in winter, little baits catch as many big fish — and get a lot more bites, too.”
His choice in the chill is the 3-inch Storm Largo Shad.
“A 4-inch model can be a finesse swimbait in summer, especially when you’re fishing offshore,” Wheeler says. “But for winter and cooler temperatures, the 3-inch (Largo Shad) is my finesse swimbait.”
Jighead choice is critical, and Wheeler opts for two designs for “finessy” swimbaiting. For shallow water, he uses a 1/4-ounce VMC Hybrid Swimbait Jig. New to the market this year, the ballhead jig features a wider gap high-carbon hook with a “hybrid” bend for added strength, a 60-degree jig eye, 3D holographic eyes, and a large diameter spring keeper to hold the plastic.
“It’s the best swimbait head out there for what I’m doing,” Wheeler says. “If I’m fishing 10 feet or shallower on a grass fishery or waters where a lipless crankbait prevails this time of year, like on Chickamauga, it’s perfect.”
To work deeper water, particularly on clear highland reservoirs, he switches to a flat-sided aspirin-shaped jighead.
“I’ll change head designs when fishing lakes like Cherokee, Percy Priest or even a Lake Lanier,” he says. “I throw a 3/8-ounce or even 1/2-ounce VMC (Neon) Moon Eye Jig to work 20, 30, 40 or even 50 feet — the same swimbait but a different jighead. Lately, I’ve been catching a lot of fish in that 35- to 45-foot depth range, but 25 to 35 feet is the main depth range to work on a lot of these clear, highland reservoirs.
