1) slow down your presentation. In the winter bass will slow down considerably. They will not chase down a fast moving lure. one reason is because it takes too much energy for them to chase it down when they can just wait for easier prey to come by. second it doesn't look natural in the winter everything slows down including bait fish. If your lure is darting through the water when everything else is moving slowly its a dead give away that its a lure and not something edible.
2) up size your lures: In the winter a bass will not chase down prey unless its worth the effort. a large bulky jig or plastic worm is just what they are looking for. Try out some 9 inch plus plastics or 1/2 ounce jig and pig combos. work them extremely slowly across the bottom for best results.
3) Watch the line: In the winter most of your strikes will be soft, very soft. most of the time you will not even feel it you will just notice the line twitch a bit or maybe go slack a little too early.
4) Look for warm water: fish are cold blooded they will actively seek out the warmest water they can find. after a string of warm sunny days look for them to be in shallower water near cover. After a string of cold days they will probably move back to deeper water. Sometimes creeks running into lakes will be a few degrees warmer
5) Buy a floating thermometer: you can find these made specifically for fishing or just look for a floating pool thermometer of some sort. knowing the water temperature will drastically improve your fishing success. Learn how the fish behave dependant on the temperature. Learn when the fish begin spawning and use the thermometer to guage when the water will be getting close to that temp. plan your fishing trips accordingly.
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