It is nothing new to hear that the blade bait is the ultimate wintertime bait. Most likely it is the preferred bait for fishing in cold water in the wintertime by all bass fishermen.
Scott Settle who just came off a Top 15 finish in the 2022 Marshall Fishing Cup gave us some insight on wintertime’s favorite lure. Settle was recommended by friend Dylan Fitzgerald who claims “he’s the best I know with a blade bait.”
So of course I took Fitzgerald’s recommendation and talked with Settle a little bit about his knowledge and success with the blade bait.
Blade baits have most likely been around longer than fish have been around … only kidding. But the blade bait has been a staple for a long time, but how do you know which ones to use?
“I actually pour my own blade baits,” Settle said. “There are plenty of great brands of blade baits out there I still throw to this day whether it is the original Silver Buddy or the SteelShad, both are great.”
Obviously, the blade bait shines when the water temperatures get below that 50-degree water temperature mark and will most likely outperform most baits all the way up until there is ice over the top of the lake.
“The biggest secret I can tell anyone when fishing the blade bait is not to be scared to throw it around as soon as the ice thaws out,” Settle explained. “Some of the best days I have had on the lake and on that bait have come when the ice comes off the lake for the first time.”
But for most showing up to the lake and just slinging it around may not be the solution to catching fish on the piece of steel and lead. Finding the right areas with a large population of bait is where you want to spend your time fishing the blade.
“Finding big balls of shad seems to be the key and with the electronics nowadays it is fairly simple to locate them and fish them. Shad have a tendency to die off this time of year in these cold water temps and therefore they will fall to the bottom making an easy meal for bass to pick up and eat.”
While it is important to find the right areas that hold bait, there is a pretty common mistake Settle points out that he sees most people doing with their blade baits.
“A common mistake I see is people pulling the bait instead of snapping the bait. You have to remember the fish isn’t chasing the bait, if that was the case you would be throwing jerkbaits and crankbaits instead,” he suggested. “What you want to do is just give the rod a quick snap on slack line and as soon as you feel the bait vibrate, kill it. The fish this time of year aren’t looking to move very far or very fast so making little movements with the bait is key.”
Settle explains that picking the right weight and color of the blade is a major factor in finding winter fishing success. He suggests two colors, silver and chartreuse. Obviously throwing the silver in cleaner conditions and chartreuse in dirty water conditions.
Keeping the bait on the bottom of the water column is important to give it a life-like look. Settle even suggested that you don’t need to be working the bait any higher than a foot from the bottom.
“The last thing I think that has helped me land more fish on the blade over the years, is the setup I am using,” said Settle. “I use a six-and-a-half foot medium heavy rod with very little backbone, but the biggest component of this setup is the line choice. I use 12-pound monofilament, you want that stretch in the line for the simple fact that the fish this time of year aren’t really committing to the bait that well. There have been so many times I have skin hooked them this outside of the mouth and that mono I feel like has been the real MVP of keeping them on.”
