No-Motion Philosophies for Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass

When the water is cold or cool, somewhere between 38°F and 54°F, deadsticking should always be considered an option for bass, even in the most stable conditions. And, when conditions are stable, deadsticking can be carried out at a slightly faster pace by fancasting and leaving the bait on bottom for 10 to 30 seconds or so before moving it and letting it settle again, after bass have already dispersed on shallow flats in spring.

This does cover water, albeit slowly. Rip the plastic quite high off bottom in spring, moving it 3 to 6 feet, letting it drop from a higher vantage, giving bass another chance to see it. When water temperatures dip below 50°F in fall, however, it’s often best to pick a spot and leave a plastic bait on bottom without moving it for longer periods of time. When no bass are biting at all, finding the right spot can be a chore. During Prespawn and again during fall, when some bass are biting, or biting and missing the hook, your target area is identified. It should be combed thoroughly then revisited with a deadsticking approach.

The biggest largemouths and smallmouths in the systems you fish respond to deadstick tactics during the cold-water periods surrounding ice-out and ice-up. Prespawn bass have routes they follow toward spawning habitat every year. To know those routes, you have to know the system. In fall, bass tend to move to the same areas to winter. Those areas, somewhat easily defined, become perfect targets for deadsticking. The spot-on-the-spot is less important, as bass tend to cruise a lot, though some precise spots consistently produce the most bites.

Presentation seldom needs to be as precise as it does in summer, however, when bass often crush together in tiny spots under the canopy of the thickest clump of weeds available. Largemouths may winter shallower during mild winters than during harsh ones, staying in the vicinity of green weedlines, but they tend to use the same general areas every winter. Smallmouths tend to use the same depths and spots every winter.

Universal Deadstick Tools

Deadstick tackle includes every bass rod you use for presenting plastics, jigs, and more. Gear can range from medium-light spinning to heavy casting. Just match tackle to the package being presented, and to the available cover. I often deadstick tubes for smallmouths with 6-pound monofilament or 8-pound fluorocarbon on a medium-light spinning rod, but I may deadstick football heads or flukes on 10- to 15-pound lines with medium- to medium-heavy casting rods.

When situations suggest deadsticking, I consider a relatively short list of plastic baits. Sticks, which would include the YUM Dinger, Lunker City Slug-Go, Yamamoto Senko, and any similar baits, often come to mind first. Cigar baits, like Dingers, are especially deadly. They fall horizontally, slowly, and wobble on the drop. A tube is a great choice for both species, too. Thin ones, like the Berkley Power Tube, tend to work best in open to rocky areas for smallmouths, while thicker versions shine in heavier cover for largemouths.

Plastic worms were the original tools of choice for cutting-edge anglers who were deadsticking plastics back in the 1970s, ahead of their time. Again, match the plastic to the cover being fished. A finesse worm like the YUM Houdini is right for sand bottoms and light cover most of the time, while a thicker, tougher worm, such as any in the Culprit lineup, match up better with thick weeds, dense slop, or woodcover. In dense cover, it may be necessary to plummet through quickly with 1-ounce or heavier jigs and sinkers in order to reach bottom where the fish are before leaving it on bottom, but a slow fall is best whenever possible.