I’d already quit fishing for the year. No more fishing after deer season starts. At least, that’s what I said until last weeks abnormally hot weather slowed the deer movement down. Nathan Hodgins had come up to visit, and we decided to try the bass since the deer weren’t doing much. But with what do you catch them during the warm winter weather? I tried spinnerbaits for a while and then put on a shallow running crankbait and caught one on the first cast. Then another and another.

I called Nathan over and tied that crankbait on his line, and presto! Nathan promptly caught a 3-pounder. Before you know it, he was catching and releasing bass of all sizes. Since the water was gin clear, I decided to try a Rattlin’ Rogue with a black back, chrome sides and orange belly.

On my first cast I spotted a bass, cast it beyond him and let it sit a few seconds. Jerk, Jerk, jerk-wham. A diminutive bass almost tore the rod from my hands. He was hungry and meant to have a big supper almost as big as him.

We made a move, went to another spot and saw bass chasing shad. I’d cast out and crank the jerkbait down and work it to the boat in jerk, jerk, pause, jerk, jerk, jerk, all the way to the bank, keeping the lure under the water darting this way and that way, and they just couldn’t stand it.

Hodgins was racking up, too, of course, but Nathan was using a blast from the past, a small Mann’s crankbait called a Baby 1 Minus. It doesn’t go deeper than 1 foot and has a moderately slow wiggle, which is just enough action to entice a bite from a hungry bass without being too fast for them to smash it.

I saw a fish roll and told Hodgins to cast to him. He cast just past him and promptly caught a 3-pounder. I few minutes later, he caught a 6-pounder, then another 4-pound lunker.

The bass were feasting on shad and small baitfish, and they were tearing it up. They weren’t picky eating both the Mann’s crankbait and my jerkbait with a ferocity rarely seen this time of year. We continued catching and releasing bass until the sun started slowly sinking in the west.

We never stopped catching them and rarely missed one. This time of year they’re gorging themselves, and since they are lethargic, they strike the lures, and the treble hooks just don’t let go, and they can’t throw them easily like they can when the weather is hot.

If you’re looking for something else to do during these warm spells, then try your hand a bass fishing. You might just have a great trip. There’s nothing as exciting as catching bass when they’re biting good, and 3- to 5-pounders are fun indeed.

Since Nathan is 6-foot-6, he makes those 4- to 6-pounders look small. Keep that in mind when looking at a picture of him holding a bass up so you can keep it in proper perspective.

If the weather turns cold again, I’ll put up my Bass Pro rod and reel and start hunting for that monster buck again. But for now there is just nothing as exciting as catching the bass while they’re on fire during the wintertime. Carpe Diem! Because you never know when you’ll get another chance to go.

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comcast.net.