The one time of year bank anglers get the advantage

Hey, Keith here. 

If you fish from the bank long enough, you learn that winter is usually about compromise: cold hands, fewer bites, and a lot of shoreline that looks good but is nearly impossible to fish.

Between flooded brush, shoreline grass, and steep drop-offs, good-looking water often goes untouched simply because you cannot reach it.

Trust me, nothing will test your patience faster than losing a $25 Megabass jerkbait (It’s still hanging on cypress branch just out of my reach)

Winter drawdowns flip that script.

As water levels fall, lakes shrink, shorelines open up, and bass are forced into fewer, more predictable areas.

What normally feels like a limitation for bank anglers suddenly becomes an advantage.

Today, I want to show you how winter drawdowns work in a bank angler’s favor and why this is one of the easiest times of year to find bass from shore.

BEST LINKS

What I watched this week

• Bluegill ice fishing: Catch bluegill on the hard water (Anglers)

• Four bank-fishing tactics for cold weather (Wired2Fish)

• Find bass quick during the winter drawdown (Brandon Lester Fishing)

• Fishing the winter drawdown (Bassmaster)

• THIS is how you catch bass during a winter drawdown (Randy Blaukat)

Deals of the week

• Walmart marked down Rapala X-Rap 10 from $12.99 to $9.97.

• Bass Pro Shops discounted an Abu Garcia Max STX Spinning Reel from $49.99 to $29.97.

• FishUSA dropped the price on a Shimano Zumverno 115SP Suspending Jerkbait from $22.99 to $17.24.

DEEP DIVE

Fishing the breakline during a winter drawdown

When I bank-fish a lake during a winter drawdown, I don’t worry about beating the bank. Instead, I focus on what's just off the bank.

As water levels fall, bass are pushed out of shallow shoreline cover and repositioned along the first major depth change. 

For most reservoirs, that break happens roughly 10 to 12 feet from the bank. These edges, often called breaklines, are one of the features most overlooked by bank anglers—yet they are where bass naturally settle once the water drops.

A breakline is simply a change in bottom contour. It might be a small ledge, a shelf, or a gradual drop. During a drawdown, those areas become the closest deep water available to bass that were once living shallow.

Why, you ask? 

Well, bass are drawn to these edges for a few reasons.

1. They act as natural ambush points where bass can pin baitfish moving between shallow and deeper water.

2. The added depth offers security from birds and shoreline disturbance, which becomes more important in cold, clear winter water.

3. Breaklines also function like underwater highways, giving bass a consistent travel route along the bank without forcing them to roam aimlessly.

One of the easiest ways to find these areas during a drawdown is by looking for old waterline marks on the bank. Mud lines, debris, and color changes on the shoreline often trace the exact depth where that breakline is forming.

Once you start placing your casts toward that zone instead of pounding the bank itself, your catch rate usually improves fast.

Why drawdowns favor bank anglers

A winter drawdown does more than reposition bass. It also removes many of the obstacles that normally limit bank access.

Shrubs, flooded grass, and shoreline brush are left high and dry. That opens up long stretches of shoreline that are usually unfishable the rest of the year.

At the same time, bass have fewer places to hide. As the lake shrinks, fish are concentrated on specific structure instead of scattered across acres of shallow cover.

For a bank angler who's willing to pay attention and walk a little bit, that combination is hard to beat.

A simple bank-fishing gameplan for winter drawdowns

When I walk the bank during a winter drawdown, I start by covering water instead of settling into one spot. The goal is to locate the first breakline or piece of exposed structure, not to force fish to bite immediately.

I focus my casts slightly off the bank, aiming toward the old waterline or first depth change rather than tight to the shoreline.

Once I get a bite or two, I slow down and work that stretch thoroughly, knowing bass are likely grouped there.

I also pay attention to anything that narrows fish movement.

Choke points, points that extend into the lake, and areas where the shoreline funnels bait tend to reload during a drawdown. These spots may not look impressive, but falling water levels force bass to pass through them.

Finally, I keep my presentations simple and slow.

Drawdowns already concentrate fish. You don’t need to overpower them with constant lure changes.

A handful of confidence baits fished deliberately usually outperforms running and gunning.

Three reliable lures for bank-fishing a winter drawdown

When water levels are falling and bass are grouped along breaklines, you don’t need a big rotation of baits. A few proven lures that cover different parts of the water column will handle most drawdown situations.

Lipless crankbait: A lipless crankbait is one of my first choices during a drawdown because it lets you cover water quickly while still staying near the bottom. I like throwing it slightly off the bank and letting it tick along the breakline. 

Even in cold water, bass will react to it when it comes through their zone. One of my all-time favorite lipless cranks is a Rat-L-Trap, but numerous other brands make similar lures that perform just as well. 

Suspending jerkbait: When bass are holding on the edge and not willing to chase, a suspending jerkbait shines. Long pauses over the breakline keep the bait in front of fish longer, which is critical in winter. 

This is a great option when the water is clear and the bite feels subtle. I tried the Berkley Krej awhile back and am still enamored with it. One thing to remember with the Krej is it pulls up instead of diving down on the pull, so if you need it to dive down, you may be better off with a lure like the Smithwick Rattlin’ Rouge.

Texas-rigged soft plastic: When things slow down, it's hard to beat a simple creature bait like the Strike King Rage Tail Craw. Fished slowly along the breakline, it allows you to stay in contact with the bottom and feel subtle changes in depth. This is also a good choice when pressure is high and bass are less aggressive.