The water is still warm and the bass are big and feeding up for the winter. Likewise, the baits you use to catch them are big. But when the water gets cold, the bass start to get less active and most go into deeper water. If you remember the discussion in last month's article, Bass by the Spoonful , about the energy relationship between bass and stalked prey, you might think that big baits will still work best. Alas, such may not be the case.
Fish are cold-blooded.
Pardon the statement of the obvious, but we must remember that as the water get's cold, the internal temperature of fish decreases accordingly. Therefore they do not need as much food to sustain themselves as they must have during the warmer weather. Fish do not always tend to eat less often, but what they eat will be less. Think about it. If you had lunch a couple of hours ago and hadn't done much since, but were feeling a bit hungry, you would probably order a soup and salad rather than a huge plate of roast beef with peas, carrots and a baked potato.