When the lake is cold and stained to muddy, nothing works harder to connect you with a lunker bass than a jig-and-pig. This reliable bass bait has accounted for many monster largemouths in winter and early spring.

Keep the following in mind when using the jig-and-pig in cold-water conditions:
· When rigged with a split-tail pork frog, it's a near-perfect crawfish mimic. The heavy jighead bumps through submerged brushpiles and over logs with ease. The jig's rubber skirt and tails of the trailer flare out like the arms and pinchers of a live craw.
· Target submerged wood cover lining reservoir creek channels and ditches in the dead of winter. If you can find an underwater ditch, these structures receive very little fishing pressure and can yield monster bass.
· Jig fishing is not an ultralight game – hammer the fish with a 7-foot heavy-action baitcasting rod or flipping stick with 20-pound mono.