The Old School Rig That Still Crushes Suspended Bass

Why This Old-School Winter Rig Still Catches Bass When Nothing Else Will

Written by Carl Noe • NOEoutdoors

The floating fly isn’t new. It’s been around forever, and honestly, most guys don’t even think about it anymore. But every winter, when the water temps drop and the fish turn stubborn, this little setup still flat-out smokes bass. It’s simple, it’s subtle, and it shines when every other bait in the box starts letting you down.

The whole deal is pretty straightforward. You hang a small hair jig under a float and let it sit right where the fish are suspended. That’s it. You’re not ripping it, burning it, or trying to trigger a reaction strike. You’re showing a bass the easiest meal in the lake at a time when they’re not interested in chasing anything. When the water gets cold, bass want lazy. This setup gives them lazy.

When It Works Best

Once your lake slides into the low fifties and especially the forties, the floating fly becomes a real player. Winter, post-front, calm bluebird days, all the times bass usually make you want to go home. Clear water is a big plus. If you’ve got at least three feet of visibility, you’re in the right zone.

This is a suspended-fish technique. You’re not targeting bottom huggers or shallow cruisers. You’re hunting the fish that sit halfway down the water column on bluff walls, deep points, steep rocky banks, docks with deep water under them, and brush out off the bank. These bass can be stubborn because they don’t want to move far. The floating fly puts the jig in their face and keeps it there.

The Rig

Most people fish it on a long spinning rod, usually around ten feet. I know that sounds strange if you’ve never done it, but once you fish a long leader with a tiny jig, you understand real quick why the length matters. Light braid on the reel, then a long fluorocarbon leader tied to your float. And when I say long, I mean long. Ten to fifteen feet isn’t crazy for this technique.

The jig is small. Usually a one sixteenth ounce hair jig. Marabou, craft hair, anything that pulses on its own without you having to work it. The whole point is minimal movement. You’re imitating a stunned baitfish, not a sprinting one.

Slip Cork vs Fixed Cork

Some guys also use a sliding cork, also called a slip cork or slip float. It lets your line slide freely through the float until it hits a bobber stop. That means you can change depth fast without re-rigging. If you’re trying to figure out how deep the fish are sitting, a slip cork can help you dial that in quicker.

The downside is simple. A slip cork doesn’t always behave the way a floating fly needs it to. That tiny hair jig sometimes isn’t heavy enough to pull line through the float cleanly, and your depth gets inconsistent. Also, one of the best bite indicators in floating-fly fishing is the float laying over on a lift bite. With a slip cork, that gets harder to see.

So yes, you can use a slip cork, and it has its place, especially for scouting depth. But when the bite is tough and you need that jig parked exactly where the fish are, a fixed cork is still the better choice.

How You Fish It

Cast it out, let the jig sink, and don’t overthink it. When the jig hits its set depth, the float stands straight up. From there, you’re giving it tiny twitches and long pauses. Some days you barely touch it at all. The fish will tell you quick what they want.

Watch the float the entire time. A lot of bites in winter aren’t violent. The float won’t always shoot under. Many times it just tilts on its side or barely moves. That’s a bass lifting the jig. If you blink, you’ll miss it.

Why It Still Matters

On southern reservoirs, especially around Georgia and South Carolina, big spotted bass spend a ton of winter suspended. They won’t chase. They won’t commit. You can throw jigs, A-rigs, crankbaits, whatever and they still won’t touch it some days.

But the floating fly? It gives them no excuse. It’s an easy pick-off. It sits perfectly still. It lets the cold water do the work. And it catches fish that refuse almost everything else.

If you’re tired of getting your teeth kicked in during winter fishing, give this thing a real look. You’ll be surprised at what it can do.

Big shoutout to Bass Time With DIAZ for sparking the idea to revisit this technique and lay it all out in one place.

If you need gear or want to talk fishing face-to-face, the NOEoutdoors Fishing Expos are where you’ll find the folks who still know and use this technique the right way. We’ve got shows in Cartersville, Georgia, Greenville, South Carolina, Pensacola, Florida, coming soon in Jacksonville. Come hang out, shake some hands, and talk fishing with people who actually live it.