The one bait I’d use on a baitcaster is a jig-and-pig, but I’d fish it like a plastic worm. That is, I’d be casting it around structure in deeper water (10 to 15 feet or deeper), then crawling it slowly back as if it was a crawdad moving sluggishly in the chilly water. Bass will hit it. Just expect to see more strikes than you feel. That is, you’ll notice your line moving off in a different direction when a bass picks up the bait softly without much of a strike.

If you decide to go with a spinning rig, the first of the three rigs I prefer mimics the jig-and-pig. It’s that stand-up jig with some kind of crawdad imitation soft plastic. Fish it just as slowly as the traditional jig-and-pig, and expect the same kind of strikes.

My second effective bait is a kind of “do-nothing” plastic worm like the slider rig made famous by Tennessean Charlie Brewer. This is slow, deliberate worm fishing, but it’s oh-so-effective in the cooler water of the early season.

Finally, you just might want to try fishing a minnow-tipped jig. Certainly, there are those who consider using live bait some kind of bass fishing blasphemy; it’s not, really. And it can be most effective of all at this time of year, when you have most of the natural conditions against you. Even on the warmest of days, bass are going to be more sluggish and slow to react than at just about any other time of the year.

Opting for live bait gives you the chance to swing the odds in your favor by offering bass something real and alive -- something they’re used to ambushing and eating throughout the year. It’s a great way to catch bass in February, and something you ought to at least think about.

If you just can’t bring yourself to do that, then at least consider opting for some of the soft plastic baits available that are made incorporating attractants. Unless you are fishing the hot water at La Cygne or Coffee County, you are going to have to work at least a little bit of bassin’ magic to get February fish to bite. Anything you can do to improve your chances of getting bites will help you enjoy more productive, albeit still chilly, days on Kansas’ best bass waters this month.