I think it helps to compare notes about fishing, so have a question. For those of you that fish with plastics in winter, do you normally fish with straight tale worms per conventional wisdom, or do you also fish with creature baits such as a baby brush hog?

Don't rule anything out, but I can confirm that baby brush hogs will work in the winter.

Thanks for the reply Duck_Hunter. Good to know.

Any of the plastics, I like the c-rig with a worm that floats--Strike King Super Finesse.

I throw the same baits year round. U tail worms, creature baits, beavers, craws etc.

Yep.

I tend to switch to the baby brush hog sooner in the winter than in the summer. I also tend to drop shot flukes more in the winter.

My traditional plastics are:
Winter: Trick Worms, Finesse Worms, smaller curl tail worms, Lizards and Baby Brush Hogs
PreSpawn: Trick Worms, Senko's, Lizards, Lizards, Lizards, Baby Brush Hogs, Flukes
Spawn: Lizards, Wacky Trick Worms, Floating Worms, Senko's
Post Spawn: Lizards, Trick Worms, Senko's, Flukes
Summer/Fall: 10" Worms, Brush Hogs, Regular Worms, Trick Worms, Flukes

But these all are dependent on the water conditions and temps and techniques of where I am fishing. I'm not going to fish a Wacky Worm in 30' of water! Also you said the key word "Winter". We often do NOT have a true winter in Texas. Most of our Seasonal Fishing Pattern is from a Fall Pattern to a Pre Pre Spawn Pattern. Those fish never leave the back of the creeks (Like they do up north in the cold) and just "slide" into a staging pattern. If we do get a few days of really cold weather they just hunker down in place or maybe drop down just a little deeper and then go back to the staging. However if we get the REALLY COLD weather this time of the year, like in 2013, then we can get a traditional winter bite in deep water on jigs and etc. We are fortunate that the light winters allow us to have a wide degree of options available for our Winter Patterns. That is why we get to pick and choose our plastics and MOST will still do good! Now Colors are another subject!

I may down size a bit in the winter but still throw plastics a lot, I just slow it down, then slow down some more.

Thank all of you for the replies and information. I took careful note of what you said, and would imagine a lot of other readers did as well.

Baby Brush Hogs are my go to bait year around. When nothing else works, i put on a watermelon red BBH.

Hope one will work for me. Bite has been slower than slow for past two weeks. Definitely gonna try one next time out.

Sometimes I use bigger baits in the winter and slow way down. I think a bass in the winter would rather eat one big easy meal over a smaller meal.

Yep, long skinny worms on a drop shot deep have worked for me in very cold water.