New year, new gear. It’s officially 2025 and we’re kicking off the new year with a promise… a promise to give you more bass fishing content than ever before from the Riff Outdoors team here at Whiskey Riff. I’m going to challenge myself to AT LEAST do 1 informative, gear-focused, bass fishing article per week where I share tips and tricks and techniques that will help you put more bass in the boat. And of course, I won’t forget about you bank anglers either… I spend a lot of time just fishing off the dock when I don’t have the time to get out on the water. If you read any of my fishing content last year, you know that I live on a lake in Southern Wisconsin, and I primarily fish out of Old Town kayak since it’s just a little more economical for me at this point in my life. I have two little kids right now so a bass boat just doesn’t make as much sense for the family. Plus, the Minn Kota on the kayak helps me get around my 1,000 acre lake just fine. I can truly cover the whole thing if I have enough time. When it comes to gear, I’ll always try and be cognizant of budgetary constraints and try to offer some good options across all price points… of course, some baits are just gonna be a bit pricey no matter who makes it (hard jerkbaits for example). But every single product I recommend (with an affiliate link to on Tackle Warehouse) will either be a product I own and personally use, or have tried before and recommend. Every one, personally-tested fish catchers… guaranteed. And one last note… these “Bait of the Month” type of articles are always gonna be relative to where you live. So for example, I’m iced up in Wisconsin right now… ain’t none of them going to work. If you’re in South Texas or Florida, maybe the water is a little bit warmer and 3 of the 5 are ideal. These lists will generally be for the middle 60-ish percent of the country, and then if you’re in the far north or the far south, you’ll want to adjust… maybe go up a month or back a month, depending on where you live. All that being said, let’s kick off 2025 with my top 5 cold water baits for the month of January: