A couple of years ago, as the world was coming to grips with the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the sudden change that came with it, I took my friend Rob Woodruff’s advice one chilly spring day.

And that advice had nothing to do with things like social distancing, masking, or the hope for a vaccine, either. Instead, it had to do with a topic near and dear to both of our hearts every spring, the chance to catch a trophy sized largemouth bass on an eight-weight fly rod.

Specifically, his advice centered around what a bass angler is to do when the calendar says April and the spawn is on, but the weatherman says that a strong cold front is still pushing through.

“Go fishing anyway,” said Woodruff, an Orvis-endorsed fly fishing guide for many years on Lake Fork.

While northern Arkansas and its double-digit brown trout and rainbow trout are the centerpiece of Woodruff’s guiding endeavors these days with his wife Jenny—the couple’s new home overlooks the Norfork River and is minutes away from the White River—Rob’s angling DNA has East Texas bass written all over it.

After all, he spent 20+ years plying the waters of Fork out of his Xpress bass rig, catching four double-digit fly rod lunkers himself and guiding customers to another four fly rod bass over 10-pounds. And that’s not to count the countless fish over seven-pounds that were caught every year, nor the 14-pound class bass that came off at the boat as a client battled it on an Orvis fly rod.

Having fished with Woodruff for years — despite the fact that I’m a Longhorn and he’s an Aggie, Rob is one of the best friends I’ve ever been blessed with — I’ve learned to tie on the fly on that he tells me to; to cast it where, when, and how he instructs; and to smile big when I hold up the resulting big bass for a photo.

So, needless to say, I trust his advice. Even when it causes me to reach for the windproof fleece and not the sunscreen bottle.

According to Woodruff, a cold front doesn’t always spell disaster and doom for a springtime bass fisherman.

"A cold front doesn't make me as hopeful as I might have been otherwise at this time of the year, especially if I've had a solid pattern going on in recent days," Woodruff has told me down through the years.

"It can certainly reshuffle the deck on the first day after a front. And sometimes, the second day after a front can be even worse. But that doesn't mean that the game is over either."

Especially if you’ll make a few key adjustments, including slowing things down.

"Colder water slows down the metabolism of a bass and the jump in barometric pressure after a front makes them more lethargic," notes Woodruff.

Why? Because higher atmospheric pressures affect the swim bladder of a fish, making them less comfortable.

"You can really see that if you watch fish at an aquarium somewhere after a front," said Woodruff, himself a three-time finalist for the Orvis Guide-of-the-Year award and a man that is married to the 2018 Orvis Guide of the Year.

"Before a front, they seem to almost hang effortlessly in the water. After a front, it affects their balance and throws it out of kilter for a little while, so they are not as apt to feed."

The longtime guide (see the “Woodruff Fly Fishing” Facebook page at www.facebook.com/people/Woodruff-Fly-Fishing/100057702698139 ) notes that a second adjustment is to size down your fly or lure.

"If you're just looking to catch fish, then it might be a good idea to go to a smaller lure or fly," said Woodruff. "But if your goal is to catch a real high quality fish, they're still going to be looking for big meals."

A third key is to adjust fishing locations, especially early in the day when overnight lows have chilled the water down a few degrees.

"Location can be very important after a cold front, especially if there's been a relatively warm afternoon the day before," said Woodruff, who will often focus on private boat ramps, concrete retaining walls, rip-rap, and areas with large rocks in the water.

Why are such areas important?

"Because the water around such spots can be at least a degree or two warmer than the surrounding water is, sometimes even more," said Woodruff. "And that can make a big difference on a chilly morning of bass fishing."

A fourth thing to keep in mind on a chilly spring day is that the water is still likely to warm up a degree or two as the day progresses.

"It pays to stick with it because often, your chances get better as the day goes along," said Woodruff. "The fish adjust to the barometric pressure change, the sunshine warms the water up a little bit and because of all of that, you don't want to quit too soon."

Adhering to these principles — even as a strong north wind blows — can occasionally result in a truly big bass that an angler will remember for the rest of the season.

How do I know? Because on the trip I mentioned at the outset — one where a powerful cold front had pushed through in early April, a stiff north wind was blowing, temperatures had fallen into in the upper 30s, and nobody else was on the water — I went fishing anyway.

And when I threw a deer hair topwater frog up cozy against a shallow water spot where the wind was somewhat blocked, I had a huge splash almost as soon as the hair bug hit the water. As it turned out, it was a big female bass weighing five-plus pounds.

Woodruff wasn’t surprised, since he’s seen fish of eight-pounds or better get caught after a cold front pushes through.

"Some theories are out there that the really, really large fish in a lake don't realize as quickly that it's gotten cold," he’s told me in past interviews. "And that might help account for the kind of (cold early spring) days where you may have a 1,000 anglers on the water that only catch a few fish.

"But several of those fish might be giants, the fish of a lifetime."

Which leads to Woodruff's fifth point about successful bass fishing after the weatherman brings a cold front to town.

"After a front, you may not get the kind of hit that will jolt you out of a daydream, so you've got to really try and stay focused on each cast," he said.

"A big fish may only make a halfhearted swipe and not take a lure or fly like it does on a classic warm spring day. Because of that's it's easy to get lulled into just going through the motions of making a cast and not paying attention.

"And then boom, there's finally an attempted take by a good fish and if you're not paying attention, it can be easy to blow that shot."

There are other ideas to consider, like Woodruff tweaking his color selections on such days, liking to throw bright hues of orange, red, light olive, chartreuse, and fire tiger. Coincidentally enough, the deer hair bug I was throwing a couple of years ago in early April was a fire tiger pattern, one that the bloodied tail largemouth bass couldn’t resist.

The bottom line here is simply this, that cold front or not, spring is the time to put the boat in the water and go take one of the year's best shots at catching a trophy-size bass.

And that means that you go, even when you’ve got to bundle up. So yesterday, I did just that and went out on a chilly morning greeted by a northerly breeze.

Did I catch a lunker? Maybe…in a few years, perhaps.

But at least I was there, seeing what might happen, even if I was wearing Sitka Gear camo clothing normally reserved for a fall whitetail bowhunt.

"You can't catch a giant bass if you don't go and if you don't have your hook in the water," says Woodruff.

Even if you’re pouring hot chocolate from your YETI thermos bottle, that is.