When January approaches the cold days of winter have officially set in. On Alabama's Lay Lake, this means a change in your style of fishing for largemouth bass, and paying close attention to winter warming trends.
A very cold December dropped water temperatures abruptly, sending bass to the deep, suspended in comfort zones, or buried up in some thick cover, to await better conditions. Water temperatures plunged into the mid-to-upper 40's by mid December and fishing slowed down...somewhat.
As January arrives and February is inevitably on the way, colder things are in store for anglers fishing Lay Lake. Cold nights of mid-to-upper 20's, and daytime highs not even reaching the 50 degree mark, can show bass fishing very slow.
Expect only a few bites during these times and fish very slow, no matter what your lure choice. Cover each area you fish thoroughly. Schools of bass can bunch up on key locations during these times and finding that motherlode is possible. Look for the warmest water, the clearest water available and the most baitfish infested areas for success.
Although many weeds are still evident (and some are still green), many largemouth bass abandon their oxygen-rich environments for rock solid objects during winter. This means fishing out in the middle of the weed lined banks you usually fish. Creek flats, small pockets with stump flats, and many protruding secondary points, are your targets during these winter days.
This goes for rocks, rock piles, old house foundations, boulders, brush piles, stumps, Christmas trees, and trees and laying logs on flats. Fishing these spots involves the use of only a hand full of lures. Or many, the choice is up to you. The object is to cover all water depths, from top to bottom, to discover where the bass are holding on each trip.
Most bass on Lay Lake can be enticed to bite during winter with one of three lures. Jigs, crankbaits and spinnerbaits.
Jigs adorned with Sizmic's Little Dill or Big Dill plastic chunks, or their Sassy Toad and (new) Sassy Toad Jr. trailers, are excellent choices for slow, sluggish bass. (See: www.sizmiclures.com)
You must fish very slow on some days, so always keep this in mind and slow way down. Often, you must leave the jig combo in one spot for a while, to entice bass to bite. One quarter to half ounce size jigs are best. See Rippler Lure's jigs, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits at: www.rippler.com
Crankbaits can cover an entire water column thoroughly and surprisingly, these are the best lures for covering water fast and finding the most active bass during winter. Shallow to mid divers, are great when feeding fish are present. Three of my favorites for shallow to mid depths, are a Spro (spro.com) Crankbait 25 Slow Riser, in baby bass color, a No. 5-7 Shad Rap in crayfish color and the Lucky Craft CB 100 in shad color.
Dormant bass need deep divers to trigger that instinct strike. For these bass, that are often suspended or near deep water drops, try Suspending Fat Free Shad crankbaits by Excalibur (lurenet.com). These are great for covering those 5-10 foot depths. Try 15 pound test Trilene Big Game line on all crankbaits.
Spinnerbaits are excellent for fishing water less than 5 feet deep in winter. They are weedless, vibrating and flashing lures, that attract big bass looking for that slow, enticing meal.
If fishing stained water, use spinnerbaits with bright colored skirts and trailers, adorned with bigger blades than normal, with a combination of gold and silver blades. One half to three quarter ounce sizes are best. Line size should be 17-20 pound test. I prefer Trilene Big Game monofilament on all lures.
If confronted with clear or very clear water conditions, downsize your spinnerbaits to 3/8 or 1/4 ounce size. Also use smaller blades in silver hues with tandem blades. A small gold or silver Colorado blade up front, and a small, silver willow leaf or Indiana blade on back.
Look for winter warming trends to find increased fish activity on Lay Lake this winter. I have seen bass cruising the shallows, with water temps in mid to upper 60's in January and February, during week long warming trends. Some of these active bass will even hit topwater lures during these rising water temperature conditions. Look for mid to upper 50's, with an approaching rainy front, after several warm days and nights.
Be safe, dress warm, fish slow, and have a good net ready when fishing Lay Lake this winter. There are some big Largemouth bass taken each winter season, by the angler lucky enough to get the fish in the boat!