Start The Year Off Right

So with the new year usually comes colder weather in most areas of the country. This is one of my favorite times of the year to fish. All the fish start stacking up in groups so that finding them may be a little more of a challenge, but once you do, hang on!

First and foremost, during these months you don't have many recreational boaters. So the lake is all your except for the occasional extremist bass fisherman like yourself. If you don't find the fish, at least you get a peaceful relaxing day on the water.

I find that electronics come in very handy in the beginning of the year. The fish start to move deeper and really start to school up. I have heard people say that these fish don't eat in the winter months. I find that to be very untrue. Fish will eat all year long, yeah they're cold blooded but that doesn't mean they don't eat. I like to find channels with rock piles, stumps, trees, or anything else for that matter. Most channels can run for quite a ways, so look for irregularities in the channels on your electronics until you find that sweet spot.

As far as the baits I use, its the same ol same ol. I try and search with a crankbait, if no takers, I go straight to the jigs. Usually its a Gary Yamamoto hula grub. These tend to have a small profile in the water and still give good movement. Let that jig sit there for a while, then a while longer, and then a while longer. Sometimes when I find myself fishing to fast ill start to count. I move the jig, count to a certain number, then move the jig a little bit again. If all else fails, pull out old faithful rubber worm. I usually will use a drop shot because of the depths I'm fishing.

So stay dry, stay warm, and good huntin!