Photo by Ron Sinfelt

By Ronnie Garrison

Pulling a bass boat to a lake in Georgia in January will often get you some strange looks. When you stop for gas, somebody will usually ask incredulously, "Are you going fishing today?" Sometimes the icy air and skin-numbing wind will also make you wonder if you really are crazy.

At least here our water does not get hard on top, requiring ice-fishing. Usually in Middle Georgia the surface temperature does not drop below 45 degrees and if it does, it will not stay there long. Bass stay somewhat active all winter long, and can be caught every day of the year.

In fact, as the days get longer after Christmas, bass start moving toward future spawning areas and venture shallow on warm days to feed. You can take advantage of these cold-weather bass if you pick the right lakes, choose the best baits and fish in the correct spots.

I am in two bass clubs in Griffin and both fish a January tournament each year. We have been doing that since 1973, and the clubs' big bass for the year is often caught in January. Some years we have pretty weather to fish and can be comfortable. Other years we dig out the snowmobile suits to try to stay warm.

I caught my first 8-pound bass in a January Spalding County Sportsman Club tournament, and my second 8-pounder came in another one of that club's January tournaments a few years later. My biggest bass ever, a 9-pound, 7-ounce fish, was caught the first Sunday of February in a Flint River Bass Club tournament. So, obviously, I like fishing for big bass in the winter.

Picking a good winter lake can be the key to catching a lunker. In our clubs we often pick reservoirs where we have a better chance of catching numbers of winter bass, but some lakes have proven themselves over the years to also be good bets for lunkers.

I dropped a jigging spoon to the bottom, twitched it once and a bass thumped it. That fish weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces on my hand scales. Not a wall mount, but a good fish any time of the year. That fish was holding on the bottom in 27 feet of water.

West Point has good numbers of bass weighing over 5 pounds, and many of them can be caught in the winter. Clear water helps, and that is usually found in the lower section of the reservoir, from the railroad trestle located just south of the mouth of Whitewater Creek down to the dam. Creek mouths are the places to concentrate once bass start their migration. Finding baitfish always helps your chances of finding bass nearby.

In early January start looking for fish holding in 22 to 30 feet of water. Flats off points at creek mouths are good bets. If the point runs out to a small flat, then drops into the creek channel itself, bass often stack up there waiting on warming water.

The best way to fish for bass holding deep is to drop a spoon down to them and jig it up and down, making it look like an injured baitfish struggling to swim back to the surface. A slow rise and fall seems to be best for bigger fish since it looks like an easier meal for them.

If the water is clear, a silver spoon works best. A white bucktail on it can give it added attraction. In stained water I like a gold spoon. On both I have been adding red hooks for the past few years. That seems to give the bass a better target and attracts a few more strikes.

As January progresses the days get longer and we have stretches of several relatively warm days. That can trigger big bass to move shallow to feed. If there is an extended period of warm weather, the fish may even move to spawning areas to take advantage of an early spawn.

Rocky points and banks near the mouth of creeks can be excellent on warm days in January. If there is some wood present, it is even better. Fish a crankbait in these areas and you may draw a strike from a wallhanger. Fish shad colors in clear water and add some chartreuse if the water is stained.

A well known big bass bait is a jig-and-pig. A couple of years ago in February I landed a 7-pound, 8-ounce bass out of a treetop on a rocky bank at West Point. It was a cold day at the end of a stretch of warm days, and the water had been heating up some. That bass was in about 5 feet of water back in a creek, but on a steep bank where the channel swung near it.

Fish a jig-and-pig on all rocks or wood cover and work from the mouth of the creeks back. Keep going if the water is warming, until you are sure the bass have not moved way back in the creeks already. Fish the jig-and-pig slowly, hopping it on rocks and over any limbs of trees in the water.

Black or blue jig-and-pigs are always good, but I like a brown jig with a brown pork trailer if the water is clear. Fish any of the colors on fairly heavy line since you might need to pull a big bass away from cover before he wraps you up.

Since it is fairly small, Lake Jackson can muddy up fast, and that really hurts winter fishing. If the water is not muddy, January can provide a bonanza for lunker bass. These fish seem to hold in fairly consistent areas.

Concentrations of sand and rock are often the key. Look for rocky or sandy points near the mouths of creeks on all arms of the lake. Sand seems to attract the shad, and bass will be there to feed on them. Crawfish live in the rocky areas, and are a favorite food of big bass. Fish where the bass feed.

Bass don't hold as deep at Jackson as they do on other lakes, and I seldom fish deeper than 20 feet. You can usually spot bass holding out on points in 17 to 18 feet of water, and those bass are catchable if they are holding near the bottom. You can jig a spoon for these fish.

Watch your depthfinder for shad and fish a crankbait or spinnerbait if you see the bait, but nothing holding under them. The bass may be holding a bit shallower on the point. My first 8-pounder hit a chrome crankbait fished slowly on a sandy point where a ditch runs into Tussahaw Creek. It was in about 6 feet of water. That kind of place is good on all areas of the lake.

There are some big shallow, flat points on Jackson, and a heavy spinnerbait crawled along the bottom allows you to cover a lot of water faster than jigging a spoon. If it is blowing, use the wind to move the boat and let your spinnerbait flutter along right on the bottom. This is a good technique to cover water 10 to 15 feet deep, and it is how I landed my second 8-pounder.

Rocky points are located all over Jackson and hold good bass. You are likely to catch some spotted bass, but big largemouths hold there, too. Find rocky points that drop off fast into deep water and you will find bass. The points are even better if they are near the mouths of creeks and coves.

Work a crankbait all over rocky points, hitting it from all directions. If the wind is blowing across the point, start by casting into the wind and fishing your crankbait back with it. My 9-pound, 7-ounce bass hit a crankbait fished across a rocky point near the dam and was holding in about 8 feet of water.

A jig-and-pig is good on these rocky points, too. If there is wood, like stumps and logs, the spot can be even better. Cast the jig across the point and fish it slowly back. When you hit cover, jig the lure in one place as long as you can, which can tempt any bass holding there.