December, January, February and March provide some good fishing for those of us who can brave the elements.  I know what your thinking, and you might be right.  It takes a love of fishing to be out there during this season.  Fishermen who know can tell you this season can produce some of the biggest bass.  Here are some guidelines that will help you succeed in finding and catching winter bass. 

            Getting started, lets take out the lake map, I’m sure you keep one in the boat.  Find the river channel nearest your favorite area to fish on the lake.  Start in the middle of the channel and trace a line to the first creek or backwater area near the edge of the lake.  What we are looking for is the first large flat relatively shallow area, these vary in size.  Let’s just imagine this flat to be about the size and shape of a football field with an average depth of 4ft.  There are areas you must find on this first flat that will hold fish.  Examples are ledges, ditches, stumpy areas, changes in bottom strata – mud to gravel etc, grass, road beds and rocks or boulders.  Not all of the areas may be available and if they are may not hold fish for one reason or another.  However, these areas are likely places fish may locate or move in and out of during the winter months.  When areas like this are found on the edges of a flat and conditions are right the fishing can be very good. 

            Various lures can be used to probe likely areas; a lipless crankbait or rattletrap is one of my favorites.  Spoons, Colorado style spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and I prefer the pig-n-jig over plastic worms but they work too.  I let the fish tell me what speed they want it but as a general rule start out slow.  I catch a lot of fish in the 4 to 8ft zone but sometimes go deeper.  I have had success fishing jigs in 35ft water depths going slow and being methodical.  Use your electronics to find bait fish and usually the bass aren’t that far away.  Certain conditions can create optimum feeding opportunities for bass and you should be aware when they occur.  Examples are changing current conditions, current breaks, and elevated water temps created by influx of rain or power plants.  Bridge columns can be great spots, especially when they separate deeper water on one side and a shallow flat on the other such as often occurs at the first bridge crossing a creek.  Crankbaits can be effective when careening off a column, bass can’t stand that.  I have found the 4 points created by the rip-rap around a bridge to be very good areas, traps or crankbaits bouncing off the rocks can be deadly.

Summary:

Find the first flat near the river channel.  Look for areas of interest near the edges of the flat.  Monitor conditions and look for opportune times to occur and take advantage of them.  Use electronics to find areas where baitfish are concentrated, nearby structure could hold good fishing.  General rule – start out fishing slow but let the fish tell you how fast to fish.  Fish lures you are comfortable with and have confidence in.  Water depth is not as important as location, location, location – near structure with easy access to deeper water.

Indiana has some great places for catching some trophy size largemouth bass. You can fish the Black Oak Bayou or the Kankakee River and catch your fair share of largemouth bass. You can use the red and black spinnerbait and catch the bass. Keep in mind that Indiana’s long cold winters make for some fine fishing in spring. The bass are hungry and it is not going to take much to catch them. In Indiana, there are five hot spots such as Lake Freeman, Crooked Lake, Koontz Lake, Black Oak Bayou and St Joseph River from the Elkhart to Bristol area.

Black Oak Bayou is by the LaSalle Fish and Wildlife area. It is not unusual to catch an eight or nine pound largemouth bass here. The Kankakee River is also located inside the boundaries of the LaSalle. The boundaries end at the Illinois border. Black Oak Bayou has many weeds, standing trees and fallen tress for the bass to hide around. When you first see the area, you will have doubts, but do not let that stop you from fishing for the largemouth in this area, they are there and they will be hungry. It is more of a swamp area, but use a trolling motor on your boat and you will not wreck your outboards.

Lake Freeman is more for smallmouth bass, but worth mentioning because of the popularity of the lake. For largemouth bass, Koontz Lake is located in Starke County and has a good population of largemouth bass. You will find that the fishing is great in the spring and there is little to no noise or traffic around. Fishing will be on the north side of the lake because that is where the water warms first. The weeds also start growing on the north side because of the warming waters. This area has some smaller baitfish, so you would use a smaller crankbaits and tube rigs to catch the largemouth. A popular color would be a green and blue tube and a black and chrome for the crankbait.

Crooked Lake has a good spring catch as well as summer and fall. You will fish the third basin during the spring, the first basin is more for summer largemouth bass fishing and the second basin is for the fall months. In the third basin around the lily pads is where you will find the bass. Because the water is so muddy and murky, you will use a soft plastic bait or a Texas rigged craw. Go right to the bottom to catch the bass. The other basins are going to produce some bass as well. As the water warms, you can move into the first basin that has more home development, but still has some good fishing

The Largemouth Bass is one of the most popular freshwater gamefish in the U. S., and maybe the world. More fishing tackle and equipment is manufactured and sold for Largemouth Bass fishing than all other sportfish combined.

U. S. Bass Tournaments are a multi-million dollar industry, with the number of participants and spectators rivaling NASCAR. Names like Tom Mann, Jimmy Houston, Fred Arboghast and Buck Perry are as familiar to anglers as Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle are to baseball fans. Why has this fish overshadowed the other fine species available? To understand the attraction, you have to understand the fish itself.

The Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) is also known as the Black Bass, Oswego Bass, Green Bass, and Bucketmouth Bass. They are not a true bass, but the largest member of the panfish family, which includes crappie and sunfish. Native originally to the Eastern United States, it has become one of the most widely distributed gamefish in the world. This is due in part to the fact that it is an incredibly hardy and adaptable fish, and also because of its popularity with anglers. Noted for explosive strikes, completely-airborne leaps, Wild-Weasel evasive maneuvers, incredible strength and stamina, and generally pugnacious attitude, this fish puts up an epic battle on the end of a line.

There are two subspecies of Largemouth Bass in the U. S.: the Florida Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides floridanus), and the Northern Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides salmoides). The Florida Largemouth can attain a weight of 20+ pounds. The Northern subspecies seldom exceeds 10 pounds.Largemouth bass are a warm-water fish, thriving in temperatures from 65 degrees F., to 85 degrees F. They can tolerate water in excess of 90 degrees.

Largemouths prefer semi-clear, non-flowing water with plenty of aquatic vegetation and cover. They can be found in ponds, rivers, lakes, and even brackish estuaries. They are nest-builders and spawn when the water temperature reaches 60 degrees. Males prefer to build a nest over a hard bottom, along a shallow shoreline.Largemouth Bass are solitary, ambush-type feeders, and seldom move far from their established territory unless forced out. They will defend their area viciously against all intruders.

Smaller Largemouth Bass may school for a time, but when they mature, they will stake out their own areas and become completely solitary, except for spawning. A Largemouth typically will hide somewhere near, or in dense cover, and remain there until suitable prey comes along, which can be anything from small fish and insects, to swimming mammals and ducks pretty much anything the Bass thinks it can get into its mouth! They are not particularly picky about their food, most of the time. When prey comes near enough, the Bass will shoot from cover and explosively inhale the hapless creature and swallow it whole. If the food is not to their liking, they can spit it out just as quickly, as many a discouraged angler with a multi-hooked lure stuck in his lap can tell you.

One of the trademarks of Largemouth Bass is that whatever they do, they do it decisively. If they bite, they do it viciously. If they don’t bite, they don’t bite at all.

There is nothing timid about this fish. They are not line-shy, and seldom spook easily. For Largemouth Bass fishing, the bigger and uglier your bait is; the better.

I consider Florida to be the Mecca of Largemouth Bass fishing in the United States. There are many places to fish in Florida. In this article I will describe one place that is well known and one little known place that offers great fishing opportunities as well. I want to stress that there are many different lakes to fish in Florida. When I talk about Lake Okeechobee for instance understand that there are hundreds of lakes that fit the same description throughout South Florida.

Lake Okeechobee is perhaps the most famous Largemouth Bass lake in the United States; It has earned that reputation by continuously producing large numbers of very large bass. It is a very large lake, over 50,000 square miles! It is also a very shallow Lake. A large portion of this lake is less than 6 feet deep. These in fact are the areas that often hold the largest bass. I would venture to guess than over half of the ten pound or larger bass I have caught have come from water that was 306 foot deep.

Fishing Lake Okeechobee can be a challenge but very rewarding. You will of course want to find the shallow weedy areas of the lake. If your only concern is boating a huge Largemouth Bass then you might want to consider fishing with livebait. The specific livebait of choice in this lake is the wild Florida Shiner. They are available at most marinas/bait shops in the area. If you are going to target huge Largemouth Bass you will need to use large bait. An eight to ten inch long shiner allowed to swim freely under a float, or free lined, is an awesome presentation. Understand that with large bait you need to use a very large hook. Make sure your hook is well sharpened as it must penetrate the tough mouth of a very large fish. You need to use a stout heavy action rod that has enough backbone to set that hook deep inside the mouth of your quarry.

If you prefer the more sporting method of using artificial baits then you need to gear your arsenal to fishing in heavy weeds. Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and other topwater offering are much more important to have in your box than crankbaits and spoons. You need to be able to retrieve your lure through the heavy cover where the bass lie. Again make sure your hooks are sharp. Vary your retrieve until you find the proper presentations. You will find some days where a fast retrieve is required to catch very active fish. On other days you need a much slower presentation.

The key thing you need to do is be able to read the water. In a large lake like Okeechobee much of the water does not hold many fish. You need to first take notice of your surrounding and look for areas likely to hold fish. You can often do this by simply looking at the surface of the water for action. If you see schools of shiners and other smaller fish constantly breaking the surface of the water you can be sure Largemouth Bass are around as well.

Tennessee Bass fishing is going to be its best this year at Dale Hollow, Tims Ford, South Holston and Pickwick reservoirs. The smallmouth bass fishing at Dale Hollow is going to provide some high catch rates and some fine fish. There are some regulations in place for smallmouth bass fishing, but this has resulted in some nice trophy size fish.

Anglers have said that fishing at night with jigs and spinnerbaits is the best time to catch smallmouth bass. You get away with using a four-pound test line and catch some nice sized fish. It is all of the presentation at Dale Hollow.

South Holston Lake is like a small, Dale Hollow. During the winter, you can catch a smallmouth bass on a float-n-fly or a jigging spoon. It is not unusual to catch a fish over twenty-five pounds of this lake. Ifyou are fishing this lake at night, you can use to grub and jig to catch plenty of bass. Tims Ford and Pickwick are coming along just nicely for smallmouth bass fishing. They do have regulations for minimum size, but it is working very well. These are just a few places in Tennessee that bass fishing is excellent for the most part. You can go just about anywhere in Tennessee and have some great fishing.

A couple other ones that you might consider are Percy Priest, Center Hill, and Norris and Watts Bar lakes. Although the smallmouths are declining in these areas, it still provides great fishing. These areas are still working with the 18-inch minimum size limit for smallmouth bass, which has started to improve the fishing conditions.

If you want to do some river fishing in Tennessee for smallmouth bass, you might try the Frank Fiss, the Pigeon River, Duck River or the Buffalo River. Although the pigeon River seems to be little down again this year, the Duck River is going to show some good numbers.

The Buffalo River on the other hand, is going to be a great place to find smallmouth bass, but you will see a lot of traffic as well. One popular river is the Little Pigeon River, which is starting to make a name for itself. You can catch some good size smallmouth bass down by the area of the French Broad River. However, if you want a wade in some water, you can go up by the Pigeon Forge.

To recap these places, the Little Pigeon River, has good fishing around the Pigeon Forge. The Buffalo River has a great fishing near Linden. The Pigeon River has great bass fishing by the French Broad River. The marina by Tims Ford Lake is a great place to start some smallmouth bass fishing. The smallmouth bass in Norris Lake is good around the Hickory Star Marina. Fishing at Dale Hollow Lake is good around Horse Creek Dock. With all these places to go fishing in Tennessee you cannot go wrong. You are going to have a great time fishing for smallmouth mouth bass.

If you are looking for some largemouth bass in Tennessee, you can look around Cumberland and Obey. The fishing for largemouth bass on Obey River is the best by the dam located by Dale Hollow. This area is great between June and September. One place to start is the Franklin Creek area. Identify the largemouth bass near the channel drops, and by the weed beds. You will find the larger fish, right after sun up by the shade areas on the water. Just use a green, black and blue or a brown jig with your favorite bait, and you are ready to go.

If you have an overcast day, use a spinnerbait near the tree trunks or the timber of the water. You will find a good fishing in these areas. Keep in mind that the color of spinnerbait you use is going to depend on the water conditions. Obey River is a great place to fish for bass. The Cumberland River has some nice size largemouth bass between the Cordell Hall and Old Hickory Lakes by Nashville.

During the summer months on the Cumberland River, you can use the black and blue jig, but make sure it is at least three fourths ounce or heavier in weight. In these areas you need to get down into the deep weeds. If you see a lot of wood in the water, this is where you want to drop your bait.

If you live in Tennessee or you are planning a fishing trip to Tennessee, these are some of the popular places for largemouth and smallmouth bass. The thing is that it is not going to take a lot of skill, only patients to catch these fish. However, once you find the right spot you are going to want to stay there and catch all the fish.

Fly fishing is a technique that can be enjoyed by anglers of all ages and gender. This outdoor activity is a great pastime that is exciting, fun and one that helps to teach patience. After all, to be a success at fly fishing the angler must be patient. Fly fishing got its name because this technique uses a fly rod, line and artificial fly lures to catch fish.

The fly rod is designed to have a very flexible tip and normally ranges around seven to nine feet in length. The line is usually coated with plastic and weighs enough to allow you to cast the line directly into the targeted area. The flies used for this type of fishing range in a variety of sizes, colors and weights.

In the past, fly fishing was mainly used to catch trout but anglers are now learning that it is a great technique for catching bass as well. If you have done a lot of fishing in the past, then you know that bass can put up quite a
fight that can last for a long period of time. This makes fly fishing even more exciting and fun which is one of the reasons why bass fly fishing is becoming more popular all the time.

You will find that it makes a difference in the amount of success you have when bass fly fishing if you learn as much as you can about their natural habitat. This would include everything from knowing the type of food they eat naturally to where the best fishing places are located. Below you will find some basic information about bass that can help make each one of your fishing trips a more fun and successful one.

Basic Information about Bass

Bass eat a variety of foods but some species of bass may prefer one type over another. Where the bass is located will also affect what types of food they eat because different types of food sources are found in different types of water.
It would be to your advantage to learn about the natural food source in the area you are fishing so you will be able to better choose your lures. Some of the most popular natural foods for the largemouth and smallmouth bass are flies, crayfish, nymphs, worms and baitfish.

Bass can see very well in all types of water but they tend to be blinded by the sun shining through the water, which is why they stay mostly in the shallows. Due to their ability to see so well, they will go after the bait you present if it is done correctly. Bass will lay in wait and when potential food swims by, they snatch it up and return to their previous position.

The world record bass was caught in the waters of Georgia over seventy years ago. This legendary largemouth weighed in at over twenty-two pounds, and helps Georgia maintain the image as a powerhouse in the world of bass angling.

Georgia lakes are well known for producing great catches of small and largemouth bass, but so are the rivers! Here are some good choices when bass fishing Georgia.

The Upper Chattahoochee River. This river is one of the best known rivers in the south if not all of America.
Lake Lanier
Bartlett’s Ferry
West Point Seminole

If you plan to fish the Chattahoochee, you are likely to run into a species native to Chatahoochie, Apalachicola, and the Flint river basins, called shoal bass. Shoalies like natural, live bait the best. Crayfish, Crickets, and worms top the list along with a large selection of small surface lures and spinners. Lightweight spinning gear has traditionally been the choice of most anglers out to catch shoalies, but during the summer, a large number of fly fishermen are getting into the game as well.

Fishing for shoal bass is increasingly popular, particularly during the summer months, with trout fishermen. Try to fish in front of rocky ledges and in the clear water of the ‘Hoochie’ you can even see the shoalies take your bait. These fish are great fighters, though, so use a five or six weight fly rod with one or two X leader tippets, checking for frays on a regular basis to make sure the rocky shoals have not done a number on your monofiliment.

On the Chatahoochee, you will not have to have a boat. In fact, a large number of anglers prefer to pull on the waders and fish hip deep, but if you choose to fish from a boat, a shallow-riding boat such as a light flat bottom or an inflatable pontoon works well.

Perhaps the best perc of all is the fact that these waters don’t just shelter shoalies, they are home to a large number of largemouth, stripers, and spotted bass as well, and all of them respond to the same baits and tactics as shoalies and can be caught on the same equipment.

If you are fishing for spotted bass, Lake Lanier should be a prime place in which to cast your line. In fact, ranking as one of the very best spotted bass fisheries in the state, three to four pound bass are plentiful and exciting to catch.

Fishing the deeps in structure rich areas is the way to go when fishing for spots, but the bite is often light, so you will need to use light tackle on clear line (the water is very clear, necessitating the use of clear line) and pay very close attention to even subtle line movement.

Late in the spring on into summer, if you see schools of spotted bass churning the surface while they are after baitfish, use a lure such as a Sammy, Pop-R, or Spook, and hang on for the catch of your life! Nottely Lake has seen a decrease of largemough bass in recent years, but a stocking program has made them again more plentiful, and this season should see good catches there. Try Young Cane Creek, Ivy Log Creek, and the other feeder creeks on the upper lake.

Looking for that perfect gift for the bass fisherman in your life? Well, don’t fret. The choices are wide and many, ranging from the ultra-thoughtful, to super-tacky (I personally enjoy the tacky ones).

Gifts can be broken down into 3 major categories.
1. Something to wear
2. Something to look at
3. Something to use

The obvious first thought on something to wear is the ever-popular T-Shirt. They come printed with everything there is about bass fishing, real or imagined, ranging from masterpiece species drawings, to out-and-out piscatorial pornaography. Many of these would be sure ringers for a Most Tasteless T-Shirt contest. This is where really knowing the person you’re buying for comes in handy. There are many places online to purchase these shirts, as well as Cabelas, Wal-Mart, and most malls. Some places will even custom-print you a shirt with your own photographs. You can also buy software and transfer paper and make your own custom T-Shirts.

Next on the list is the ubiquitous baseball style hat. They are printed much like T-Shirts, with the difference being in the limited billboard space. Very few, if any, fisherman do not own and wear at least one baseball hat. Most of us feel there is always room for one more hat. Ditto on printed ties. I love to go to Lodge meetings with a picture of a dead bass tied around my neck! In my neck of the woods, these are even considered appropriate church attire, as long as your bib over-alls are clean. That’s with, or without the baseball hat.

Then, there are the serious fishing garments, offered by most outfitters. Specialty coats, rain coats, shorts, pants and shirts. These are great pieces of clothing, except that the normal uniform for bass fisherman is shorts, Trilene or Stren baseball hat, T-Shirt, sandals, sunglasses, and a $10,000-$40,000 bass boat! It could be a law; I don’t know! But the nice clothes are still appreciated. We wear them to church! In the something to wear category, what I do for gifts for bass fishermen and women is to tie Bass fly patterns on safety pins. They can be used as tie bars, brooches, hat pins, hair pins, and are always appreciated. They are unique and usually unexpected. Many of my friends wear them to church! Knitting sweaters with bass on them are neat as well.

For something to look at, I’d suggest Bass Fishing Books, and videos. There are thousands to choose from and will provide hour and hours of entertainment and education for the Bass Angler in your life. Next, there are thousands of beautiful prints, sketches and paintings depicting all aspects of Bass Fishing. Many times, they can be had very reasonably.

There are some popular places in South Carolina to do some bass fishing. Lake
Murray, Broad River, Santee River, Lake Marion and Lake Wylie are some great places to fish. These lakes and rivers have been producing some nice catches year after year. The secret for some areas is the catch and release that is done by many of anglers. They will fish all day and only keep a few for the table. The rest are released so the population can continue to grow. Two places where spotted bass are showing up are Keowee Lake and Jocassee Lake. No one knows how the fish got there because they where never planted.

Lake Murray is where you are going to find some impressive largemouth fishing. It seems that March to May is the prime time to do some bass fishing. The summers are good but the spring months seem to be better according to fishing reports and from anglers themselves. The deeper waters are a good location to find the bass. Usually around the channels by the ledges as well as humps and points is where to find the bass. Then when fall comes around, the bass move into the shallows. Because of the pleasure boating in the summer months, it is harder to catch the bass. Spinnerbaits work well for catching bass in the coves, while nightcrawlers work well in the shallow waters. If you are fishing by the points use a crankbait.

Lake Marion is another place to catch largemouth bass. Some trophy bass are in these waters. The spring is the best time to catch a trophy fish. These waters are warm and shallow and the bass are found everywhere it seems. If you want to catch the big fish, you want to use a ten-inch plastic worm because it looks more like a small snake to the bass. In the months of May, April and March you can use the topwater lures. Live bait is another thing to use. The large shiners work the best for hooking a largemouth bass. However this might also catch you the forty or so pound catfish.

Smallmouth bass is found at the Broad River as well as the largemouth bass. You should fish between Gervais and Blossom bridges to catch some smallmouth bass.
The river is a little harder to access because there are only a few places where you can get to the river from. If you look around the eddies, bridge pilings and boulders, you are going to find some nice size smallmouth bass to hook. Use a spinner that is shiny with eight-pound test line. The smaller lures work the best for smallmouth bass. Look in the deeper waters with slower moving water for the largemouth bass. Use the crankbiat, topwater lures or plastic worms.

Lake Wylie is another good lake for catching bass. You can use crankbaits, nightcrawlers, buzzbaits and spinnerbaits along the shores to catch the bass any time of the year. The largemouth bass do move around the lake, so you will need to know some of the popular areas on the lake where they migrate to throughout the year. The lake has flats, ridges and humps to fish around.

If you are heading to Ohio for some bass fishing, you will want to check a few places that are well known for smallmouth bass. Lake Erie of course is a great place to fish, but there are the Knox Lake, Lake La Su An, Turkeyfoot Lake, Tycoon Lake, Acton Lake and Ross Lake. Lake Erie of course is one of the best places to go fishing for bass. You can find the bass around Kelly’s Island. You can also fish around Cranberry Creek, Camp Perry and around the shorelines by Cedar Point and Portage River as well as Sandusky Bay. The smallmouth bass fishing at it best in spring, summer and fall.

Knox Lake is great for largemouth bass fishing. They do have a eighteen inch length requirement, but it is easy to catch bass above this length. When you fish in the upper part of the lake where there are brush and trees in the waters, you will find that catching the bass is easy. A crankbait will work well in this area and you will not need to get to wet because you can cast right from shore. The fishing is pretty good and the population of bass is high in Knox Lake.

Lake La Su An is a full of largemouth bass. Many anglers have said that it is easy to see as many as sixty largemouth bass coming out of the lake a day. The bass population is so high that this lake will never be without bass and does not need any restrictions. The easiest way to catch a bass on this lake is with a nightcrawler off the shores. They are found is large schools all over the lake, but if you do not have a boat, you can fish the shores and make your catches easily.

Turkeyfoot Lake is rated for bass of more than fifteen inches and weighting about three to four pounds. They have said that using a topwater lure is the best way to catch a bass on Turkeyfoot Lake. The depth of the late is fifty-two feet at maximum. Of course, another good fishing spot nearby is Long Lake where the bass tend to be near the shores and weedy areas. The Ohio lakes and rivers are exceptional for bass fishing all year. One can fish anytime of the day and never leave without a fish for dinner.

Tycoon Lake is most common for the early season bass fishing. The water tends to warm quickly because it is so shallow and smaller in size. The bass population is heavy because of the minimum length requirement, which is eighteen inches. This means that the bass are nice sized and weigh about three pounds. It is not unusual to see a few seven-pound bass come out of Tycoon Lake. The anglers have been using the nightcrawler to hook the bass. Fishing from shore is just as easy as fishing from a small boat. Wading is done more so because the water is shallower is some parts.