With colder temperatures setting in this weekend, fishing for bass could be a real challenge.
Fish are cold-blooded and that allows their body temperature to be regulated by the water temperature. As the water temperature cools down, they go through quite a bit of bio-chemical changes.
Eventually, when their metabolism slows, it begins to offset the feeding behavior.
Fishermen are still catching their share of bass – but remember – the temperatures have been mild compared to what they are expected to be in the next few days.
Fishing Report
Gibson County Lake
Water temperature: upper 40s, lower 50s
Bass: Some big bass have been caught on shallow bumps – five-to-eight-feet – next to deep drop-offs, using football jigs. Water levels at Gibson County Lake are low, but no problems putting the boat in.
Crappie: Crappie fishing has been hit and miss in 20-to-25-feet of water … suspended at 12-to- 15-feet around stump piles, on jigs and minnows.
Pickwick Lake
Water temperature: 50
Bass: “I’ve caught several bass lately, slowly cranking a Strike King Series 3 crank bait,” Clagett Talley said. “The best Strike King Series 3 colors have been natural colors with bright accents.”
Clagett, a tour guide from Savannah, said small grubs also work well – for the time being.
“I have also been Carolina rigging along the banks, and that has been pretty productive as well,” Clagett said. “Not every trip boats a big smallmouth, but now is the time to try to catch a trophy smallmouth bass (and) a good day will produce one or more over four pounds.”
White bass: “White bass continue to bite,” Clagett said. “I have caught them mostly on grubs and small crank baits while bass fishing. Some banks will just have more white bass than large mouths and small mouths.”
These banks, Clagett said, tend to be gravel banks and sandy banks.
Stripers: “Stripers remain tough,” Clagett said. “I do not expect to catch a large number of stripers right now, but they will start biting real soon. I do not start striper fishing until mid- to late March.”
Sauger: “Sauger have been really slow the last few weeks,” Clagett said. “I started catching them on bass fishing baits in late October, and I still catch several on crank baits and spoons while bass fishing.”
Clagett said sauger jigs are accounting for most the sauger being caught.
“Dark jigs seem to be working best, such as dark brown, dark red and orange,” Clagett said. “A lot of people are tipping the jigs with minnows, but I have yet to use live baits at this point.”
Clagett said his preference is plastic minnows.
Depth – he recommends 35-feet.
“That has been a good depth, but do not let that move you out of a deeper area if you are catching fish there,” Clagett said. “I often check deeper depths and more shallow depths to see if they are more productive.”
Want more from the “Mayor of Pickwick Lake?” Give Clagett Talley a call (731) 607-5266, or visit pickwickareaguide.com
Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley
Water temperatures: mid to upper 40s
“Even the more seasoned anglers are staying close to the fire in recent days,” Darrell Van Vactor said. “Lake levels are just above the winter pool aat 354.5 at Kentucky Dam.”
Darrell Van Vactor is the Operations Manager at Crappie USA/Cabela’s King Kat Trail in Benton, Kentucky.
“A few hard core fishermen have waited patiently the past few days for a little warming trend to melt the ice around local boat ramps,” Darrell said. “With some open water, several are taking advantage of the above freezing temps to get out there and sink some brush piles and stake beds for the upcoming spring.”
Sauger: “Sauger seem to be on the minds of a few anglers who are checking out the secondary channel drops around Blood River for the tasty cousins of the walleye,” Darrell said. “Only a couple of positive reports from two of our guys who found a few sauger with nice crappie mixed in the same area in 16-to-22-feet of water on a channel break where the current was pushing bait into a hard turn of the channel.”
Darrell said double hook minnow rigs with chartreuse tube jigs tipped with a large minnow worked well for him when he picked up a nice mess of sauger and crappie out of the 33 degree water.
“Expect to see a shad kill as a result of the recent super cold water temps and shad feeding in shallow water,” Darrell said. “They will certainly make easy pickings for fish and water birds for a few days.
“Remember, this time of year demands even more caution while on the water. With low water levels and cold temperatures, be sure to keep that PDF on while boating.”
(PHOTO: Lake Graham)
David Thomas, Twitter – @DavidThomasWNWS
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