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Jan 22
Went out yesterday from 8:30am-1:30pm. It was another tough day for me. After such a cold day down lake I decided to go in the river and stay protected from the wind. It was a good idea in theory, but the fish were in lock down with the cold temperatures. Throughout the entire day I fished in 39-43(with the exception of Spring Creek, 50 degrees) degrees with 3ft-5ft clarity.
Launching out of Jefferson Springs I headed to the Smyrna pump house scanned the long pipe that runs from the pumphouse building to the middle of the channel. The other day I scanned several bass hanging around the pipe, but did not have much time to fish for them. Today there was nobody home, it was empty all around the pipe from 6ft-16ft.
I motored up to the bluff wall point on the right at the mouth of Fall Creek and the main channel. Sitting in 18ft-20ft I made long cast into 12ft with my 1/2oz chatterbait with 5″ Berkley Hollow Belly in shad pattern. Retrieving slow down the drop off I had zero bites and several snags on the big trees. I was going to crappie fish here too, but had my mind set on big green fat bass!
Next I traveled to the back of Spring Creek where I felt confident could catch some bass on topwater for the next Elite Video(12). Being a cloudy day the bass usually hang out on the flat across from the finger covers in the back. The water temperature was 50 degrees with 3ft clarity. Once I reached the PVC pipe in just before the finger coves I pulled out my red and white Heddon Spook Jr and started casting towards the flat into 1ft. After 5 minutes I witnessed a bass chasing a shad on the surface and made a cast to the action…….BOOM! The bass swiped at it twice before he got it! I fought the 1.5lb to the boat and felt great that a plan came together. Continuing down the flat until I reached the boulder rocks I stayed with my spook. I made a long cast next to one of the big boulder and started working it slowly….BOOM! A lot better quality fish blew up on my bait, but missed it. I made cast after cast with my spook, swimbait, and finesse jig, but could not get him to strike again. I finished the rock bank and high tailed it out of there to another spot.
I cruised into the river and stopped at the big boulder rock channel swing on the left before the East and West Fork Split. The water clarity was 4ft at 40 degrees. Casting my A-rig a little, but mostly my 1/4oz, blk/blu Hoppy’s Flea Flicker with green Paca Chunck to the boulders while sitting in 20ft….nada after 1 hour!
Next, I went way up into the West Fork and fished the bluff wall on the right before the little bridge that kicks out water when it floods(3 channel swings up after the West Fork boat ramp). The water temperature was 44 so I thought it might be better up there…nope. 45 minutes of A-rigging without a sniff.
I backed out to the West Fork blown out bridge which I love. 5″ Swimbait and A-rig for 30 minutes and nothing. I sat in 18ft and made long cast to the end of the bluff wall on the left and to the middle of the channel around isolated trees in 12ft. I didn’t really find anything on the my down and side scan either.
Lastly, I trolled to the bluff wall just up from the blown out bridge and pulled out my 1/4oz shaky head with Mardi Gras Zoom trick worm. I fished the entire bluff wall without a bite, even finding several schools of fish that I could not get to bite.
All and all, horrible! I had to leave the lake with my tail tucked and cold! I have caught fish in water that cold before, but today they were not having it at all. Hindsight I would have gone mid or down lake. It appears there are more fish being caught down there where the water is a little warmer. I know of several guys that are not catching a ton of fish down lake, but when they do it’s a HOG! If anyone goes out this weekend BE SAFE!
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