By Reed Montgomery Wintertime Bass Fishing Tips For all of Alabama's Lakes Written By Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service (205) 787-5133 E-mail: alabassgyd@aol.com Website: www.fishingalabama.com Wintertime Bass Fishing Tips for Targeting Largemouth Bass, Alabama Spotted Bass (All Lakes) and Smallmouth Bass (Tennessee River Lakes) Feaured Lakes; THE COOSA RIVER (6 LAKES) / Weiss, Neely Henry, Logan Martin, Lay, Mitchell and Jordan Lakes THE TALLAPOOSA RIVER (2 LAKES) / Lake Harris and Lake Martin THE TENNESSEE RIVER (4 LAKES) / Guntersville, Wheeler, Wilson and Pickwick Lakes THE WARRIOR RIVER (2 LAKES) / Bankhead Lake and Demopolis Lake About The Author: Reed Montgomery Native of Birmingham, Alabama * Previous Touring B.A.S.S. Bassmaster Professional Angler * Outdoor Writer Over 20 Years / For Major Publications and Internet Websites * Owner / Reeds Guide Service (205) 787-5133 Birmingham, Alabama "Over 40 Years Fishing and Guiding on Alabama's Lakes for Bass and Stripers" * Owner, Montgomery Productions. Producer and Host of "Fishing Alabama" With Reed Montgomery Radio Show, Radio Station WJOX 690 AM in Birmingham, Alabama. "Fishing Alabama" With Reed Montgomery Radio Show. Six years on the radio. January 1999 - January 2005. * NOTE * This radio show ceased running in January 2005. * OUTDOOR WRITER / 1991-2007 Outdoor Writer for Major Publications and Magazines featured throughout Alabama and the Southeast * B.A.S.S. Federation State Team 1992 Member of Alabama B.A.S.S. Federation 12 Man State Team Taking first Place / June 1992 on Kentucky Lake, Tennessee. * FIELD EDITOR / For Birmingham Based BASSINFO Magazine / 6 years 1991-1997 * INTERNET OUTDOOR WRITER Currently / Outdoor Writer / Articles and Fishing Reports for over Twenty Internet Fishing Websites 1997-2007 (See www.fishingalabama.com at links) * Angler Of The Year 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 Alabama Bass Solo Trail * TOURING BASS PROFESSIONAL 1998-1999-2000-2001-2002 B.A.S.S. Bassmasters Tournament Trail / FLW Outdoors Tournament Trail * First Place / Big Bass Weiss Lake 2-Day Solo Trail Championship Fall 1999 C.A.S.T. (Central Alabama Solo Trail) End of Year 2 Day Championship * Angler Of The Year in 2000 on Alabama Bassbum Solo Trail / (Northern Division) * First Place / Big Bass 2000 2-Day Alabama Bassbum Solo Trail / Season Finale Champion Fall of 2000 on Logan Martin Lake / First Place Champion and Big Bass * Angler of the Year / 2001 Alabama Bassbum Solo Trail / Angler of the Year (Northern Division) * First Place / 2001 Birmingham Bassmasters Summer Night Bass Tournament benefiting Camp Smile-a-mile Held on Mitchell Lake / 1st Place * 2002 Birmingham Bassmasters Summer Night Bass Tournament benefiting Camp Smile-a-Mile Held on Mitchell Lake / 3rd Place * First Place / 2003 Gene's Marine Mid week Solo Trail / 1st Place and 2nd Place (in 2003 - 2 out of 8 Tournaments) * First Place / 2003 Gene's Marine / Triton Boats Fall Tour. Trail / 1st Place and 2nd Place (First 2 Tournaments on Trail) * First Place (3 Tournaments) and Big Bass (2 Tournaments) in 3 consecutive - 2005 Senior 50 Trail Tournaments on the Coosa River on Mitchell Lake and Jordan Lake and on the Alabama River on Jones Bluff Lake. * First Place and Big Bass / Central Alabama Buddy Tournament Trail Mitchell Lake Aug. 27 2006 Throughout the past 20 plus years the Author, Reed Montgomery has taken First Place and Big Bass honors in many Local Tournaments, Major Bass Tournaments and Annual Tournaments held throughout Alabama. Reed has won and placed in the top 10 anglers, in such annual events (many featuring over 500 anglers) as; * MARKS OUTDOORS ANNUAL "THE LAY LAKE BASS TOURNAMENT" / LAY LAKE * THE FIRST ANNUAL SHRINERS BASS TOURNAMENT / LAY LAKE * THE MARCH OF DIMES BASS TOURNAMENT / LAY LAKE * BIRMINGHAM BASSMASTERS ANNUAL MITCHELL LAKE CAMP SMILE-A-MILE BENEFIT BASS TOURNAMENT. Reed Montgomery's lengthy list of fishing victories includes dozens of First Place wins, including fishing for years in a one-on-one competition, fishing Solo in Alabama's Solo Trail Tournaments. * Sceduled for 2007 * * Television; Reed Montgomery can be seen on Birmingham's WBRC Channel 6 / Fox 6's "Good Day Alabama" morning show. Reed is on this very popular TV show, during the spring and summer seasons with his, "Ask the Angler" live question and answer session, all about freshwater fishing here in Alabama. * Birmingham Boat Show; Reed Montgomery will again host his annual "Kids Fishing Show" held at the 2007 31st Annual Birmingham Boat Show / Birmingham, Al. at the Birmingham - Jefferson Civic Center Jan.31-Feb.4 2007. Last Jan. 2006 Birmingham Boat Show / Reed Montgomery's "Kids Fishing Show" had over 500 kids and their parents attend this free show. Every kid at the 2006 show went home with some free, donated gift! See; www.birminghamboatshow.com for more info. * 2007 Lay Lake Bassmasters Classic; You can see fishing tips, articles and Lake reports for this world renouned, upcoming Feb. 2007 Bassmaster's Classic to be held on Alabama's Lay Lake. Featuring 50 of the world's best bass anglers. " NOT JUST ANY GUIDE SERVICE " Several Boats and Professional Guides Available Year-Round for any Alabama Lake Birmingham, Alabama Phone (205) 787-5133 E-mail: alabasgyd@aol.com Internet Website: www.fishingalabama.com WINTER BASS FISHING ALABAMA'S LAKES Intro: During a period from early December-late February throughout the 40 plus years of bass fishing, I can recall the many memories of trophy, wintertime bass we have fooled while fishing Alabama's Lakes, from one end of the state to the other. Featured Lakes: Here are some of Alabama's Lakes I guide on frequently; Upper Tallapoosa River System (Two Lakes / LAKE HARRIS AND LAKE MARTIN) LAKE HARRIS (Impounded in 1983) LAKE HARRIS, Alabama's youngest Lake is situated on The Tallapoosa River near the town of Wedowee, Alabama. This is a true, trophy largemouth bass Lake. Lake Harris has yielded many largemouth bass, some weighing over 10 pounds. Records show that winter and early spring are the most productive seasons to target these trophy largemouth bass. They can be fooled by a variety of lures. Largemouth Bass on this upper Tallapoosa River Impoundment are of huge proportions. There are dozens on record caught in years past during winter, some weighing from 10 to 16 pounds. Lower Tallapoosa River System Lake Martin (Impounded 1926) Lake Martin does not yield largemouth's as big as the Upper Tallapoosa River System, Lake Harris. Some largemouth bass in the ten pound plus catagory have been caught in years past on Lake Martin (now over 80 years old), but they are rare. But Lake Martin does show some real trophy-sized Tallapoosa River Spotted Bass. Some "spots" exceeding 7 pounds have been taken on Lake Martin in past winter seasons. The Tennessee River System (Four Lakes / Guntersville Lake, Wheeler Lake, Wilson Lake and Pickwick Lake), Guntersville Lake (Impounded 1939) Guntersville Lake Alabama's largest man made reservoir. Winter always brings to thought some very memorable wintertime fishing trips to Guntersville Lake, situated on the Tennessee River near the town of Guntersville. Largemouth's exceeding that seemingly impossible weight of 10 pounds or better, are fooled during winter by many lucky anglers. But they don't come easy. Anglers must often face the elements braving the cold and rainy winter weather, all throughout the cold months of December, January, February and on into March. The Tennessee River System Wheeler Lake (Impounded 1936) Wheeler Lake Alabama's second largest Impoundment. Wheeler Lake is a very popular fishery for anglers seeking largemouth bass, spotted bass and smallmouth bass. It is loaded with wood and rock cover. Although the lake is drawn down for winter pool (often as low as 3-5 feet below normal full pool levels), it is still a good lake during winter for trophy sized bass. The Lake is mostly void of grass in winter, but it does have some millfoil and hydrilla aquatic weed growth in the winter months. The Tennessee River System Wilson Lake (Impounded 1924) Wilson Lake is a small Lake, especially when compared with other Tennessee River Impoundments. It is only 17 miles from dam to dam. But its size cannot compare with the excellent fishing it offers for a variety of fish species, including a past world record smallmouth bass exceeding 10 pounds. There are more species of freshwater fish in Wilson Lake than there are in any other Lake in Alabama. The Tennessee River System Pickwick Lake (Impounded 1938) Pickwick Lake is noted for its trophy, smallmouth bass. Anglers come from all over the world to sample its trophy smallmouth bass during winter. Winter is when the big ones are fooled each year. Pickwick Lake is drawn down during the winter months and it has very few weeds. It does offer anglers a chance at fooling some big striped bass, spotted bass and largemouth bass as well as smallmouth bass. The Coosa River System Six Impoundments) Weiss Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lay Lake, Mitchell Lake and Jordan Lake From North Alabama to mid-Alabama runs the famed, Coosa River System. Weiss Lake, Neely Henry Lake, Logan Martin Lake, Lay Lake, Mitchell Lake, and Jordan Lake. This Coosa River System always shows many Largemouth Bass taken each winter. This includes excellent bass fishing throughout the rest of the year during spring, summer and fall. Many largemouth bass exceeding five pounds are fooled year round in Alabama on this Coosa River System. There are also some very big Coosa River Spotted Bass. My personal best Spotted Bass was caught on Mitchell Lake on the Fourth of July, 2002 on a zara super spook topwater lure. This was a really, true trophy sized spotted bass any angler would be proud to do battle with. A huge spotted bass, that after a very lengthy heart wrenching battle, turned out to weigh 7.12 pounds. I took some pictures and let it go...to live and fight another day. Winter is when many trophy sized spotted bass are taken all throughout the Coosa River System. I've had a couple of six pound spotted bass. One six pound spotted bass I caught on Jordan Lake a few years back during winter, was fooled with a home made spinnerbait. Just recently in November of this 2006 winter season on Lay Lake, another six pound spotted bass, fooled on a zara spook topwater lure. These fish are rare. Most anglers never even fool a spotted bass weighing six pounds or better. Much less land one of these hard fighting, tackle testing bass and get it in the boat! Read on, for more tips on fooling Alabama's fiesty spotted bass! On the Upper Coosa River System Weiss Lake, Neely Henry Lake and Logan Martin Lake are drawn down for winter pool. They will be down until mid April. Lay Lake, Mitchell Lake and Jordan Lake are all kept at full pool, year round. The Warrior River System (Two Lakes / Bankhead Lake and Demopolis Lake) Bankhead Lake (Impounded 1916) Bankhead Lake is only 20 miles from downtown Birmingham, Al. It is a barge navigated waterway loaded with weeds, wood cover and rock cover. Lots of places for anglers to target largemouth bass, spotted bass and striped bass this winter. Bankhead Lake starts at the tailrace waters of Smith Lake dam and extends to Tuscaloosa. Then the Warrior River winds down south Alabama to Demopolis where it joins the Tombigbee River System, to form Demopolis Lake. We had several largemouth bass in the 5-8 pound class, fishing last winter season on Alabama's Warrior River and The Tombigbee River. Fishing Shallow Water in Winter - This is not common with most anglers. I'm known for my shallow water tactics. Not only in the Spring, Summer and Fall months, but during Winter as well. Topwater Fishing is even more unheard of when it gets cold. This affliction for seeing a big bass explode on a well placed (and well maneuvered) topwater offering, can't be compared to any other type of bass fishing. Not all I do, but...its my year round preference for shallow water action. In January of 2006, I caught two - four pound bass on topwater lures, both fooled on a zara spook and a scum frog fishing on Alabama's Guntersville Lake. Not that uncommon on this big bass lake. What was unusual was both of these largemouth bass were taken in 2 feet of water on a cold winter day, with a high of 40 degrees and morning low near 25 degrees. The water temperature that day was 43 degrees! After fishing with lures from to bottom, in water less than five feet deep for over 40 years all throughout all of Alabama, it kinda grows on you. I'm especially known for fishing one particular topwater lure, year round. The Zara Super Spook. See: "Everything you always wanted to know about fishing the Zara Spook". Also See: "Topwater Fishing In Winter" article link on my website. This article is also featured at the end of these fishing tips. As I wrote these Wintertime fishing tips, I think back on two of the best winter trips I've had, while fishing with only one topwater lure all day. Pradco's Zara Super Spook. One early winter trip took place while fishing alone during a cold, rainy November day. The unseasonably warm, week long front preceding this trip had really turned on the Big Bass. It was a very miserable, 40 degree day winter day, fishing in falling air temperatures and plummeting water temperatures. But Lay Lake's Big Bass were feeding. On this memorable occasion, I found the "Motherlode Of Big Bass" fishing several locations on Alabama's Lay Lake. After boating the first big bass of this very cold morning, a spook-busting 7 pound largemouth, I immediately hooked into another line stretching hog (only 10 feet from that spot). It weighed about 5 pounds. Already, I knew this was going to be an exceptional day. How exceptional? In the "Articles" section at my website read, "Lay Lake 5 Bass Over 30 Pounds" for the entire story on this cold, November day. Look for pictures at my website. Also Mitchell Lake produced another very memorable early winter trip. On that day, I had 3 largemouth bass, (an 8 pounder and two 5 pounders), all weighing 18 pounds, along with 10 other very nice 2-3 pound bass. All were caught on a cold, overcast day using a variety of lures such as shallow running crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinnerbaits and zara spooks. Catching bass in very skinny water is not unusual in Alabama during winter. There are many occasions each month, when a lot of trophy-sized largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, striped bass and spotted bass are fooled by the persistent angler that refuses to hang up his rods. This also includes some huge, hybrid-striped bass and striped bass, if you know where to find them! What is unusual, is that the majority of these lure-busting bass come on various shallow-runners and topwater lures. In Alabama, this takes place throughout warming trends all winter long! Water temperatures can fluctuate from the mid-40's to upper-60's during winter warming trends in Alabama. Rising water temperatures always influence the bigger bass (with bigger appetites) to feed. For no matter how cold it gets in the south these huge bass must eat every few days. Thus they are much more active while roaming around in search of food and they become very interested to a variety of shallow running lures and topwater lures, including various presentations. In shallow water situations (less than 5 feet deep) unseasonably warm, rising daytime air temperatures, can bring up the water temperature as much as five degrees in one day. This also brings up the bigger bass to a well placed topwater offering. This untimely occurrence takes place after several consecutive days (and nights) of unseasonably warm weather. Always followed by a rainy, low-pressure system, usually followed by a severe, cold front featuring bright, bluebird skies. During the early-to-middle portion of this warming trend, bass move shallow and feed. Falling barometer levels, peak air temperatures, along with approaching cloudy, rainy conditions all influence (otherwise very sluggish and cautious) bass to move shallow and feed in reckless fashion. This timely occurrance is when they become active and can be fooled into biting, but only if your there to throw at them! Read on! There are more topwater tips on this rarely practiced, off-the-wall wintertime "Big Bass Tactic" possible on each featured lake in Alabama in this season's tips. Along with hot-spots such as dam discharge areas, spring-fed creeks, water treatment plants, steam plant warm-water discharges and creek or main-lake flats. All places that hold some big, wintertime bass coming up for that last feeding session before the frigid days of mid-winter arrive. Look for the article, "Topwater Fishing in Winter" for more on some exciting and remarkable, "Alabama Wintertime Big Bass Action"!