Photo by Ron Sinfelt

By Terry Madewell

For many outdoorsmen in South Carolina, January is a good month to crank up their bass fishing activity. While some anglers certainly fish year 'round, many take a break during the fall and join the legions of Palmetto outdoorsmen who hunt deer and other small-game species.

With deer season ending, the moderate temperatures sprinkled in from time to time during this month bring out the bass fisherman in many of us. We hit the roads with bass gear in tow in search of lakes and rivers harboring cooperative bass. Fortunately, none of us has to travel far to find potentially good fishing, even during this month. However, some lakes certainly seem to produce better than others.

Because of location, size, structure, water temperatures and clarity, some lakes have an edge for coldwater fishing. Some lakes are simply more conducive to fishermen being able to get the right speed and depth controls essential to productive bass fishing.

While I doubt if there are any lakes that don't produce some successful wintertime bass fishing in our state, some of the best I've noted include Lake Murray, Hartwell Lake, the Pee Dee River system and the Cooper River. In addition, I would strongly urge you to consider fishing the smaller lakes, such as lakes Robinson and Bowen, as well as the numerous public lakes managed by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) or other public agencies. Many of these smallish waters offer excellent wintertime fishing. In addition, some of these lakes have the potential to produce some outlandishly big bass during this time of the year.

Sometimes the urge to go bass fishing, even in cold weather, is more than most of us can resist.

I know the urge hit me last year and I drove to nearby Lake Murray, just outside of the state capital of Columbia, for a wintertime bass fishing excursion. Lake Murray is justifiably touted as an excellent bass-fishing lake and this certainly carries over to the cold weather months. I'd actually learned about the good cold-weather bass fishing while on a striper fishing trip in January a few years back. By working lures for stripers along the edge of creek drops in the upper end of the lake, we caught largemouths almost as frequently as we did stripers. Some of the largemouths were quite large and since I claim to possess a keen sense of the obvious, I made a mental note to return to focus on bass.

Actually, the striper fishing technique we had employed on the trip noted above was not catching largemouths by fluke. Jigging heavy-bodied spoons along the channel drops is a proven tactic for deep-water bass and it certainly works well here.

While striper fishing, I cast in the general vicinity of the ledge, but when I focused on largemouth bass, I tried to keep the lure on the actual ledge and worked a tighter, better-defined area.

Stripers tend to roam more than largemouth bass and they'll likely be found near or along drops, but they'll be moving around feeding on the forage. The largemouths hold tighter to the structure, so by focusing your efforts here you will catch more largemouths and fewer stripers. However, you can still figure that a mixed bag of fish is a distinct possibility.

Bottom-bumping lures will also work well here with jigs or the jig/pig combo producing well. A lot of steep points or bluff areas in the upper third of the lake are highly productive during this time of the year.

Remember, during this time of the year the metabolic rate of the bass is lower because of the cold water temperatures. Because of this, slow and steady are keys to presentation. Patience is a must for success; you may spend long periods without action, but during the course of a day you can make a very good catch.

My experience has been that the average size of the fish is typically better than what I average during most other times of the year, with the exception of the spring spawning time when more big fish are in the shallows than at any other time of the year.

Lake Hartwell is another excellent wintertime lake. This deep, clear lake is studded with offshore humps and underwater islands that are prime locations for cold-weather bass fishing. In addition, there are many long points that drop into deep water that are also classic cold-weather hotspots.

The specific location you'll find the fish will vary on this lake according to conditions. I favor the lake after periods of rain when the creeks will be a bit more dingy in water color and the water temperature sometimes slightly elevated.

A warm rain in January creates what I consider ideal wintertime fishing conditions in this lake. The rain doesn't have to really be warm . . . just warmer than the current water temperature in the lake. If the water gets a bit dingy in the major creeks and the temperature jumps just a tad, you may find some good bass action in relatively skinny water.

You may not get bass to blow up on a topwater buzzbait during January, but you may enjoy some good action on chartreuse spinnerbaits worked in the 4- to 12-foot depth range. Slow-rolling spinnerbaits off points and drops is always a good bet during this time of the year, as are bottom bumpers.

If the water isn't dingy, I'd suggest using light line and light lures. One of my favorite lure choices on this lake during cold weather is the slider rig. The flat-headed jig with a 4-inch grub body is plenty of lure to entice even big largemouths during this time of the year. This rig will keep the bait close to the bottom and moving at a slow enough pace to trigger a reaction from otherwise lethargic largemouths.

My personal preference is to focus my fishing efforts on the upper half of the lake during the cold months. Then I will generally focus on the major creeks and coves where the water temperature may warm quicker than in the main-lake body.

I think a much-overlooked cold-weather bass fishery is the Pee Dee River system. Granted, if we have a lot of rain, the water level may be up and the water too muddy and current too fast to allow effective bass fishing. But typically, water here is quite fishable. If you're looking for a potential hotspot that's somewhat underutilized, this may be the spot for you.

Most anglers fishing the Pee Dee during January and February focus the bulk of their efforts in the creeks and coves where there is plenty of cover adjacent to deeper water. The water doesn't have to be real deep; this is not a deep river system in terms of overall depth. Often you'll find fish in only 3 or 4 feet of water, but deeper is usually better.

One of the top fishing methods is simply to use live bait under a cork. The specific depth will vary with where you fish, but keep the bait within a couple feet of the bottom, especially along edge lines that drop quickly adjacent to cover. Live shiners are good, but large minnows, like the kind generally used for crappie fishing and that are sold in most tackle shops, work very well, too.

Look for small pockets or creek and ditch intersections to set up. Anchor the boat a reasonable distance from the area you want to fish and cast two or three rigs to the area. I will usually also work an artificial lure when fishing live baits. Typically, you'll note some activity from the bait before a bass takes the minnow and swims off, giving you time to get prepared.

While some patience is a virtue in this type of fishing, I personally don't stay at the same place in excess of 40 or 45 minutes without having some encouragement from the bass. If there's no action, go find another place, generally of a different type of structure or cover. At this time of year, you may hit a place where you catch multiple bass from a single location. The fish are frequently in tighter groups during wintertime . . . if you find one bass, you may find several.

Of course, plastic worms are favorites here during this time of the year as is the ol' reliable jig and 3-inch grub. Usually a darker color pattern, such as brown and black, seems to work best here during cold weather.