Move up real slow to the school of shad and you will see what I call a ball of shad. I try and do what they call "Match the Hatch".

Throw something that looks like what the fish are feeding on. You will see fish explode on the top, but stop and think these guys are small and I am here to tell you the big Hogs are just below.

What they do is let the little ones chase the bait and bust on it and the one that the little ones don't get slowly sink down.

Did you hear what I said "Slowly Sink"? That’s right, so what you want to do is match the same action.

Take some of the weight off or even take all the weight off of lets say a worm. Let the worm and hook slowly sink below and see if you don't get your rod jerked from your hands.

I am going to start off shallow and then follow the shad; they will pull out of the coves to the points and you go with them.

Winter Time Bass Fishing:

Winter is good if you can handle the cold; the nice part of it is that you have the lake to yourself. Most of the fishing folks have put up their fishing things and got their hunting gear out leaving you the whole lake to enjoy.

Here is where Crank Baits come in real good, but stop and think. The bass are moving very slow and will not chase baits like they did in the spring, summer and fall. You almost have to drop it right in front of their mouths to get a strike.

A bass will go up and down for food during the winter but not side to side if that make sense to you. The bass has a comfort zone and he will not go very far for food.

Look for any type of water temp changes; the warmer the better.  A good place to start is around big marinas. They have cover and a lot of times discharge water (warmer water) year round.

A lure they call Pig and Jig works that I will cover later on works good in the winter.

Good Luck

Keep the Hooks Wet

Steve McGoldrick