In this severe cold we are having, I felt some winter tips might help the avid anglers on Guntersville — at least the ones who are brave enough to challenge the lake on these cold January days.

The first thing I must tell you is to be patient. Patience is a virtue that not all of us are blessed with, but patience on cold water and north winds will pay big dividends in winter.

Exercise patience in working your bait. By that I mean use it to work an area thoroughly, completely and slowly, with precise casting especially around cover.

Choose baits that favor a patient fisherman. You can’t count on cranking rattle baits during this time of year. Select baits that allow you to fish them slowly, like a jig, worm, or jerk bait. In most cases these baits can be placed where you want them and worked thoroughly and slowly so you can fish an area in detail.

There are also many baits that can be fished either as speed baits and as slow-moving winter baits. For example, spinner baits can be slow rolled over and around cover. You can drop it and make it flutter down ledges, and in a lot of cases this can be great in the winter.

I also suggest that you find crank baits that suspend. Any suspending bait is ideal for winter fishing. So if you are fishing 20 feet deep with crank baits, the type that suspend can rock and twitch on the bottom or near it with very little effort. I personally believe in suspending crank baits in cold water so much that I just will not buy a deep-running crank bait for the winter that will not suspend. It just will not get in my box unless I know it suspends.

A productive winter fisherman fishes slowly, precisely, and covers the area being fished in detail!

Captain Mike Gerry
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
Web: http://www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
(256) 759-2270