The lake is full and you could keep your beer cold if you kept it in the water. The relentless cold fronts have kept the water temps in the low 50's. This has made the bass sloooow doooown and not feed very often. The shallower fish have been most affected by the cold water. 25 ft. or less the bite is tough unless you get a warm afternoon or a few days of warmer weather.

The more consistent bite is out over the abyss, 40 to 70 ft. close to the river or a main channel ledge. Also following the old outside edge of hydrilla from 36 to 43 ft. with a drop shot or carolina rig. My recommendation for tackle and equipment now is a 3/8 or 1/2 oz. drop shot weight a 2ft. leader and 12lb. flouro. on a Power Tackle SSPN41-7'10", any finesse worm or small trick worm will work. Also try 3/4 or 1oz. carolina rig with a 4 to 5ft. leader. I use 25 lb. flouro on the PG104 or PT04. For bait use either a watermelon candy fluke or a baby brush hog.

Don't worry, as the cold fronts get further apart and the days get longer the water will heat up and things will get back to normal. I would expect to see a drastic change in the fishing when the morning water temp is about 56 degrees. That’s when the swimbaits, big spinners, dd-22s, and jerk baits will come into the picture. Since the lake is full it might be later in the month before the water heats up, it is just like trying to boil water. Water heats up a lot faster in a small pot opposed to a big one.

I might post another report if the bass get out of their winter pattern and into pre-spawn.

Thanks & Good Luck!
Ray Hanselman