Entry 232-3

How to Catch Bass in January with James Niggemeyer

Part 3: Spin Up Monster Bass

Question: What’s another tactic that you’ll be using on Lake Fork this month to catch those monster-sized bass that live in this trophy lake?

Niggemeyer: One of my all-time favorite January tactics is slow rolling a Strike King spinner bait. If I’m having trouble catching bass on a lipless crankbait, I’ll go to a spinner bait. I like chartreuse and white 1/2-ounce spinner bait at this time of year. However, if I go to deeper water, I’ll fish a 3/4-ounce spinner bait and slow roll it through the underwater grass.

I’ll also slow roll it on primary and secondary points. I’ll fish the main lake points with a 3/4-ounce spinner bait, let the bait fall all the way to the bottom and then start slow rolling it. I’ll fish that spinner bait much like I will a Carolina rig. I’ll slow roll it and just grind it back to the boat because I want to keep my bait on the bottom. This bait will work down from 6 feet to 15 feet, which is my favorite depth to fish it. You can work it more shallow, but 6-15 feet seems to be the most-productive depth.

You want to make sure you can feel the blades turn through your rod tip. As long as the blades are turning on the spinner bait, you can’t fish it too slow. Although I like to fish the spinner bait with 20-pound test line, you can get it to the bottom faster by fishing 15-pound-test line. This technique is such a big fish tactic that I think you really need to fish 20-pound-test line.

You can contact James Niggemeyer at P.O. Box 146, Mineola, TX 75773 or by calling (903) 312-0780 (www.lakeforkproguide.com).

Next: Zero Out on Big Bass

Contents:

• Part 1: Give Bass the Red Eye
• Part 2: Jig Up January Bass
• Part 3: Spin Up Monster Bass
• Part 4: Zero Out on Big Bass
• Part 5: Give Big Bass an “S” This Month