Entry 234-3

How to Catch Bass in January with Greg Hackney

Day 3: Rolling Timber

Question: What’s another tactic you are going to use to catch bass in January?

Greg Hackney: You have to let the lake dictate the tactic. For instance, if I’ll be fishing a lake with a lot of standing timber, I’ll be slow-rolling a Strike King spinner bait this month. I like a 3/4-ounce up to a 1-ounce spinner bait, like the Premier Pro Model with a No. 5 willow leaf and a Colorado blade. I like nickel on the willow leaf and gold on the Colorado blade. At this time of year, I like a big trailer. I’ll put a 6-inch white worm on as a trailer because I want a big profile. Bass have a tendency to suspend at this time of year. So I want to fish over the tops of brush piles, out on points and around standing timber.

You have to realize, too, at this time of year you’re probably going to have to make that bass bite. I can take and work a Strike King jig all day long in a brush pile full of bass, and they may not take it. But I can run that spinner bait into that same brush pile, hit the brush, and the bass will probably eat it up. I can also take that big spinner bait, slow-roll it across the bottom, hit logs and stumps with it and make that bass bite it. With a jig or a worm, you may crawl those lures right by a bass, and the fish won’t take it. But you can cast that spinner bait in that same cover and force him to bite. At this time of year, you not only can catch a big bass with a Strike King spinner bait, you can catch a big bag of bass using this tactic. You can go out and catch five or six bass that will weigh 30 pounds using a spinner bait.

Question: What color will you be using, and what pound-test line will you be using?

Hackney: I’m going to be fishing with 16-pound-test Gamma fluorocarbon. This line is really strong and is equal to about 20-pound-test produced by other companies. However, this line has a real-small diameter, which allows me to keep that spinner bait down deep. As far as color goes, I like Smokey Shad if the water’s clear or white-and-chartreuse or solid white. When I reel my spinner bait through the water, I like for it to glow. So that’s how I pick my colors. The clearer the water, the duller the color I want my spinner bait to be to make it look more natural. January is a really-good time of the year to catch a giant bass on a spinner bait.

Next: Jig Up Big Spots

Contents:

• Part 1: Bet on the Wild Shiner
• Part 2: Bass on the Rocks
• Part 3: Rolling Timber
• Part 4: Jig Up Big Spots
• Part 5: Hit Them in the Head