When it comes to the dead of winter, the fish will be about as lethargic as they come. From my experience, fishing lakes with a ton of vegetation can be a blessing and a curse all in one. When you find the fish, you could make the same cast and catch 100, but you will have to cover countless square miles of water to find it. With this article, I hope to give you a little insight on some patterns this winter.
What To Look For
Lakes with lots of vegetation: The fish will be located on irregularities such as bald spots, clean edges, or isolated patches. Another thing to look for would be a pinch point that connects deep water to a spawning area and confines fish into a small entryway.
Lakes with little vegetation: Any patch of vegetation is liable to hold a large population of fish. Although it could be compared to finding a needle in a haystack, the needle could very well compose of your tournament winning school.
Lakes with no vegetation: On a lake with no vegetation the fish will relate to topographic changes more so than anything. The fish will be related to drains and channel-swing banks. These are much easier to locate being that they can be seen on a map unlike isolated grass patches or bald spots.
Graphing: I would say that my Humminbird Solixs’ contribute more than anything to my success. I use my down-imaging to find clean edges on creek channel swings, and my side-imaging to locate irregularities such as isolated patches or bald spots. These will also help you locate those fish in drains and on Channel-swing banks.
Favorite Lures
Lipless crank bait
Alabama rig
Square bill
Jerk-bait
Vibrating jig
Big spinner bait (specifically V&M LEBOOM)
In the past two years of my THSBA Career we have had a tournament in January on lake same Rayburn. Both of those tournaments had 150+ boats fields, and I just so happened to place in the top 2 in both using this pattern. I consider the Prespawn-Spawn time period my strong suit, so I am excited to see what the 2022 season holds in store! If you have any questions about this topic, you can message me on Instagram @Clipham_fishing
Cade Lipham
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