MITCHELL FEB. 03

MITCHELL LAKE
By Reed Montgomery
Reeds Guide Service (205) 787-5133
Impounded 1923
Water Temperature: Upper 40's-Low 50's
Lake Level: Full Pool

Jan-Feb / Winter on Mitchell Lake

Its not a big lake. Narrowing down your choices for spotted bass and largemouth bass locations in winter, can paint a much smaller picture of Mitchell Lake. There are many places you normally fish, during the other three seasons, you can totally eliminate during January and February.

For one, the far back ends of feeder creeks. Current, cold mountainous waters, and an occasional heavy rain that can muddy up Mitchell's many feeders, show these to be very poor spots for bass fishing when its very cold.

I know, for I have fished these types of places, (that are very productive in spring, summer and fall), that show no fish activity throughout January and February. However, there are exceptions. Like when a warm front of very warm 65-70 degree days and mid 50 degree nights, bathes the shallows for about 2 weeks. This sends creek bass on the prowl.

This phenomenon does occur in Alabama in winter and it actually fools the bass into thinking its spawning time. I have seen water temperatures as warm as 70 degrees in early February, during these unusual warming trends. This is when bass invade the shallows, but most are usually found along the last few creek flats, near the creek headwaters.

Another place found in both the creeks and main lake is flats. Unless the previously mentioned warming trend takes place, flats that are very shallow, get very cold, with no depth to hold the warmer water. They can be poor spots to fish when water temps drop.

When its very cold, with nighttime lows near 25 degrees and daytime highs not even reaching 50 degrees, you will find very few bass in water 1-2 feet deep in vast stretches of flat water. Flats, that extend far from the sanctuary of deeper water drops and only show shallow depths, cool down fast, especially on cloudy days, with no sun to warm the shallows.

Now you would think cold, swift water, would be the last place a bunch of bass would occupy during the dead of winter? Well, it can be, but not if that cold, swift water was found upriver like on Mitchell Lake. Like right below upper Lay Lake dam, fishing in Mitchell's headwaters.

This is as far as a bass can swim up stream. Schools of fish are constantly being fed effortless meals, that are washed in through the dam's turbines every time water is generated. So why should they leave? Even more so, for the Coosa River Spotted bass and some huge striped bass, that are not affected as much as the largemouth, by current and falling water temperatures.

Whether your fishing for spotted bass or largemouth's there is one lure both species bite very well, even when its very cold and water temperatures are in the mid-to-upper 40's. That's a jig. Adorned with plastic crayfish, plastic chunks, grubs, twin tails or frog imitations, these are excellent lures for fishing very slow on bottom (see: www.sizmiclures.com).

This is where a lot of these Mitchell Lake bass lay semi-dormant near the lakes bottom, looking for that easy to catch meal. Looking very much like a crayfish crawling, swimming, or hopping along the lakes bottom, jig combos simulate the crustaceans bass love to dine on in winter.

When fishing deep or in swift current, such as in the lakes headwaters, heavy jigs in the 1/2 to 3/4 ounce sizes may be needed. Rattles on these jigs help tremendously when fishing deep water (see: www.rippler.com). Always keep in mind, the trailer you adorn these jigs with can either be small, for a faster fall or large to slow down the fall of heavier jigs. Experiment with several jig sizes, jig types and jig trailers, to find what they prefer and what's easier to fish on certain outings.

Jig colors vary among jig anglers. Some anglers have their favorite colors and others fish certain colors, during certain types of conditions. The truth is your trying to imitate the forage the bass are feeding on. But you are also trying to give the bass a good look at a lure that can come in many colors.

Below these dams, some anglers may think in terms of baitfish or shad colors. They may choose to fish jigs with either a silvery skirt and matching trailer, or just a white jig with a white or pearl colored grub or plastic shad imitation. This same outfit can produce while swimming the jig. Or flipping a shad imitation among Mitchell's weeds.

Most anglers just opt for brown and orange or black and blue, the colors of most of Mitchell's crayfish. Pumpkinseed, greens, root beer, browns, and watermelon are all good choices when confronted with very clear water.

Some anglers may flip a jig, pitch a jig, or just plain cast a jig in thick wood cover, among weeds or along rocky banks and bluffs during winter. Other anglers are swimming a jig, in and around weedy cover, among rocks or over and throughout the branches and roots of trees, stumps and brush piles.

Swimming a jig is also a deadly tactic for swimming or retrieving the jig, from one side of an upriver point with current, to the slack water where most bass are hanging. Mitchell lake has lots of piers and boathouses where bass congregate during winter. These are excellent places to probe with jig combos, also tube baits, worms and lizards around posts and brush piles nearby.

Fish Mitchell Lake this winter and find out the numbers of spotted bass, largemouth's and an occasional striper that can be had, by the angler that eliminates places they are not. Be sure to dress warm and be extra safe. And call Reeds Guide Service (205) 787- 5133. "Over 30 Years Fishing Alabama's Lakes for Bass and Stripers."

This report provided by:
Reed Montgomery / Reeds Guide Service
Producer / Host "Fishing Alabama" With Reed Montgomery
Sunday Mornings 9-10 A.M.Central Time
Radio Station WJOX 690 AM Birmingham, Alabama
Reeds Guide Service (205) 787-5133
"Over 30 Years Fishing Alabama for Bass and Stripers"
E-mail: ALABASSGYD@aol.com
Website: www.FISHINGALABAMA.com