February 2014

Cold, Cold, and More Cold.

Well, January is behind us and overall it was a very productive month on the pond. Lots of new faces came aboard this month. I had multi-day bass trips with guys from as far as Cumberland, Kentucky and Bristol, Tennessee. I always enjoy multi-day trips, and remember I offer discounts when you book two or more consecutive days (click here to read more).

We’ve had some cold Januarys in the last few years but this has been the coldest January I remember in years. As I'm typing this, I can look out my back door and see a snow covered backyard. We are officially paying for that “cooler-than-average” Summer of 2013 :(

With more cold weather in the forecast, what can we expect for February? Well, it means Carters Lake will likely have it's first shad kill in years. Allatoona and other local, more shallow lakes, will likely have major shad kills. Generally speaking this means less food for the fish in the spring, hungrier fish, and better fishing for us --we'll see. Look for fewer threadfin and gizzard shad this spring but, I expect the cold-water Alewife to survive just fine in Carters. Remember Alewife live under ice for months in the Great Lakes, they are a resilient little critter. Given these conditions, we might see a deeper summer bite than usual.

February Big Fish

February can be a good month, especially late February as the fish start moving into their pre-spawn areas. It's not uncommon to catch some really big spotted bass in late February on jerkbaits and swimbaits up very shallow on warm days. Take a look at our gallery to see some of the big late winter fish we’ve caught in year’s past.

We typically have some warmer weather days come in the last 10 days of February and the fish react fast to warm sun, even in clear highland reservoirs. Spotted bass have very dark colored backs and it's always been my belief that they come up shallow during spring and warm their backs, making them easier to catch on jerkbaits/shallow crankbaits in the early spring. They are there every year.

Get on the Books Now!

Another good thing about February is that the March/April warming trend is just around the corner. I'm already filling up my calendar. For some extreme fishing, you have to try topwater fishing for striper at night! Have you ever thrown a jerkbait or topwater bait at night for Striper??? If not, gotta try it! It is insanely fun. Stripers will absolutely crush a Strike King jerkbait and attempt to rip the rod out of your hand, often just feet from the boat --seriously. If you can cast spinning or casting gear and are a semi-advanced fisherman, this is a trip you must take. Send me a booking request to lock up a data ASAP as I’m already filling up quickly.

Remember spring and summer trips book fast so reserve your date today while we still have openings. Pay your deposit easily here.

Sonar Trips February 15th

Every year in January and February, people start outfitting their boats for the upcoming warm weather. New sonar, sonar upgrades, new lake charts, etc… There is no single area that people need to work on more than understanding and using your marine electronics. So on February 15th, I will be hosting a marathon of short sonar instructionals on the water (60-90 minutes). We will customize your less to concentrate on any area you feel as though you need improvement, but typically we will cover:

• -Sonar settings for best images
• -Interpretation of targets
• -Strategies for quickly locating key locations
• -Sonar imaging (Side/Down Imaging, Structure/Down Scan)

Trips can be run in your boat if you prefer, and will be $50 OFF for this day only ---just $150 for one-on-one instruction. If you’re interested, please send an e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 706-218-6609 to reserve your seat.

Gearing Up in February

February will not require much gear. Throughout most of this month I'll be throwing a 3/8oz Spotsticker Jig or Crawler tipped with a Big Bite Real Deal Craw or Skirted Twin Tail Grub. Look for these jigs to be especially good near the full moon as the crawfish bite is always good in January/February/March around the full moon. Fish slow tapering banks and look for tight contour lines on your charts (sudden drops), anywhere you have a flat bank then tight contour lines you can expect to get bit.

A drop shot and spoon are also big players in February. It's not a "knock em dead" kinda month but when you find em you can get bit if you're patient and fish slow enough. Look for any warm trends toward the end of the month, if you see a couple of consecutive days with upper 50's-60's and sun, you can expect bigger fish to move up on shallow rock. I look for dark chunk rock on sunny banks and use both Strike King jekbaits and Series 3 Crankbaits in natural shad colors. For your rod choice I can't even tell you how nice the St Croix Legend Tournament Series Rods are. If you ever need advice on a rod in the ST Croix lineup please drop me a line, I'm glad to help.

NEWS! SpotSticker Acquired S.O.B. Lures

Big news hit the wire just recently as it was announced that SpotSticker Baits has acquired S.O.B. Lures out of Texas. S.O.B. made some of the finest spinnerbaits money could buy. The "MINI-ME" line of spinnerbaits have probably won more tournaments on spotted bass lakes like Lanier and Allatoona than any other spinnerbait out there. Their quality is top-knotch, and we're really excited to see Ryan Coleman dig his fingers into the company and streamline their operations. Rumor has it that Ryan is planning to cut lead times for custom spinnerbaits from two months down to less than two weeks, and standard colors will ship in just a few days. We're told you will be able to place orders via the SpotSticker web site soon. Until then, call Ryan directly at 770-356-4136.

Good luck out there,