Winter Fishing

So lately, I have been spending a lot of time on the water. I have fully taken advantage of the somewhat mild winter we have had in my part of the country (Central Kentucky). The past couple of weeks, I have been to a few different bodies of water. I've spent time on Green River Lake, Dale Hollow Lake, Lake Cherokee and Cave Run Lake. The water temp between the 4 of them has been relatively the same, high 40's to the occasional 50 on a really sunny day. I have spent a lot of my time lately focusing on Jig fishing. There is nothing like winning a tournament this time of year on a jig bite when everyone else is throwing the a-rig. When i think about jig fishing, the right set-up is critical. I might be a bit different from your average joe in terms of set-up but, let me explain how it works for me. I start by carrying two different set-ups. One set-up is for a 3/4oz football jig for fishing 25'+ and one for fishing a 3/8oz to 1/2oz football jig moderately shallow, say 15'. For the heavier of the two jigs i like a 7'6'' MH ENVY Black Rod from 13 Fishing paired with an 8:1:1 gear ratio Concept A reel by 13 Fishing as well. I like the longer rod for throwing a big jig because I use the extra rod length to pull the jig slower than i would with say a 7'3'' rod. I like the 8:1:1 gear reel for two reasons. One reason (probably the most important) is when lathargic bass eat a big jig down deep, you have to really be paying attention. A lot of times you are actually pulling the fish along as you are dragging the jig along the bottom. When i realize that the fish has it, I like the faster ratio reel because it allows me to "catch up" with him before I set the hook. More times than i can count, i have seen guys miss plenty of fish because by the time they have realized a fish has the jig, its to late and they can't catch up to it. The second reason is there is so much line out of your reel when you are fishing that deep. When you have one hook in a fish, you want to make sure you don't allow any slack in your while fighting the fish. Using such a high gear ratio reel, there is less room for me to allow this to happen. For the second combo, I like a shorter rod. Generally I'm not fishing quite as deep therefore I like to have more control over the jig and i can get that with a shorter rod. The reel is the exactly the same and for the exact same reasons. Next time you are out on the water, keep this in mind! Until next time, Good Luck and Good Fishin', Brandon Johnson