How To Catch January Lay Lake Bass with Matt Herren

 Its cold outside, the rut is making it a good time to go deer hunting and you might not be thinking much about fishing. But the big spotted bass at Lay Lake are on a very predictable pattern and you can catch some of the biggest spots of the year right now.

Lay Lake on the Coosa River east of Birmingham is known for its big spotted bass.  The Alabama Power Lake dammed in 1914 produces three and four pounds spots consistently and bigger fish are caught each year. There is also a good population of largemouth but in the winter the spotted bass fishing is more consistent.

Matt Herren grew up fishing Lay Lake and other Coosa River lakes in the area. His father took him fishing in ponds and on Lay Lake as a kid and they watched some tournament weigh-ins and got interested in tournament fishing.  They started fishing wildcat tournaments on Lay Lake in 1988.

From his success there he entered the Redman tournaments in 1989 and came in second in the points standings in the BAMA Division that first year.  By 2003 he was fishing the FLW Tour and now fishes the BASS Elite trail. 

Since turning pro, Matt has qualified for six BASSMaster Classics, including the 2016 tournament, and six FLW Championships.  This past year he tied for 10^th place in the Angler of the Year point’s standings in BASS. In his career he has won over 1.2 million dollars in tournaments.

“In January the shad are moving up the river an into the creeks and the big spots are following them and feeding,” Matt said.  He prefers to go after quality spots up the river if possible rather than fishing further down the lake.  He said you can catch fish any day in January further down the lake but for the big ones he wants to fish up the river from the Locust Creek area to the Neely Henry Dam.

The day we went in early December the river was not fishable. We checked the Neely Henry Dam and all floodgates were open and all generators running. The river was three or four feet high and the current extremely strong.  When it is like that the fish hunker down and are very hard to catch since you can’t even control your boat very well. So we made lemonade, fishing from the Highway 280 Bridge downstream, and Matt caught some fish under very tough conditions.

No matter which way he goes Matt will have the same baits rigged.  His prime bait is a three eights to one half ounce Santone Lures Texas Finesse Jig tipped with a Reaction Innovations Petite Twerk or Smallie Beaver trailer. He goes with browns and greens if the water is clear or darker colors like black and blue if the water is stained.

A Santone three eights to one and one half ounce white or chartreuse and white spinnerbait is good for covering water faster, and he uses heavier baits the deeper he is fishing. A DT 6 or DT 10 crankbait in shad colors is also good for covering water and finding fish.

A Megabass 110 jerkbait and a Santone Piglet Shaky Head round out his arsenal of lures. The shaky head will have a Reactions Innovations Pocket Rocket worm on it.  With those lures fished on a Kistler Rod with the action for that lure, teamed with Gamma fluorocarbon line, covers all the types of cover and structure he wants to fish in January.

The following places give you a variety of kinds of spots to fish, no matter what the conditions. If the river is high and fast fish the first six and similar places downstream. If it is normal, with some current but not so fast you can’t fish effectively, fish upstream from the Highway 280 Bridge.

1.  N 33 17.626 – W 86 21.462 – We put in at Pop’s Landing in Tallaseehatchee Creek in Childersburg and started fishing at the mouth of it.  When the current is strong the fish will often hold in the mouths of sloughs and creeks like this and feed in the eddies there.  Start by casting a spinnerbait right to the rocks on the riprap bank on the downstream point since the fish will often be right on the bank. 

As you get out into the river work downstream on the same side and fish all the way to the Highway 280 Bridge.  If the current is strong point your boat upstream and let it drift downstream holding it as slow as you can with your trolling motor. Cast at an angle upstream, letting your bait work back to the boat with the current. Fish a crankbait and spinnerbait here, then follow up with a jig and pig.

Cast the jig right to the bank and use a heavy enough jig to keep it on the bottom in the current. If the water is high try to get your bait down to the rocks along the edge of the normal full pool channel. Bass will often hunker down behind those rocks and feed on baitfish and crawfish washed to them.

When you get to the bridges work the eddies behind the pilings on both the railroad and highway bridge. Matt got a keeper spot on his jig behind one of these pilings when we fished.

2. N 33 16.711 – W 86 23.289 – Running down the river the houses and docks stop and you will go a good ways down to the mouth of Bailey Creek opening on your left without seeing any docks.  There is a picnic pavilion on the point and a dock just inside the upstream point, with riprap around it.

Stop on the upstream side of the slough and work the point as you go downstream. Cast into the slough and work a spinnerbait, crankbait and jig and pig back out to the eddy of the current. Also fish the downstream point of the slough.

If the current is real strong you can position your boat inside the mouth of the slough and cast your bait out, working it into the eddies on both points like a baitfish coming from the river into the slough.

3.  N 33 16.353 – W 86 24.664 – Running down the river just before it starts a bend to the right you will see some big rocks on the bank on your left. This marks the start of a bluff outside bend of the river and is an excellent place to catch spots in January.

Start at the first visible rocks and fish downstream, keeping your boat in about 25 feet of water and casting to the edge of the water. Work your bait back out to about 15 feet deep.  A jig and pig and a shaky head worm are both good here.

You can fish a long way down this bank since it is a sweeping outside bend and the rocks run all along it. Rocks are the key this time of year, if they have baitfish on them. Watch your depthfinder and if you are not seeing balls of bait don’t spend a lot of time in the area.

It is good to fish your bait with the current no matter how fast the current is moving. Some current is good and will make the fish bite better, even if the water is very cold.  If the current is normal work upstream, casting ahead of the boat at an angle as you work into the current.

4.  N 33 16.976 – W 86 25.636 – Across the river and downstream Deer Lick Creek enters the river as it starts a big horseshoe bend to the left. This big creek has a house trailer on the downstream point well back from the river.  The upstream point of it has a defined underwater point coming off it and bass will feed on it in all current situations.

Stop upstream of the slough and fish the upstream point as you go past it. Then swing around into the slough and fish across it, casting your jig and pig and jig head worm out into the river and bringing it up and across the point.  There are some stumps on the point that hold fish so probe for them with your baits.

5.  N 33 14.547 – W 86 27.443 – Run on down the lake to the power plant on your right.  This coal fired steam plant discharges warm water into the river and that warmer water draws shad and bass to it in January.  Stop just upstream of the discharge and fish downstream.

Cast a spinnerbait or crankbait into the discharge and let the current carry it downstream as you fish it back. The river current and the discharge current will make eddies here that the bass hold in to feed so concentrate on them.

Also, fish a jig and pig or jighead in the discharge and downstream of it, too. The warmer water will say near the bank going downstream, making it better this time of year. 

6. N 33 13.382 – W 86 27.840 – Further down the river the channel splits into three parts with islands separating them. The main marked channel is to the left side going downstream.  Just upstream of the first marker where the channel goes to the left is a bluff bank. There is a house trailer sitting on top of the bluff upstream of the channel marker.

Stop out in front of this trailer and fish downstream, letting the current take your boat downstream backwards. Fish to the shallow gravel point where the bluff runs out and there is a small cove. 

Fish the bluff bank and the big rocks on it with a jig and pig and jig head worm.  Your boat should be in 25 feet of water a short cast off the bank. The current was almost too strong to fish here the day we went, even this far downstream, but Matt got a good keeper spot and we both missed fish in the current.

When you get to the shallow gravel point near the channel marker fish all over it with your jig and pig and jig head worm, too. Fish will run in on this point to feed.

7.  N 33 19.766 – W 86 21.839 – The following places are all upstream of the Highway 280 Bridge and you can fish them for big spots as long as the floodgates are not open. One or two generators running produce enough current to improve the fishing but more than that makes it tough.

Go to the water intake tower on the right going upstream. It is just downstream of the golf course.  This big structure breaks the current and bass will stack up on the downstream side of it as well as in front where pipes or indentions create an eddy.

Keep your boat downstream and cast a spinnerbait and crankbait up past the building and let them come back with the current. If you can hold your boat on the downstream side just downstream of the structure cast a spinnerbait to the wall and let if flutter down it. Also fish your jig head worm and jig and pig down the walls in the eddies.

8.  N 33 20.157 – W 86 22.112 – Across the river and a little upstream is the mouth of Locust Creek. If the current is very strong you can fish it like the ones downstream but if the current is right start at it and work upstream.

Matt likes to slowly work up the river bank, casting at an angle ahead of the boat, all the way to the powerlines. He will work a crankbait or spinnerbait from the edge of the water back to the boat. If the fish are holding deeper along the bank he will go to a heavier spinnerbait to get down to them. He will also work a heavier jig and pig or jig head worm to keep it on the bottom deeper.

9.  N 33 22.176 – W 86 20.567 – Something different that is always good in the winter, no matter what the conditions, is the back end of Flipper Creek where there is a big spring.  The spring keeps the water a steady temperature, must warmer than the river water in the winter, which draws shad and bass, and it will be clearer if the river muddies up.

Go in the mouth of Flipper Creek and to the very back of it. You will be right beside the road and railroad that are in the back end of it just up the bank.  Fish all the way around the area in the back, working all your baits around the wood cover here. Also cast right down the middle of the area to cover the bottom there.

10.  The following spots are between the upstream railroad bridge and the Logan Martin Dam. Most of them are very similar and they are easy to find.  The first is the railroad bridge itself. Matt says to fish all the pilings on it with spinnerbait, crankbait and jigs.  Work the eddies caused by these pilings, just like at the downstream railroad bridge and the Highway 280 bridge.

Rateliffes Island is a big island that splits the river upstream of the railroad bridge. Just upstream of it is the mouth of Kelly Creek on your left and you can fish the mouth of it like the other creek mouths if the current is strong.  If the current will let you, Matt says fish the banks on either side of it for a half mile both ways. Work up the current casting ahead of the boat and fishing all your baits back with the current.

Just across from Kelly Creek and a little upstream the right bank going upstream is an outside bend of the river Matt says fish it for a mile going upstream, as long as the rocks hold up on the outside bend.  This is a typical bank that drops off fast and has rocks that you need to fish. Baitfish in the area makes it much better.

A little further upstream there is a small island not far off left the bank.  Fish the banks on both sides of it and behind it, too.  As in all places, look for current breaks to hold fish.

Matt warns that you should always wear your life jacket when up the river. The current is dangerous and the cold water can make you lose control of your muscles fast. Don’t take chances.

You can catch some quality spots right now on Lay Lake. Follow Matt’s suggestions for baits to use and kinds of places to fish and you will soon forget it is winter.

Matt does not guide but he is setting up an on the water electronics school. He will show you how to set up your Hummingbird electronics like his boat is equipped and show you how to use them to find fish. He can do the same for Lowrance units. You can contact him through his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/matt.herren.52

with Will Ayres

 Grass and bass go together in March like liver and onions on Lake Demopolis.  Longer days and warming water both draw bass to the shallows to feed and get ready to spawn.  They chase bait in the grass and you can catch them with a variety of baits.

Demopolis is a river lake with its dam just downstream of the junction of the Black Warrior and Tombigbee Rivers.  It is the second largest lake in the Black Warrior-Tombigbee system and runs 48 miles upriver on the Black Warrior River and 53 miles up the Tombigee River. Both rivers have creeks, sloughs and ditches running out from them.  These calm waters are where largemouth head to spawn so they can be found in or near the mouths of them this month.

There are spots in the rivers, too, and you can catch some big ones, but you need to have rocks for spots. So you have two good patterns in March, grass for largemouth and rocks for spots. Some baits are good for both and some are better for one or the other, but your bait choice is controlled more by the cover than the species you seek.

Will Ayres grew up in Demopolis and has lived there all his life.  When he was 12 years old he got his first boat and his dad would pick him up from school towing the boat and take him to the river where he would fish until dark.  He knows it well and fishes as many tournaments on Demopolis and Millers Ferry as he can.

When he was 16 Will joined the River City Bassmasters. He also fishes the McNider Marine trail, Bass Addiction team trail and other local and pot tournaments.  Since he has a young son with a daughter on the way, Will sticks with his local area. When the kids are older he hopes to move up to bigger tournaments but last year, fishing just two lakes, he won $26,000!

“Baitfish are the key especially early in March,” Will said. Warmer days kick in the largemouth pre-spawn feeding spree and the bass want a lot of food. And they will be near the spawning areas.  To catch them you need only a few baits.  Will rigs a Rat-L-Trap, a spinnerbait, a jig and pig and a Texas rigged worm to cover all his fishing bases.

For spotted bass fishing Will with have a 5XD crankbait in sexy shad color and a Davis three eights ounce shaky head jig with a green pumpkin or Junebug Trick worm on it. He likes to dip his worms in clear JJs Magic to give them a strong garlic smell and sometimes dips the tails in chartreuse for a flash spots love.

Will took me out the first week of February. The weekend before we went, he and his partner landed a limit of bass weighing 17.6 with a 5.5 pound kicker.  The fish were already on the pattern they will be on in March and were feeding when we went.  We caught about 40 keeper bass on the following holes and the best five weighed about 16 pounds.

N. 32 32.081 – W 87 51.192 – Going upstream the Black Warrior River splits to the right and the Tombigee River goes straight ahead.  Go into the Black Warrior and just a couple of hundred yards upstream on your left sawgrass starts lining the bank. In the middle of it a slough opens behind the grass. There are two ditches coming out of the slough with the one downstream much wider.

Stop just downstream of the lower opening and fish upstream.  While fishing watch for birds feeding along the edge of the grass and baitfish action against it. If either are present it means bass are likely to be feeding or holding just off the bank waiting to feed. 

The morning we fished there were a couple of birds on the bank and we saw baitfish dimpling the surface, and a few swirls as fish had breakfast.  In the next hour we landed at least a dozen keeper largemouth. The fish were hitting a red Trap for Will but he said the weekend before his spinnerbait worked better here, so try both.

Throw your Trap and spinnerbait right against the edge of the grass as you fish to the first opening.  At the opening throw into it across the points on both sides.  Fish on up to the mouth of the second ditch and a little way past it. Some current moving here helps.

Watch back in the slough, too, for baitfish, birds and bass activity.  The water is very shallow but it is the kind of place bass spawn so they will be back in here, especially later in March. Go into it and work all three of your baits in here, fishing the grass edges in the slough.

2.  N 32 31.088 – W 87 48.981 – Running up the Black Warrior you will see a big cement plant on the right bank.  It is on an outside bend of the river and there is a barge landing there. Downstream of the landing a tall bulkhead wall rises from the edge of the river.  Just downstream of the bulkhead is a small ditch and on the right side of it you can see an old railroad causeway.

This is a good place to catch spots but some largemouth feed here, too.  There are rocks on the bottom and current hits the bulkhead and old railroad causeway debris in the water, moving baitfish along the bank and drawing in bass. 

Stop just downstream of the ditch and cast a crankbait or Trap right to the edge of the water around it. Work up to the bulkhead and get you boat in close to it and fish crankbait and jig head parallel along it. There are rocks and other cover along the base of the wall.  Will stops when his boat gets to the upstream end of the wall, making a few casts to the bank past it.

3.  N 32 31.430 – W 87 48.302 – Run upstream to French Creek on the right and go into it. It is a huge creek but the opening is very small with a no wake buoy in the mouth of the ditch and another one back where the ditch opens up. Idle past the second one then go to the point on the right side just downstream of where the houses on the bank start.

This point has grass along it near the bank and some stumps out on the flat bottom.   Will says this is a good place to catch big largemouth and spots in March. They move in off the river and stop on this point as they work into the creek to spawn, holding here and filling up on baitfish.

Keep your boat out a long cast from the edge of the water and cast your Trap and spinnerbait close to the bank. Run both baits by any patches of grass out from the edge. Keep your bait moving slowly all the way to the boat since there are scattered stumps off the bank to hold fish.  Fish all the way around the point to the bank of it near the fist house.

4. N 32 31.546 – W 87 48.097 – Across the creek one docks floats way off the bank.  Go across just upstream of it. Be careful until you lean this creek, it is shallow.  Just upstream of the dock a flat anvil shaped point runs out and has big oak trees on either end of it.

Start out from the upstream end and fish downstream around that end of the point. Throw your Trap and spinnerbait against the bank and run them past clumps of grass just like in Hole 3.  Bass hold and feed along this bank, too, as they move in to spawn.

5.  N 32 31.403 – W 87 47.725 – Carefully going up French Creek, you will come to where it splits into two arms. The left arm goes back under a powerline. Go into this small creek and stop on the outside of the first point in it on your left, before you get to the powerlines.  It is covered with grass and is a good stopping point as the bass move into this creek to spawn. The point is fairly deep and has some rock on it, too.

This point is better from the middle of the month to the end. More and more fish will move back as the water warms and you can catch numbers of fish. But fish it early, too, since the bigger bass often move in to spawn earlier than the majority of bass. You may not get many bites on your Trap or Spinnerbait but could be grown one.

6.  N 32 31.320 – W 87 47.720 – Go across the mouth of the small creek to the upstream point of it. This flat point runs out to a small island and has grass all along the point, gap between the bank and island, and the island itself.  Fish the point and out to the island and around it with Trap and Spinnerbait.

Some wind blowing in on places like this helps move baitfish to the area and position bass to feed on them. A gentle wind will also move the warmer surface water to banks like this, warming them a little deeper than the main lake or points out of the wind. That can make them even more attractive to bass.

7.  N 32 33.422 – W 87 47.580 – Go back out to the river and head upstream. You will go under a set of big powerlines over the river then a straight before it  makes a right bend. While you are running up the straight stretch, when you see an orange roof house and dock ahead of you in the bend on the left bank, slow down and watch to your right.  You will see a small ditch that leads back to a big oxbow lake just off the river. We had to go through the ditch with the trolling motor since the lake was down a little. Go through it and when it opens up the water will get deeper.  This oxbow runs way back along the river and is a big spawning area.

Go in and ease to the point on the right where the oxbow bends to the right. A lot of standing timber starts at this turn and bass will hold in it. The point on the right is a prime feeding place for big fish and numbers of fish this month. We caught several keepers along this point and on the bank across from it, too.

Fish the whole area with all your baits.  Work the grass as well as the stumps sticking out of the water.  You can fish all the way to the back and Hole #8 or fish around the point, the key area, then idle through the stump field to the point in the back.

8. N 32 33.329 – W 87 47.542 –  Almost in the very back, where the oxbow makes a left then right bend, there is another very good point on the left. It is one of the last feeding areas before the bass bed, and they will bed all over this area.  Fish all around it on both sides and the outside bend across from it with all your baits.

I caught a couple of bass in here on a black and blue jig and pig. Will makes his own jigs that come through the grass and he gave me one.  I put a blue Zoom Fat Albert twin tail on it but Will prefers a black or blue Little Critter Craw.  He fishes the jig or a Texas rigged green pumpkin or June Bug Trick worm behind a three sixteenths ounce sinker

Both jig and pig and Texas rig are fished around the grass and wood cover, moving them slowly along the bottom until you hit cover, then shaking them before hopping the baits over the cover. Feeding bass will hit both as will bass already on the bad that you cannot see due to the stained water.

9.  N 32 34.342 – W 87 47.004 – Run up the river and watch on your right for red channel marker 226.8.  The numbers are on a small, faded sign near the red marker and hard to see.  Upstream of the marker a ditch goes out on the right and opens up into creek that is an excellent spawning creek and fills with feeding bass in March. Will says it is a great place to catch numbers and size.

This creek is small enough to fish all the way around it, and we did.  Start on the left at a cut going back – there is a matching ditch on the other side.  Fish the grass all the way to the back and out the other side.  You could stay in this protected creek all day.

Will picked up an individual fish as we worked around this creek on both Trap and spinnerbait, then we hit a small pocket behind a little point on the left going out.  The wind was blowing into the creek and the calm area behind the point held a school of fish.

Will caught fish after fish on spinnerbait and I caught a couple on a Chatterbait. We would see baitfish dimpling regularly and a swirl of a feeding fish every so often. We sat in one place and caught at least a dozen keepers without moving.  You can hit a school like that at any time on any of these places.

10.  N 32 35.169 – W 87 46.844 – Way up the river the Alabama Power Green County Plant sits on the left side of the river.  There is a canal going off the river on the left running up to the plant, and it has an outflow of warm water from the plant.  The right side of the canal is natural rock and the left side is riprap up to the barge unloading piers. The plant changed from coal to gas so there are no longer lines of barges with coal waiting to unload along this side.

Start on the downstream point of the canal.  Spots love this point and the canal itself. Will says so many tournaments were won with limits of big spots from this area the canal was put off limits by some groups.

Fish the point with Trap and crankbait if current is moving, then fish it with your shaky head.  Work into the canal, fishing up all the way to the plant.  Stay in near the bank and cast a crankbait up ahead of your boat to make it come back with the current as you go upstream. The current and warmer water both attract fish.

Will caught a couple of small spots here on a crankbait, but there was no current moving when we were there.  If the current is not moving you can stay in the area and wait on a discharge to turn on the fish, then load the boat when it happens.

All these places were already holding bass a few weeks ago and will be better now, and get better and better as March progresses. Check them out and you can find many similar places on Demopolis to fish this month.