This is from January 2024, but it is always true. In March Lake Martin was as muddy as I have seen it in 50 years and the next weekend Jackson was September clear, unusual for April
Fishing conditions can change fast this time of year. Last weekend Lake Sinclair was very clear, so clear I blamed the tough fishing on it. But the flooding rain Tuesday most likely changed that.
For many years our lakes got very muddy in the winter and spring from rain run-off. Muddy water was the norm back in the 1970s and 80s at my place on Germany Creek at Clarks Hill. But now it is not unusual to see the bottom three feet down like it was the week before Christmas.
I think farming practices are the reason. Fewer plowed fields mean less muddy runoff.
Sinclair has always been a popular bass fishing lake in the winter, mostly due to the warm water discharge from the power plant there. The warmer water made the fish more active than they were on other lakes in middle Georgia. After the power plant was torn down conditions changed.
Last Sunday I could see the bottom three to four feet down on Sinclair. And in anticipation of the coming rain, Georgia Power had lowered the lake about a foot to accept the runoff. But like other lakes, run off from a heavy rain will muddy up some of the lake. The bigger the lake the less it muddies.
Small lakes like Jackson can get muddy from dam to headwaters in a few hours. Sinclair usually takes a couple of days. And huge lakes like Clarks Hill almost never get muddy near the dam but the creeks and rivers upstream do get muddy.
The lower the water the more it muddies up. If the lake is full the muddy inflow just pushes the clear water downstream some, making it go higher. With the lake low the muddy water flows downstream with less clear water to slow it down.
One of the worst experience I have had happened at Jackson a few years ago. I was on the lake a few days before the tournament and caught nice spots off every rocky point from near the dam upstream to Tussahaw Creek. I could not wait for the tournament.
When we took off it was still a little dark. We could see well enough to run but details on the bank and in the water were vague. I stopped on the first point going upstream, planning on working my way up hitting every point.
Within a few minutes I caught a nice keeper spot on a crankbait. When I decided to go to the next point something didn’t look right. About 50 yards above the point I was on, the water changed from a greenish clear to red mud. It looked like someone had drawn a line across the lake and colored above it with a red crayon.
A heavy rain had hit the day before the tournament, but I never expected that change! The mudline moved past the point I started on within a few minutes. The whole lake was muddy upstream at daylight and to the dam by 10:00 AM.
And I never got another bite.
I don’t mind fishing cold water too much. My rule of thumb this time of year is that if the water temperature is above 50 degrees, I have a pretty good chance of catching a bass. If it is 45 to 50 degrees, I may get a bite. But if the water is colder than 45 degrees I might as well go home.
Muddy cold water is much worse. It is the worst possible condition this time of year to me.
Other factors affect fishing, too. I had information that a lot of bass were out deep on Sinclair, deeper than I expected. Some of my friends were catching bass 50 feet deep.
I planned on trying to catch a fish shallow this past Sunday then going out and looking for schools of deep fish. But the wind made it miserable fishing open water and boat control was very hard.
I did find one ball of bait 35 feet deep and another ball of either gizzard shad or crappie down 40 feet deep but got no bites around them.
Bright sun is not good when the water is warm in the summer, but it can help this time of year. I do get a laugh when I hear fishermen say sun warms underwater rocks and that warms the water the water around them. Water dissipates heat way too fast for that to happen.
Bass are attracted to shallow rocks and sun on them does seem to help in the winter. There is lots of food like crawfish living around rocks so bass feed there in the winter. And the sun may warm them some like it does us sitting in it, but I am not sure.
No matter the reason, fishing around rocks is a good tactic this time of year.
Many other factors affect fishing this time of year so the most important thing is to be adaptable.
Last Sunday only three members of the Flint River Bass Club showed up for our January tournament. Since there were less than four fishermen, the club paid our entry fees.
I won with two bass weighing 3.41 pounds and my 2.44 pound largemouth was big fish. Zane Fleck had one keeper weighing 1.77 pounds for second. That was it, the third fisherman zeroed.
I had two bites on a jig, one at 9:00 AM and the second just before 10:00 AM around rocks. After that I looked for deeper fish but never got another bite all day!
