I spent the day last Tuesday on Jackson with Jordan McDonald getting information for the January Georgia Outdoor News Map of the Month article. Then I went to Lay Lake Thursday with Matt Herrin for the Alabama Outdoor News Map of the month article.

Jordan showed me ten of his favorite places to fish on Jackson in January and how to fish them. He also talked about the baits he use to catch fish in the cold water. I will be trying out those places and baits today in the Flint River/Spalding County Sportsman Club tournament on Jackson. It is the last tournament of the year for both clubs.

We caught three good keepers at Jackson and really didn’t fish that hard, so I have high hopes for today.

Lay Lake was a little different. All the rain in north Alabama last week had the TVA trying to run a lot of water down the Coosa River. All the flood gates at the Logan Martin dam were open and all the generators were running wide open, too. Logan Martin is the next lake upstream of Lay.

The river was about four feet high and out of its banks, and the current was so strong all we could do was point the boat upstream, run the trolling motor on high and try to cast to cover as we washed past it.

Matt Herrin lives near Lay Lake and has been fishing it all his life. He is a pro fisherman at the top level, fishing the Bassmasters Elite trail. He has made the Bassmasters Classic three times and the FlW Championship tournament three times. Over the past ten years he has won almost 1.5 million dollars in tournaments.

With his top level skills and knowledge of the lake and river we were able to catch a few spotted bass under very difficult conditions. Pro fishermen have to adapt to whatever conditions exist during a tournament or they cannot be successful. Matt showed me how he adjusts and catches fish under conditions most folks would just give up and not fish. We did not see another boat all day Thursday, nobody else was even trying to fish.

I got to go fishing Jackson Lake and Lay Lake in three days. Fishing should be good for the next few weeks until the water gets real cold, and you can catch fish then if you are adaptable. It is a lot more fun than just sitting at home listening to the bad news!