Photo by Ron Sinfelt

By Jeff Samsel

Seeing snow on the mountains makes a January day seem even colder than it is, but a feisty smallmouth on the line can quickly break the chill. Catching a few makes even a bitter day seem downright toasty - at least for a while.

Winter undeniably brings challenges to anglers. However, this time of year also has its own appeal. Mountain lakes are starkly beautiful, and large fish throughout the state tend to be active enough so at least they are catchable. Plus, anglers who are willing to brave the cold often have waterways virtually to themselves.

Quality winter-fishing opportunities aren't limited by geography in North Carolina. Good fishing begins at the coast, where shallow tidal rivers begin warming quite early in the year, and extends to the high mountains of western North Carolina, where smallmouths sometimes feed aggressively in the winter. Let's take a look east and west and at points in between and explore some of the best waters for January bass fishing.

The Neuse River, which rises in the central Piedmont and flows unimpeded from the base of a small hydro-electric dam just east of Raleigh all the way to Pamlico Sound, supports a solid largemouth population and offers a classic tidal fishing experience. Based on electrofishing surveys, bass in the Neuse are in excellent condition overall, with good growth rates, according to Kirk Rundle, District 2 fisheries biologist for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

Shocking samples are collected at 20 different locations in the lower Neuse River system. Of the sampling sites, those that yielded the best returns in last year's sampling were all in the lower reaches of tributaries, including Turkey Quarter Creek, the Trent River and Swift Creek.

One real advantage of winter fishing on tidal waters is that the fish tend to pile up. They concentrate in backwater areas, drainage ditches and coves off the main river because of slightly warmer temperatures found off the main river. By keying on these types of waters, considering specific areas where the sun would warm fastest and fishing the tides effectively, anglers often can pinpoint where the bass will be and find very good action.

Fishing the tides smartly is more critical on the Neuse River than are many other aspects of bass fishing - even more than selecting the "perfect" bait. Bass position themselves based on water levels and the direction the water is moving to take advantage of the best feeding opportunities. Generally speaking, the fish move farther up onto grassy flats when high tides are flooding and drop back into cuts near low tide. They also lie in ambush points, such as eddies beside small cuts, to nab snacks washed their way whenever the tide is moving quickly.

While no largemouth stomach content surveys have been conducted on the Neuse in recent years, Rundle suspects that the most important forage for the bass include various shad and herring species, sunfish and minnows. During low-water years, when salt water intrudes farther up into the system, marine species like shrimp and crabs also may play an important part in the largemouth's diet.

The largemouth bass limit on the Neuse River is five fish. The minimum size is 14 inches, with no exceptions, for all waters east of Interstate 95, which includes the entire tidal portion. A NCWRC boat ramp at Bridgeton, just east of New Bern, provides access to the Neuse River. Several tributaries also have ramps on them. Directions are available from the boating section of the NCWRC Web site at www.ncwildlife.org.

Falls of the Neuse Lake impounds the Neuse River more than 150 miles upriver from the Neuse's tidal fishery, directly north of Raleigh. It has big numbers of bass in it, with some excellent weights, according to Wayne Jones, District 3 fisheries biologist for the NCWRC. "There are a lot of 3- to 6-pound fish and quite a few larger ones," he said.

A relatively young lake, Falls is quite fertile, and its dense population of small gizzard shad keeps the bass well fed. Annual shocking surveys reveal that the population is very stable and in great shape. The NCWRC has done extensive habitat work on the lake - cutting and cabling trees along the edges, sinking brush and sinking PVC fish attractors. In addition, several stands of timber were left intact when the lake was flooded.

"Most of those trees have fallen now, but they are still down there, and they provide great habitat," Jones said. "There are some big bass in those trees. Of course, they are pretty tough to get out when someone hooks one!"

The upper end of Falls Lake is shallow and laden with stumps, so anglers who don't know the lake extremely well are wise to stay within the lower half of the lake. Goodman does the bulk of his winter fishing in the lake's midsection and lower end, favoring the clearer water that is more common in the lower end that time of year. He fishes mostly on the lake's main body, focusing heavily on points, of which there are dozens.

"The bass will stay close to the main-river channel or the lower creek channel when it's really cold and move up the points on sunny days," Goodman said. "Whether deep or shallow, they will be somewhere around those points this time of year."

Goodman likes to fish points with a 3/4- or 1-ounce Booyah Blade spinnerbait. He'll begin by fishing the shallow part of the point, slow-rolling the spinnerbait along the bottom. If he has marked bait near the point, especially off its edges or toward the deep end, he'll also work the deeper waters thoroughly, letting the big spinnerbait go all the way to the bottom and then slow-rolling it up the slope. "You'll find some big bass down in that deeper water," he said.

If unseasonably warm weather or muddy water suggest that bass are apt to be shallow, Goodman will turn to a more targeted-oriented approach. Usually fishing in the vicinity of creek mouths, he will focus on brushpiles, stumpfields and timber stands, often at the tops of points or along adjacent banks.

For working the cover, Goodman likes either a spinnerbait or a crankbait, and he is not shy about working either bait right through the thick stuff.

Because of its convenience to Raleigh, Falls Lake gets heavy recreational use through the warm months. Since most pleasure boaters (and a lot of fishermen) stay home during the cool months, January is a great month to fish this lake.

The NCWRC maintains four boating access areas on Falls Lake. Directions are available on the boating section of the commission's Web site. General statewide bass regulations apply on Falls Lake. The largemouth limit is five fish, with a 14-inch minimum size. Two fish in a limit may be less than 14 inches long.