January fishing report

OVERVIEW: Stiper fishing has been great. Hundreds of dish have been caught and released in the past few weeks. Huge schools of striped bass have been showing up in numerous locations. The fishing should remain good until the water temperature drops into the 30s from the 40s. Water clarity is good.

• Largemouth bass: Fishing is fair. Best lures will be jigs, Carolina rigs and jigging spoons. Best areas will be main channel points and creek channels with some type of cover. It will be slow fishing, but the fish you catch most likely will be worth the effort. You will find fish 2 to 45 feet deep.
• Smallmouth bass: Fishing is fair. Most smallmouth bass are found suspended under schools of shad this time of the year. It is a good time to try fishing the floating fly rig. Cloudy days with a light breeze are the best weather conditions. Deep ledges are the best areas to try your luck.
• Striped bass: Fishing is great. Stripers have been feeding aggressively. Most schools of fish have been found in the mid-sections of the main rivers. The sea gulls are the best way to locate a school of feeding fish. The stripers are in large schools and are always on the move. Best lures have been swim baits and flukes fished on ½- to ¾ -oz. leadheads. Jigging spoons will also take some fish. Vertical jigging and casting are good methods to catch the stripers.
• Crappie: Fishing is fair. Fish can be caught around creek channels near brush 15 to 25 feet deep. Small jigs, tubes fished on small jig heads, drop-shot rigs and live minnows will catch fish this month. Best areas will be in the main creeks. Try to find areas with baitfish.

TIP OF THE MONTH: Use a slow retrieve when the water temperature falls below 50 degrees and try fishing deep structure.