Lake Jackson Fishing Report – January 2010

Jackson: Level: Full pool. Temp: High 40s to low 50s. Clarity: Stained in the rivers; good color in the main lake.

Bass: Decent. Eric Perkins reports, “It’s not all that great for numbers, but some really good fish have been showing up. You have to slow way down unless we get some warmer weather. You can catch fish on a number of different baits, but I would say some sort of medium-running crankbait, a Little George and a Net Boy finnese jig are some of my favorites. In January, the fish will relate to the river channel and deeper water. I like to get off these long points and deeper channel swings next to rock and cast that jig. You can pull up and crank a small crankbait like a 300 Bandit or a Model A Bomber and pick up a few. Then get the jig out and cast it to the same places. A Little George is also hard to beat in January, too. You can fan cast it and just pump your rod up and let it fall on a tight line. It’s deadly when the shad start dying when the weather is really cold. I like white or chrome, and I always change out my hooks with Gamakatsu light-wire trebles. It’s a lot easier to hook up on the fish when they really aren’t killing the bait. With all the recent rains, we will be using a darker color in the jig and brighter colors in the cranks. Parrott, gable green and firetiger are the norm. In January, we can expect the fish to be anywhere from 7 to 30 feet deep just depending on the water temp. When it’s in the 45-degree range, it’s best to be looking in that 15- to 30-foot range. Aaron Batson reports, “Soon after a few days of warm, sunny weather will be the time to get on the lake. Look for hard-bottom areas that get sunlight. This can be natural rock, red clay or rip-rap areas. Work these areas hard with several baits. Try a medium crankbait like a No. 8 Shad Rap or a Bomber 7A as a search bait. Once you find fish, slow down and work a 7/16-oz. Net Boy Baits finesse jig in a darker brown/black color with brown or green-pumpkin Zoom Pro Chunk. Also, a good bet for some chunky spots would be a Net Boy Baits ScrewBall head with a Zoom finesse worm. Some schooling, offshore fish have been good, also. Work old channel bends on the main-lake areas with chrome/blue Rat-L-Traps or burn an all-white Ol Nelle spinnerbait with white, double-willow blades around areas of shad to catch the schoolers.”