The Dynamics Of Hot Water Discharge Lakes

Because Coffey’s winter shad population is so minuscule, bass forage primarily on invertebrates such as crayfish and immature aquatic insects. When bass turn piscivorous, they feed on sunfish. During winter when the surface temperature hovers around 40°F, nearly one out of five coldwater smallies that anglers catch have crayfish antennae protruding from the gullet. But coldwater anglers seldom find a sunfish or shad tail jutting from a fish.

At Coffey, there’s more cold water than warm water to fish during winter. The reservoir’s deepest water lies in the coldwater zone and the best smallmouth lairs are in the lower portions of the lake. A number of offshore humps, points, and dropoffs attract smallmouths, though it’s a rare winter day that the wind allows anglers to deftly probe such haunts.

Moreover, because Coffey’s smallmouth bass spend most days subsisting on small invertebrates, anglers have found it imperative to use small, lightweight lures and to retrieve them slowly and precisely. But since 1996 when Coffey was first opened to angling, nearly incessant winter winds typically prevent anglers from perfecting finesse tactics at offshore spots.

The wind often is an angler’s greatest nemesis at Coffey. When a 25 mph wind blows from the south, anglers are prohibited from being on the lake, and wind and waves almost rival the rollers and whitecaps of the Great Lakes. Because the wind makes fishing so difficult, most anglers wisely avoid it. Nonetheless, Coffey County Lake is an excellent case study to ponder and learn approaches that undoubtedly work at more tranquil and productive venues.

Coffey features miles of riprap, and significant sections quickly drop into 20 to 30 feet of water, providing deep coverts for the smallmouth bass. These deep and steep sections of riprap in fact resemble rockslides along the bluffy shorelines of Ozark reservoirs. Other sections of riprap have shallow ledges that plummet into deep water.

Riprap Tactics

When Coffey’s smallies are feeding tentatively, we’ve found that a 1/16-ounce marabou jig in a grayish-silver hue often elicits more strikes than any other lure. Black and olive jigs often produce additional fish on the second and third passes along fish-holding structure. These jigs closely replicate the small invertebrates that smallmouths seem to rely on.

Initially, many anglers are reluctant to try a 1/16-ounce jig, feeling it’s too tedious to cast and retrieve such a light lure in 15 to 18 feet of water. But heavier jigs continually snag in crevices between boulders that form the riprap. After such frustration, anglers come to appreciate the virtues of a light jig. In fact, when wintertime smallies periodically occupy areas less than 10 feet deep, a 1/32-ounce marabou jig is often a better option than the 1/16-ouncer.

Debate exists about the best length and action of spinning rods for casting and retrieving these minijigs. Gord Pyzer, In-Fisherman Field Editor from Kenora, Ontario, prefers a 7-foot medium-light-action Shimano drop-shot rod, noting that the waters he fishes “are usually very clear and bass typically spooky, so extra-long casts often are essential.” On the other hand, I’m a disciple of the legendary Charlie Brewer of Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and Billy Westmorland of Celina, Tennessee, who favored short rods. A 6-foot medium-action Shakespeare Synergy spinning rod, fitted with an old Garcia Cardinal 4 and spooled with 6-pound-test Berkley FireLine tipped with a 5-foot leader of 6-pound-test fluorocarbon, is my favorite combo.