Winter Patterns Revealed

"A suspending jerkbait is my first go-to bait," Davis says. "The key is to move the bait quickly. Don't slow down. These are active fish. Medium- to deep-running cranks are next, like a Down-Deep Rattling Fat Rap. I tell you what, it's different every day. There will be a sweet spot. If they're coming up behind it and not eating it, it's speed or color. Color can be a really big deal with smallmouth. Worst thing you can do is go out there with a preconceived notion. Knowing what you're going to start with is one thing, but convincing yourself that it's the only color, size, or style of bait that's going to work is a mistake."

But shallow fishing with suspending jerkbaits is only one winter pattern. Even on Pickwick, other patterns exist. Some populations within the same system can behave differently than others. This was graphically demonstrated to me by Tim Horton, past B.A.S.S. Angler of The Year. The paragraph that begins this article describes Horton's pattern. The difference is, Davis is looking in the lower third of the reservoir, where the main river channel is deep -- probably too deep for smallmouths. In the upper third of the reservoir, active smallmouths use the river channel where it maxes out at 30 to 40 feet. Active fish rise to the tops of humps in the 25- to 28-foot range, and Horton plies these spots with live shad he nets himself, hooked through the nostrils with a #4 to #2 baitholder or octopus-style hook. The rig is weighted 18 inches up the line with one or two large split shot in the 3/32- to 1/8-ounce range, depending on wind and drift speed.

"Line is critical," Horton says. "I spool up with clear 8-pound-test ReaLine on spinning gear. I'm striking a balance. It takes 10-pound line too long to sink, and it's too visible to the fish, but 6-pound line is too thin to handle a bass in the 8-pound range, which is a real possibility on Pickwick."

These two different patterns on Pickwick reveal that, no matter where you live, finding winter smallmouths can be the most challenging fishing of the year. In Texas, all the smallmouths might be shallow all winter, while Alabama bass can exhibit shallow and deep patterns in the same lake. And, until somebody fishes for them, it's impossible to know if the population tends to be sedentary all winter, on-and-off, or actively, feeding every day.