Swift Creek Reservoir Fishing Report- JANUARY
By Charlie Machek
Owner of Swift Creek Reservoir Guide Service
www.SwiftCreekReservoirGuideService.com
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Happy New year anglers! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and maybe got a few good fishing lures in their stocking. If you’re looking for a good new year’s resolution, you can’t go wrong with taking a kid fishing, catching more fish, or enjoying the great outdoors more often. This fall has been very mild, and that means the water temperature has not dropped down to the typical winter temps yet. The key word is YET, because January is when it really starts to get cold in Richmond, and the forecast is looking like we can expect plenty of nights dipping down into the 20’s just as the New Year gets started. If you are ready to brave the cold, there are some BIG bass to be caught in January. Just like me over all of the holidays, the bass have been feeding up all fall, and these big fish will be at their heaviest weights of the year for the next few months. The best advice I can give this time of year is to slow down, and fish deep water. Find your favorite steep bank, or creek channel drop, and fish it thoroughly. Bass can still be caught shallow, but they are going to need some deep water nearby. I would start in the 8’ range, and go on out to the 15’-20’ until you start catching some fish. Catching winter bass on the Swift Creek Reservoir can be the toughest time of year to fish. The reason for this is when the grass dies off for winter, there is nothing filtering the water, and it tends to get muddy. Cold, muddy water is a very difficult scenario, as the fish are lethargic, and they can’t see your bait from very far away. Bulky 1/2oz -3/4oz Jig and pigs fished very slowly on the bottom is a great big fish bait. Other effective bottom baits are texas rigged craws, senkos, or creature baits. For days where the fish are more active, try a rattle trap crankbait slow rolled or yo-yo’d back to the boat. Look for a steeper bank with wind blowing against it. Other options for this situation are a spinnerbait, 10’ diving crankbait, or shadrap. If you have big enough tackle, umbrella/Alabama rigs are a big time fish catcher in the winter. Typically winter is a great time for fishing a suspending jerkbait, but they are most effective in clearer water. Keep this in mind if the water is able to clear up later in the month.
January fishing for crappie is an entirely different story from the largemouth bass. Crappie will be schooled up, and feeding all month. They love to eat during the winter months, and once you find a group of them you can have nonstop fish catching action. They like deeper water, and they like to move around. At times it can be a game of hide and seek, but once you find them, they are easy to catch. On Christmas Eve we caught about 100 crappie in-between the storms. Some of my favorite baits are minnows, tiny tubes, and tiny grubs all on little crappie jigs. We practice 100% catch and release on all bass we catch, but crappie are much more sustainable, and taste delicious. Keeping enough crappie for a meal can actually help make room for other crappie to reach a bigger size. If you are prepared for the cold weather, and dressed properly, winter can be a great time to be on the water, and you typically have the entire lake to yourself! As always take a kid fishing, practice catch and release, and I’ll see you on the water!
If you have questions please contact me at machekfishing@gmail.com or on social media, and continue to submit your fish catch photos to be included in next month’s article.
