Photo by Ron Sinfelt

By Travis Faulkner

January can potentially generate bone-chilling temperatures, icy treacherous roads, sleet and even heavy snow. With that in mind, why would anyone be crazy enough to venture onto the lake during such miserable winter conditions? The answer can be summed up with one simple word: smallmouths. There is just something special about these unique freshwater warriors that touches bass anglers' hearts.

The spirited nature and acrobatic fighting skills of bronzebacks is definitely enough to pull me away from the comforts of a warm home to face the extreme challenges posed by winter weather on the lake. I can't help it; I just love the sound of a drag slipping and singing from the energetic runs that smallmouths are known to make. And it's hard to beat the feeling you get from a rod tip that is bent over double from the overwhelming strength of these magnificent fish.

Kentucky residents are very fortunate to be living at a close drive from several lakes that hold awesome numbers of smallmouth bass. Bass anglers across the nation make pilgrimages every year to our state just to get the chance to fish for smallmouths on the lakes that some of us take for granted. We're talking jumbo-sized smallies, too.

We have been blessed with large lakes like Cumberland, Dale Hollow (the renowned smallmouth capital) and small bodies of water like Laurel River Lake, which hold solid numbers of smallmouth bass. With lakes like these, now's the time to formulate a game plan that will enable you to take advantage of the world-class smallmouth bass fishing that is available across the Commonwealth.

Laurel River Lake is located in Laurel and Whitley counties. It is an ultra-clear lake that encompasses deep water and a variety of structures, which are very suitable for bass in general. In fact, bass anglers can easily find key structure consisting of bluffs, long rocky points, and hollows that have huge sections of standing timber. Smallmouth bass feed heavily upon forage like gizzard and threadfin shad. In addition, crayfish, minnows and juvenile panfish are also abundant throughout the lake.

Laurel River Lake is primarily known for holding good numbers of rainbow trout, walleyes, largemouth and spotted bass. However, with a current 18-inch size limit, the smallmouth bass population seems to also be doing well. "The new size limit has helped to improve the size structure of the smallmouth bass population on Laurel," said John Williams, southeastern Kentucky fisheries biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR).

Laurel River Lake is small in size, but has the potential to produce some trophy-class smallmouth bass. In fact, about six years ago, Coolie Williams landed an 8-pound, 7-ounce smallmouth from Laurel that stands as the current state record. During the time that I worked at Grove Marina, I personally weighed numerous 5- to 6-pound smallmouth bass at the dock, which were caught by other anglers. In addition, my father and I have caught a number of smallmouths that weighed well over the 4-pound mark as well. With the right tactics in place, right now can be the prime time to catch brawling bronzebacks on Laurel.

One of my favorite tactics on Laurel during the month of January is to tie on a 1/4-ounce hair jig rigged with a No. 11 pork chunk and prepare for battle. Color combinations such as black/blue, brown/orange and green/ orange seem to drive smallmouths crazy. However, I have experienced some trips where light colors, such as yellow and white, have produced the best. When fished slowly, these baits can absolutely fill the boat on a cold January day. In fact, some of my best trips have come on overcast days where the temperature is steadily falling and it is spitting snow.

You want to cast the bait toward the bank and let the lure fall to the bottom while carefully watching your line. This presentation is very similar to fishing a Texas-rigged worm, except you are fishing much slower. Next, gently lift your rod tip and raise the bait off of the bottom. Repeat this process until you have covered various depths and have worked the lure all the way back to the boat. In many cases, the strike will occur on the fall and you can detect a sudden jump of your line, or you may feel a light tap as you raise your rod tip. A sensitive rod and patience are all you really need to make this tactic work this winter on Laurel River Lake.

Smallmouth anglers can find several boat ramps that offer quick and easy access to Laurel Lake. However, Grove Marina and Holly Bay are the only two marinas on the lake that have fully stocked stores, which offer gas, groceries, fishing supplies and docking all year long. For additional information, you can contact the helpful staff of Grove Marina at (606) 523-2323 or Holly Bay at (606) 864-6542.