By Capt. James McManus
It’s still January as I am writing this report. I know that New Year’s resolutions are already fading but this year I am going to try and maintain, and expand, on one I recently made for myself. The last day of deer season, in Georgia at my in-law’s place, I was in my stand before light and the most serene sunrise bloomed over my right shoulder. It brought to mind the many times I have seen sunrises on Fontana waiting for clients to arrive. Some mornings, I have all my little duckies in a row and can sit back in the quiet and just take in the view. Other mornings I slip into the boat just in time for their trek down the ramp while I busily arrange gear and do my safety checks. You can’t always be ahead of schedule, light plugs suddenly don’t work, bait stores open late, ramps are full to capacity with tournament anglers, but the one thing I plan to do is take in and share the rising of the sun. Every day starts out with the hope of lots of bites, good conversation and satisfied clients. I think, by starting out with an acknowledgement of the wonder of another sunrise regardless of the day’s outcome, the trips will be a success.
Having said that, we are to February. February can be a weird month on Fontana. Give us a couple of warming stable days and the smallmouth, spots and whites really start thinking about the upcoming spawn. Most have slugged through the winter, their bellies are swelling with eggs and they are starting to think the banks may hold just what they are looking for. If we have long, hard, cold rains then the last thing on their minds is a place to take up housekeeping. You will find them on flats lying on the bottom sometimes with absolutely no interest in feeding. So weather is always going to be your first consideration when trying to pattern fish. Some of my best days ever have been in February; I remember one day just past Greasy Branch Flats when the whole area was full of breaking fish. Midmorning, a little drizzle started and there were spots, smallies, whites and trout everywhere. We caught two trout over 6 pounds on topwater, and from the banks to the middle of the 120 foot channel, there were feeding fish, all mixed up and hungry. That should be one key for success, fish here will bunch up and if you aren’t seeing or marking fish, keep moving, you can’t catch’em where they ain’t. Areas towards the river mouths haven’t quite opened up yet so I like to stick to main lake points and mid arm flats. Places with big sweeping channels surrounded by flats are good areas to try like T-2, the theatre on the Little Tennessee, and the area just outside of Almond Boat Dock. Farther down lake the areas at the mouth of Hazel Creek, or back in Eagle Creek, sometimes hold big schools of fish.
If you find fish in an area they likely will be there on similar days, but a sudden change in weather can send them to parts unknown, so keep looking. There are times when live bait really helps with the bite. Sluggish fish have time to see, smell and taste what you are offering but even then, they may just mouth the bait but it still gives you a little head start over artificials. So back to my opening thoughts, a relatively open, cloudless sky in the morning may bring warm gentle breezes that will wake up fish. A vibrant red in the morning, sailors warning sunrise, may bring a gentle drizzle, but both scenarios can at times can be harbingers of great days on the water, so take the time to enjoy both, hopeful that this day will bode well for taut strings but regardless, there was a beautiful start to a new day. Let me know if you want to start a few days with a sunrise. Later, Capt. James
Capt. James McManus is the Owner of 153 Charters. Give him a call for a great day of boat fishing!