By Capt. James McManus
Happy New Year to everyone. January is probably my least favorite month when I think about fishing, but there are lots of things related that can occupy your time. Not to say that I wouldn’t head out with an unusual warm snap, but those aren’t always dependable. If it does happen the fish very likely will be obliging. Lots of times we have caught fish and dipped the rod in the water to break the ice out of the guides, but it’s still tough on an old man.
This time of year I am thinking along the lines of sprucing up equipment, new line, oil and grease reels, check guides etc. What I’ve really been meaning to do is take all my old plugs, lures, spoons, jigs and clean up, throw away, rehook, reswivel just in general make them new again. But alas, hunting, eating, football, and more eating has been overwhelming those plans, but they are still down there just waiting for a free moment. There are also things like the display box I want to make for some of my old plugs…maybe one more piece of pie and I’ll get started on that.
Once the sun goes down there are fishing shows on YouTube where you can plan future trips. I trust the raw, homemade videos for the more truthful, less edited versions of destinations. I’ve been on the other side of the camera enough times to realize the star is probably wearing the same outfit three or four days in a row to shoot a 20 minute video. The one exception was the fellow in Georgia on Instagram that claimed he had caught the huge largemouth in Lanier that week. When someone suggested he was lying because the lake behind him was bank full and Lanier was down 8 feet he merely stated he was fishing on the lower end.
Well, stay warm, stay fed, plan ahead and eventually you might even get some equipment cleaned up.
Later, Capt. James
Capt. James McManus owns 153 Charters. Give him a call for a great day on the water at (828) 421-8125.