Returning to Ross Barnett
Bass don’t have much deep water where they can hide in the winter at Ross Barnett, but the only thing that makes Ross Barnett a bad January fishing day is a hard, blowing north, northeast or northwest wind.
Bass are in their winter pattern in early January. Generally, if you put a lure in front of them, they’ll attack. I’ll concentrate my fishing on the riprap near the dam and in Pelahatchie Bay and on the riprap and pilings on either end of the Pelahatchie Bridge and the Highway 43 bridge.
Bass are in their winter pattern in early January. Generally, if you put a lure in front of them, they’ll attack. I’ll concentrate my fishing on the riprap near the dam and in Pelahatchie Bay and on the riprap and pilings on either end of the Pelahatchie Bridge and the Highway 43 bridge.
Riprap. First I’ll fish the riprap by the dam. The bass will be in the shallow water on the rocks or holding on the first drop-off in about 8 to 10 feet of water. The rocks will draw heat from the sun, and the shallow water around them will concentrate baitfish. I’ll start casting a gray ghost Mann’s Baby 1-Minus on a 7-foot-1, medium-action FX Custom rod with a 7.3:1 Bruin reel and 20-pound White Peacock fluorocarbon. I’ll cast parallel to the riprap and crash the lure into the rocks in foot-deep water. On any warming January day, the shad, the bluegills and other baitfish will hold as close to the rocks as possible, as will bass.
I’ll also have on my casting deck a 3/8-ounce Classic spinnerbait with a white skirt, gold Indiana blades and a trailer hook. I’ll crash that spinner bait at a 45% angle into the rocks from the shallow water, slow-rolling the spinnerbait to turn the blades out to about 4 feet deep. I’ll use a 6-foot-10, heavy action FX Custom rod with 23-pound fluorocarbon on a 6.2:1 reel.
Paul Elias Making Adjustments Ahead of 2021 Bass Pro Tour Season
By Mike Pehanich - November 30, 2020 The challenge of moving from a five-fish tournament format to the relentless pressure of catch-what-you-can competition has tested the nerves of virtually every angler on the MLF Bass Pro Tour.
That certainly has been the case for Paul Elias, the Mississippi pro who has etched his name in bass fishing history and the angling record books in dazzling fashion during the course of his career. At age 69, he has, as they say, “seen it all.” No angler in the 80-man Bass Pro Tour field draws from a deeper well of experience to assess the respective challenges professional bass anglers have faced during the sport’s evolution.
But, as the oldest angler in the field, Elias feels more tightly compressed each season, caught between a younger and increasingly talented angler field and the unyielding pressure of Father Time, as manifested in two shoulder operations in 2018.
“It’s been a nightmare for me, in a way,” he admits. “With our new electronics from Garmin and everyone else, there’s always something different to learn. LiveScope (Panoptix) technology is basically video game bassin’. I’m not near as good at it as these young kids. It’s hard for me to keep up.”
Comeback Kid
As for the transition from five-fish limit competition to the cumulative SCORETRACKER® format, Elias is learning to “fish faster and read water quicker than I’m used to.”
He has faced formidable challenges on every front. But if he should rise to compete once again at an elite level, it wouldn’t be the first time.
Several times during his career, he has come back from winless droughts and strings of out-of-the-money performances to win with eye-popping, tour de force triumphs such as his “kneelin’ and reelin’” Bassmaster Classic win on the Arkansas River and first “all-smallmouth” win on New York’s Seneca Lake.
Pickwick Lake: 50 fish a day in December possible
Alabama rig will catch anything, and there’s plenty of fish to catch
By - Paul Elias I like to catch fish, lots of fish. I earn my living by catching bass, but anything that tugs on my line is fun to catch. The more tugs I get in a day, the more I enjoy myself.
That’s why Pickwick is my choice for Mississippi lakes in December. I can catch largemouths, smallmouths, spots, white bass, stripers, catfish and crappie using some of the same rigs.
Alabama Rigs
During most of a December day at Pickwick, I’ll be fishing an Alabama rig. This umbrella-type, multi-bait rig will catch suspended fish, ledge fish and fish holding near the bottom. I can cover lots of water and catch numbers of fish.
I’ll tie two Alabama rigs on two rods. The first will have ¼-ounce jigheads with 4-inch, pearl-colored, soft-plastic swimbaits that imitate shad. I’ll tie this rig onto 50-pound bass braid and fish it with a 7.3:1 Bruin reel and a 7-foot-10, heavy plus-action FX Custom Rod.
The other rod will have tied on an Alabama Rig with 3/8-ounce jigheads featuring wide-gap hooks that can be rigged Texas-style. I’ll bring the hook out top of the swimbait so it lays on the back of the bait. I’ll skin-hook the point to make it weedless.
I’ll crawl the Alabama Rig on the bottom or through any type of cover. Remember, I’m basically a tournament bass angler, so I can cast and retrieve a vertical jig or use any type of fishing tactic except trolling. However, if you’re fun-fishing, and your arm gets tired from throwing the Alabama rig, slow-troll that rig, cover plenty of water and catch a lot of fish. The Alabama rig is probably the best trolling bait available.
Jake Lands 7.7 Largemouth Fishing with Paul
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Testimonial
Paul, Patrick and myself want to thank you for the two day in depth fishing lessons. These are two days we will never forget. From the time we arrived at your cabin for breakfast you made us feel welcome and at home. We hit the water and begin catching fish. You would sit down for a while, we couldn't catch any fish, you would get a rod and bam you showed us again one behind another. My biggest fish was 7 lbs 9 oz. You shared a lot with us and we will be forever greatful for learning from a legend. I would do it again and would not change a thing.
Thanks again Paul for a wonderful time.
Wayne Gant and Patrick Currie
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Testimonial
Paul, Wanted to drop you a line and again thank you for the great time Lance and I had. The time spent with you on the electronics was amazing,but the real deal was when we put that knowledge and applied it out on the water on Friday.We guessed our best 5 would of been in the 42 lb range, with both of us catching our personal best fish of our lifes.We had 2 over 10 and 1 around 9 from your lake. We are getting ready to start into the Everstart series this year and your class will definitely help us out.
Thanks again, Frank
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