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Published: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 / Updated: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2010 02:14 PM

FLW Pro and guide offers winter bass fishing tips on Lake Wylie

Lake Wylie is known as a good largemouth bass lake year round. However, in part because of the presence of heated water discharge from a nuclear power plant, it is known as a particularly good bass lake in the winter. I caught up with FLW Professional Angler and local guide Matt Arey to learn more about fishing on Wylie in the winter.

Because of the “hot hole” on Lake Wylie, the lake actually fishes like two lakes in the winter. At any given tournament from Buster Boyd Access Area, located near the middle of the lake, half of the boats head north and half head south.

The boats heading north generally fish the heated waters of the South Fork, where the warm water discharge is released into the lake through a narrow canal.

In the south end of the lake, water is “natural” temperature.

Ideal water temperatures for bass are in the 60s and 70s, which is why bass generally head deeper when surface temperatures dip into the 50s and below, so it’s natural to wonder why any fish stay in the lower lake through the winter. Although fish in the South Fork follow slightly warmer water temperatures and bunch up in that river, bass downstream, where effects of the warm water discharge have dissipated, don’t have an inkling warmer water can be found to the north. The bass stay south because they don’t know better!

Arey says there are two keys to winter fishing on the south end of Lake Wylie. The first is there must be bait nearby, which generally means threadfin shad on Lake Wylie, although a few gizzard shad are mixed in. Crawfish also can be a factor at times, despite hibernating for much of the winter.

The second key is the fish must have access to deep water nearby, even if they are not in it. Bass are unlikely to move to a shallow flat cut off from deep water.

With these two keys in mind, Arey likes to concentrate on the main lake and the outer half of creeks at this time of year. While it’s unlikely he’ll head into the back half of creeks, there are fish that stay year-round in creeks, such as Big or Little Allison, Crowders or Beaver Dam, but the fish are likely to move toward the main channel or hold at deeper creek bends.

On the main channel and in the outer half of creeks, Arey generally fishes two patterns on lower Lake Wylie during the winter. The first pattern involves running the banks, and the second pattern focuses on traditional deepwater structure.

Running the banks and looking for areas that heat up faster is a pattern Arey likes on Lake Wylie. Long, tapering points can be strong, but they cannot be too far removed from deepwater. Arey said winter bass will move up and down the water column during the course of the day, generally rising up the water column on sunny days as the water warms.

When deciding which banks to target, bottom composition is very important to Arey. His first choice is to fish red clay banks he says hold heat well and in turn attract bass. His second choice is rocky banks. Banks that have some wood also can be good, but wood is a weaker pattern for Arey than clay or rocky banks. Banks that receive a significant amount of sunlight are stronger than shaded banks, which get less hours of light per day. He is unlikely to spend much time fishing docks in the winter, because fish do not relate to shade at this time of year. However, he might fish outside cover near docks.

The second major winter pattern on the lower end of Lake Wylie involves deeper water fishing, particularly at the “drops,” places where water depths drop quickly. On a topographical map they show up as areas with very tight contour lines. These areas are likely to be found alongside creek beds, and particularly where a creek channel meets the side of a long, tapering point. There are a number of well-known “community holes” on the south end of Lake Wylie that fit this description, and they do hold fish in the winter.

Drops also are good areas to fish in the winter because baitfish orient to them. Anglers unfamiliar with Lake Wylie are probably better off not spending much time fishing drops where they do not see baitfish on their graph. However, Arey will occasionally spend time fishing deepwater spots where he has caught fish in the past, and at times, it pays off.

Arey has several lures in his arsenal, including jerkbaits, square billed crankbaits, jigs, grubs and spoons for winter fishing. With all these lures, though, it’s important to remember a slow presentation is essential for catching cold-blooded bass.

One of his top winter lures for a variety of applications, including point fishing, is a jerkbait. He likes to fish the bait with long casts and a slow stop and start retrieve. He sometimes lets the lure sit for up to 15 seconds between jerks. If water conditions are clear, he fishes jerkbaits on a light 10-pound fluorocarbon. Arey likes the Megabass bait, as well as the Lucky Craft Pointer 78 or 78 DD (Deep Diver). He primarily picks baits in shad patterns, and with the Megabass lure, he likes the Pro Blue color. In the Lucky Craft bait, he likes the Table Rock Shad finish.

Another lure Arey turns to frequently is a square-billed crankbait. He fishes it shallow when bass may have moved up, as on a warmer day, and bounces it off rocks and other cover. His go-to lure is the Gambler Custom Crankbait in shad patterns.

He is likely to cast at a point (or cover open water) with a jerkbait or a crankbait, but for fishing a piece of isolated cover on that point – such as a stump – he says nothing beats a jig. A common sub-pattern also can be casting jigs at boat ramps, which hold head, and attract bait and algae. Ramps can be especially strong first thing in the morning. In addition to local handmade jigs, Arey spends a lot of his jig fishing time throwing a Gambler Ninja Jig. He likes black and blue or green pumpkin patterns. His favorite color of the local jigs is blue oyster, a combination of green pumpkin, brown and blue.

For deeper applications, when fish are suspended, a grub is always in Arey’s arsenal. If his boat is in 25 feet of water, and he sees bait in 15 to 18 feet, he will cast out a 1/8th-3/16th ounce grub on 6- to 8-pound fluorocarbon and count it down to the correct depth. Since bait die all winter, he wants the grub to fall like a dying shad. He will shake the rod tip lightly on the fall and then bring it back with a very slow, erratic retrieve just fast enough to move the tail. The Gary Yamamato 4-inch curly tail grub in shad colors, such as silver flake smoke, is an excellent bait.

A final deeper water bait Arey likes to fish in the winter is a jigging spoon. At other times of the year, such as post-spawn, he will cast the bait. But in the winter, he is fishing it vertically most of the time. A common situation is for him to be jigging the spoon slowly (allowing it to flutter) 20 to 25 feet down over 30 feet of water. He also has caught fish over deeper water in the 40-plus foot range.

Fishing the lower end of the lake involves traditional, slowed down winter fishing, but Arey says fishing the South Fork below the warm water discharge is more akin to “power fishing.” This is the result of the elevated water temperatures. While water temperatures on the lower lake were at 45 to 46 degrees before the cold snap in January and then dropped to 40 to 42 degrees, temperatures in the South Fork never dipped much below 60. In addition to being warmer, in general the South Fork is more stained than the lower lake. However, with recent inflows, the lower lake is heavily stained right now, too.

Arey admits when the bite is on, winter fishing in the South Fork can be more fun than fishing down the lake. Instead of fishing in deep water or looking for heated banks near deep water where fish can move up the water column on warm days, he spends more time fishing in 2 to 6 feet of water fishing around wood cover, docks and occasionally near rocks.

Arey likes the same small, square-billed crankbait he uses down the lake, as well as jigs in the same colors that he fishes with downstream. However, the spinnerbait sees a lot of action in the South Fork.

Arey uses a big Hawg Caller Spinnerbait with large Colorado blades that produce extra vibration in the generally stained water. If the water clears up, he will turn to a natural, subtle willow leaf blade. In dirtier water, he will fish chartreuse or white baits. In clear water, he likes hand-tied “blue glimmer” skirts – transparent with a light blue tint.

Note: The South Fork is located in North Carolina, and since North and South Carolina do not have reciprocity, a North Carolina fishing license is available at ncwildlife.org.