January in the deep south is something you can depend on being not dependable.

The first half of the month was like being in the far north while the next half was like the deep south, as it should be.

You know it has been right good weather after the deep freeze was over and the water is warming rather fast for this early in the year. I certainly am not ready for the winter to end, but I am glad to see some sunny weather with the warm days that come along with the bright sun. Having some cool nights with the warm days will make for a good February.

A good February will also make for a good March and a good spring fishing season. That is pretty much all we want here on Lake Seminole. Just a good fishing season for the spring of 2010. Probably one of the most used baits in the spring is a lizard, usually 6 to 8 inches long and usually by the Zoom folks. You don’t have to use them during the bedding season, but it helps.

A lizard gets in a bass bed and eats the eggs and the bass gets like a sow with squealing pigs. Both will attack and attack hard. You certainly won’t have to wonder whether you get a hit or not, it is usually very evident. A plastic lizard can get you a lot of strikes, especially during the bedding season although you can use the lizard at other times of the year when the bass are not bedding.

Most fishermen will use a larger lizard if they can find one they like and in their color. The reason for the larger lizard is they tend to weigh more and by weighing more they can be cast farther with little or no extra weight, such as worm lead.

The less extra weight you use on your bait the more natural movement it will have. A worm or lizard that is loaded down with worm lead may move like a dead limb in the water attracting nothing. That is not good for the limit of fish you want to weigh in at the next tournament. You may be surprised at how far you can cast a big worm or lizard with no extra weight. Getting the bait farther from the boat helps ensure the bass will not be able to detect your presence.

When you have mastered the long cast you need to let the worm or lizard move naturally in the water. Toss the bait down by the side of your boat and retrieve it along the side of the craft so that you can see what the bait is doing.

Change the movement of your rod so as to make the movement as attractive as you possibly can. Then do that same thing when retrieving the bait back on one of those long casts. If you are they only person on the lake, you may not need to make really long casts. Usually, however, the lake is loaded with fishermen in the spring and all the noise and movement tends to spook the bass and other fish.

Fishing farther from the boat always helps. The downside of long casting is if you can set the hook when a fish hits at the fartherest of your casting ability. If you can stick the bass and get him to the boat that cast is not too far. If you can’t, maybe the casts should be a little shorter.

A week ago the water was rising and more rain was coming into the area. I went to Newton and the river was leaving its banks and with more water coming it is going to really overflow the banks.

Seminole won’t have a chance to clear as the new rain will bring higher water and muddy conditions. Just fish the better days and go to the clearer areas of the lake. If the back ponds off the lake get muddy, you say the rest of the world is muddy too. Moving on toward spring will bring better conditions for the fishermen as well as the fish.

I hear there was a 22.4-pound bass caught in Japan last year. I haven’t been to Japan lately, so I haven’t seen the fish or even a mount. But I did see a picture and it weighed better than 4 pounds. Maybe we will hear more on this fish that was caught on a bream, live bait.