A Day on the Lake: TJ Martin

Marshall@5FinFishing
Feb 2, 2024
6 min read

January 29th, 2024

It's wintertime. Christmas has just passed. You have been spending time with family and in the deer stand. The whole time, you are dreaming of bass fishing. Your mind strays, and the next thing you know, you dream of being on the water, catching those FAT pre-spawners, and spawning fish up shallow on a beautiful March day.

Meanwhile, you do not even realize you are missing out on some of the best opportunities to get on the water and catch some absolute MONSTERS.

It's cold. It's dreary. Water temps are low. But so is the boat traffic. That is when TJ and I decided we would go out to brave the cold Oklahoma winter.

TJ is a pretty well-known and established Oklahoma bass angler. If the words "BASS FISHING" are involved, he's there! The guy is all over the place, from smaller local team trails to the larger scale team trails to fishing MLF events and some BASS events. Oklahoma, to Missouri, to the occasional wild hair to fish a championship event in Florida, to a relaxing fishing trip to Mexico, it's safe to say the guy eats, sleeps, and breaths bass fishing.

Date: December 31, 2023

Lake: Grand Lake

Weather: Cloudy, 10-20 MPH winds, hovering around 35 degrees all day.

Lake Conditions: Clean and clear water, 45-degree water temps.

10:20 a.m.

We meet at the ramp; we have decided with this cold weather, we are just fine getting a little bit of a late start. We both bundled up for a chilly and windy day on the water. We dropped the Phoenix in the water; while walking to the dock, TJ unloaded only two rods. I take this as a good sign that he has been on the fish, and this could be an entertaining day.

10:25 a.m.

We arrive at our first spot, a short run to a mid-lake spot where TJ knows fish live. He drops the Garmin trolling motor in the water and begins scanning with his Livescope. His target at this spot is brush piles and flooded timber that fish will be suspended on.

He grabs one of the two rods on the deck. Both rods are rigged with YUM Yumbrella Flash Mob Jr's. This lure and technique has become a staple in wintertime fishing all over the country as bass are feeding and suspending, and Livescope becomes a significant player.

TJ sees fish on his unit, but they are not reacting to the A-Rig—it's time to check another spot.

10:35 a.m.

"This spot is a little more covered from the wind," TJ says as we pull up to our next spot.

10:37 a.m.

TJ cast to a brush pile in 10 feet of water; I can spot the A-Rig on the unit at the console. We both watch a fish rush off the brush pile to attack one of the Keitech swimbaits. The fish comes off, but this shows us some life! After a few more casts, TJ picks up the trolling motor. He has seen enough.

10:48 a.m.

We pull up to our new spot. Trolling motor in the water, TJ scans around 20 feet of water, looking for any structure that bass could be on.

11:00 a.m.

We head into a cove off the main lake. TJ says, "It's time to start fishing around docks." Grand Lake is a notorious dock fishing lake. Bass relates to docks at all times of the year as they always want to be near structures to feel safe. Also, it makes excellent ambush points for these ravenous winter fish.

11:09 a.m

We find out very shortly that the docks are a good move. Shortly after entering the cove, TJ casts alongside a dock, and in about 15 feet of water, he's hooked up!

It's the first fish in the boat of the day, and without a scale, we guesstimate it is around 1 to 1.5 lb largemouth.

11:17 a.m.

TJ casts to a pretty steep bank between a couple of docks. "The fish are glued to the bottom." We can see on the livescope reeling the A-Rig barely above the bottom. A few will follow it off the bottom, but no commitment. TJ tells me, "We just keep going; the bite window will open soon, and these followers will get hungry."

11:27 a.m.

TJ had caught a few small fish nonkeepers between the first fish and now. He makes a cast-up near a pesky dock line, and the A-Rig is hung up as we approach to retrieve his lure. A fish flashes and snatches it up. We get close enough to rescue the A-Rig, and it's a nice 2lb keeper. We have a good laugh over that, and it's back to fishing.

12:39 p.m.

It has been a little over an hour. At this time, we have caught five smaller keepers. We have a limit in the boat but it is not much. It's time to buckle down and chase some bigguns.

1:06 p.m.

After grinding away for a little longer, TJ decides it's time to change scenery. We move to a new spot. We are still searching for some better keeper fish. "Just because you can see them on Livescope does not mean you can catch them."

2:05 p.m.

I admire TJ's commitment to the A-Rig at this point. I know, I know, the A-Rig is a fantastic lure in the winter, but the angler in me cannot help but think of picking something else up and trying something else. But TJ sticks to one thing, knowing it's getting bit; it just takes the right time and place to catch a big one.

He makes a cast and runs the rig right along the side of the dock. His lure reaches the corner, BAM! The first decent keeper is a 3lb largemouth!

2:19 p.m.

He casts to the bank; we sit in 20 feet of water. Slow rolling, creeping the A-Rig along the bottom, watching it on the livescope. I notice this is one of the most essential pieces of the day. Keeping the lure barely above the bottom entices the bass into that reaction bite. Even in the chilly water, it is working.

With our eyes on his Garmin unit, we see a GROWN one devour the rig. It's a short but fat 4.5lb largemouth! She has been eating for sure! "That one hammered that thing."

2:24 p.m.

TJ has hooked up again; he looks at me and says, "This one is bigger if it is hooked in the mouth." When the fish surfaced, a 1.5lb bass was foul-hooked. We had a good laugh about that one!

2:31 p.m.

The day is winding down for us. We are both chilly and about ready to head home. But that bite window TJ spoke of earlier is here, and we still need a couple of big ones to cull some smaller fish.

He continues scanning banks, docks, and any structure he can see on his Garmin Livescope. Next thing you know, the rod loads up, and it's on. "Big one!" TJ exclaims as the hooked fish starts head shaking and bolts. He quickly swings aboard what would be the biggest fish of the day! A certified five-pounder.

2:44 p.m.

We decide to idle to the mouth of the cove and fish one last spot before heading out. At this point, we can only imagine how nice a heater would be.

TJ scans one last bank and catches another solid, almost 3.5-pounder. "These fish are chunky," we both say to each other. The wintertime feed is definitely on for these Grand Lake largemouth bass.

3:00 p.m.

TJ catches our last fish of the day, a 3.25-pounder. That would cull our last small fish from earlier! I would say that is a success by all means.

After a long, cold, windy day, TJ has successfully managed to catch a fantastic limit of Grand Lake largemouth. His five biggest fish go for around 19 pounds!

RECAP OF THE DAY

While the day started slow, only catching a few smaller fish to begin the day, that bite window opened later. The day was a tournament angler's dream day. To open the day with a smaller limit, your only worry becomes replacing those smaller fish with bigger ones. That is precisely what happened on this day. From having five fish for around 8 lbs to ending the day with 5 for about 19. On Grand Lake, that almost always guarantees you to take a check home.