Now that winter is finally here, what's a bass angler to do? The weather fronts have been cold, wet and nasty. The water has cooled to the point you won't need to buy ice for your drinks, just place them in the live well for later.

And the bass have almost disappeared from the face of the earth.

Or have they?

This is the time of year that most anglers have parked the boat and picked up their shotgun or rifle and become "landlubbers." The boat ramps are almost deserted of the shiny bass boats and the only boats on the lake are hard to see - camo seems to be the color of choice right now. But this is the time to test your skills; show your mettle.

Most anglers think that when the weather turns lousy and the temperature falls below 50 degrees, you have to fish 30 feet deep to find bass. But many may be surprised to find a ready, willing and able group of bass in water not more than 5 feet. Getting them to take your offering is the trick.

I am of the opinion there are fish (bass) that live deep and those that live shallow, year round. And I've proven the point many times to those skeptics that have accompanied me to local lakes. One trip in particular comes to mind.

It was February and the days were warming into the mid fifties by noon. A bout with cabin fever was eating me up and I thought the cold of winter would never leave the area. A trip to Copan Lake late the previous fall had netted a great time for my partner and I and was still fresh on my mind, tugging at me like a dog with a sock. I finally succumbed to the "urge" (my wife's description, not mine) and franticly made a few calls to find some other idiot who wanted to waste a Saturday on a cold-water lake.

I finally hooked up with a sponsor who asked if he could bring his then 14-year-old son. "Why not?" I thought as I waited for them to meet me at the shop.

"The boy likes to hunt and he's probably better in the cold weather than his dad or me."

The twenty-minute ride was brief, but welcome as we all breathed a sigh of relief to be out of the house. We launched the boat and made a short run to an old roadbed that crept from the back of a cove out into the depths of the lake. Crankbaits and spinnerbaits found no willing targets and after an hour, I decided to try something I had read before in some fishing magazine - I tied on a jig and headed for the shallow end of the roadbed.

With a loud whining coming from the back of the boat, it was hard to concentrate as I cast the bait into water that was no more than 6 feet in depth. As my partners whined and complained about my mental wellness, I went about my task of slowly crawling the bait down the submerged rock pile, paying close attention to the line as the bait rose, then fell to the next rock. They stopped complaining shortly thereafter.

A slight tick was all I felt. The line began to move slowly and gently to the left. Surprised, I set the hook and was rewarded with a solid, hard pull of the five pounder that had taken my black/blue jig. Upon landing the fish (in complete silence, I might add) my partners began searching their tackle for anything resembling my bait.

"You wouldn't happen to have another one of those jig thingies do you?" they asked sheepishly.

"Yep. Got a whole bunch of 'em but they're about five bucks a piece!" I joked, laughing.

We spent the rest of the day scouring the shallow secondary points and having the best day on the water one could ever imagine. In two hours the three of us had caught and landed eight big females weighing between three and six pounds, with one point producing three bass in three casts.

I hadn't bothered to turn on the surface temp in my Lowrance until we were ready to leave. It was more from curiosity than anything else, but when I did switch it on, I found the water was 48 degrees - and this was after it had warmed all day.

So this year, when the weather's been cold and the sky clears for a day or two, head for the lake and try your luck. But don't take the slab spoons and deep water baits. Try a jig and fish like it was spring - six feet or less. You might just have the day of your life!

Rusty Rogers, owner of Russ Rogers Chevy City, and son Ryan, caught these fish on a fifty degree day in early February. Cold water doesn't always mean deep fishing is necessary. The fish were caught in less than 6 feet of water.