A number of tactics can produce action for canal bass. The top tactic of the guides is no more complicated than slow-trolling a live shiner about 5 feet under a float, right down the middle of the canal with a trolling motor on slow speed.

Those favoring artificial lures find 6-inch Texas-rigged plastic worms in June-bug, red shad or black with a blue tail color scheme effective when fished slowly around shoreline grass patches and dock pilings. Savvy anglers downsize their line to the 10- to 12-pound range and opt for bullet weights in the 1/8-ounce range.

Should a cold front intervene, bass seldom leave a canal immediately. It often takes several days of freezing nights to push them out. For the first couple of days immediately after a front, a deadly technique is to fish a countdown crankbait like a Rat-L-Trap very quickly down the middle of the canal, and around any wood, like dock pilings or shoreline brush. A fast retrieve can often trigger strikes from those sluggish cold-front bass.

If canals don't pan out, local experts don't get too far away from them in their search for bass.

"A lot of canals have some pretty deep water just off their mouths, where they were dredged out," noted Bussard. "These holes can hold a lot of fish before they move into the canals, or if they are run out by a bad front. Carolina rigs, or ultra-deep diving crankbaits, can catch them."

While canals are normally a sure bet, not all fish use them. One pattern that has emerged in recent years is fishing a spinnerbait around the bases of shallow cypress trees located near canal mouths. It has produced some prodigious bass!

For guided fishing trips on the Harris Chain, contact Eddie Bussard though Bass Challenger Guide Service at 1-800-241-5314.

ST. JOHNS RIVER
The St. Johns River area, around lakes Woodruff and Dexter near Deland consistently ranks among the top waters in the state during annual creel surveys. This month, however, anglers will want to forgo the main flow and seek quieter waters.

"Our bass won't be spawning for a couple months," cautioned Rick Rawlins, who grew up guiding anglers in this area. "And they are looking for the calmest, warmest water they can find. That means that the back creeks, and lakes Woodruff and Dexter, are better bets than the main river."

Among those creeks that have proven highly productive during January are Harrys Creek, Scoggins Creek, Shell Creek and Hontoon Dead River.

Regardless of whether he's fishing the lakes or the creeks, Rawlins' guide tactics are simple.