Day on the lake with David Walker

For fall/winter transition, you have to be man enough to fish in the brutal cold. Take notes out of David Walker's play book to catch the big bass on your local lake.

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For November/December, Bassmaster’s “Day on the Lake” series puts Elite Series pro David Walker on a small lake he had never seen before and gave him seven hours to catch bass. The 48-year-old Sevierville, Tenn., angler has fished B.A.S.S. events for 15 years and has qualified for the Classic nine times. Here’s how the morning started out on Dec. 12, 2013: 7:20 a.m. The air temp is 18 degrees as Walker begins his day on Lake N. “This morning is going to be more about survival than fishing,” he says.
For November/December, Bassmaster’s “Day on the Lake” series puts Elite Series pro David Walker on a small lake he had never seen before and gave him seven hours to catch bass. The 48-year-old Sevierville, Tenn., angler has fished B.A.S.S. events for 15 years and has qualified for the Classic nine times. Here’s how the morning started out on Dec. 12, 2013: 7:20 a.m. The air temp is 18 degrees as Walker begins his day on Lake N. “This morning is going to be more about survival than fishing,” he says.
7:35 a.m. Walker’s first stop on Lake N is a steep channel bank, where he tries a jerkbait.
7:35 a.m. Walker’s first stop on Lake N is a steep channel bank, where he tries a jerkbait.
7:40 a.m. Walker’s ice-covered front deck makes for treacherous footing.
7:40 a.m. Walker’s ice-covered front deck makes for treacherous footing.
8:39 a.m. Walker cranks a channel bank.
8:39 a.m. Walker cranks a channel bank.
9:04 a.m. Walker struggles to retrieve his jerkbait and plug knocker from a submerged tire.
9:04 a.m. Walker struggles to retrieve his jerkbait and plug knocker from a submerged tire.
Frigid air temps and water limited Walker to a fairly small arsenal of lures on Lake N.
Frigid air temps and water limited Walker to a fairly small arsenal of lures on Lake N.
9:30 a.m. Walker fishes a clay point with a small crankbait.
9:30 a.m. Walker fishes a clay point with a small crankbait.
9:31 a.m. Walker catches a nonkeeper off a point.
9:31 a.m. Walker catches a nonkeeper off a point.
9:40 a.m. Walker probes a retaining wall with a crankbait.
9:40 a.m. Walker probes a retaining wall with a crankbait.
9:58 a.m. Walker hangs a good fish on a crawfish crankbait.
9:58 a.m. Walker hangs a good fish on a crawfish crankbait.
10:50 a.m. Walker gets set to cast an umbrella rig. “I’m totally selling out by fishing this thing,” he says.
10:50 a.m. Walker gets set to cast an umbrella rig. “I’m totally selling out by fishing this thing,” he says.
10:51 a.m. Walker bags a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass on his first cast with an umbrella rig.
10:51 a.m. Walker bags a 4-pound, 3-ounce bass on his first cast with an umbrella rig.
His second keeper is a long, lean 4-3 largemouth. “That fish was suspending right out in the middle of nowhere. What’s it doing way out there, anyway? It’s crazy! You spend years trying to perfect your presentations with lures that require skill to use properly, then you pick up this stupid rig and catch a 4-pound bass on your first cast. Go figure.”
His second keeper is a long, lean 4-3 largemouth. “That fish was suspending right out in the middle of nowhere. What’s it doing way out there, anyway? It’s crazy! You spend years trying to perfect your presentations with lures that require skill to use properly, then you pick up this stupid rig and catch a 4-pound bass on your first cast. Go figure.”
1:01 p.m. Walker tries a craw crankbait on a channel bank.
1:01 p.m. Walker tries a craw crankbait on a channel bank.
1:55 p.m. With his time running out, Walker hangs a big bass on a square bill crankbait.
1:55 p.m. With his time running out, Walker hangs a big bass on a square bill crankbait.
1:55 p.m. Walker’s biggest bass of the dayis a beautiful 5-pound, 3-ounce largemouth.
1:55 p.m. Walker’s biggest bass of the dayis a beautiful 5-pound, 3-ounce largemouth.
The 5-3 ate a LiveTarget square bill crankbait around some submerged rocks.
The 5-3 ate a LiveTarget square bill crankbait around some submerged rocks.
2:09 p.m. With mere minutes remaining, Walker catches his fourth keeper, 1 pound, 8 ounces, on a crankbait. Walker has managed to mine some gold from frigid Lake N, boating four bass with a total weight of 14 pounds even. “Even though it’s technically still fall, bass were on classic midwinter patterns, either suspending in open water or holding around submerged rocks,” Walker says. “The fish ignored jigs and jerkbaits, two lure styles that should have worked well in these conditions; three of my four fish came on crankbaits. Notice that my biggest fish, that 5-3, hit later on in the day, after that murky water in the upper end had been exposed to sunlight for a while.”
2:09 p.m. With mere minutes remaining, Walker catches his fourth keeper, 1 pound, 8 ounces, on a crankbait. Walker has managed to mine some gold from frigid Lake N, boating four bass with a total weight of 14 pounds even. “Even though it’s technically still fall, bass were on classic midwinter patterns, either suspending in open water or holding around submerged rocks,” Walker says. “The fish ignored jigs and jerkbaits, two lure styles that should have worked well in these conditions; three of my four fish came on crankbaits. Notice that my biggest fish, that 5-3, hit later on in the day, after that murky water in the upper end had been exposed to sunlight for a while.”