The 2009 bass tournament season will cast off January 11 with the False River Bass Trail on the Black River/Horseshoe Lake Complex.

The FRBT features ten events ending with a two day year-end championship.

Black River Lake’s water level fluctuates a lot during the winter months, but changing water levels make this fishery a great place to catch bass from cold water. Offering water depths to 45 feet with plenty of fish holding cover makes this a great place to kick off the 2009 tournament season.

After the January event, the trail will head south to False River Lake on Feb. 8. On March 8 the circuit heads back north to Lake St. John.

Other FRBT tournament lakes include Concordia, Bruin, Indian Creek, Red River, and the Old Rivers.

On Feb. 7 the 23rd-annual J.R. Roberts Team Bass Challenge will be held on Lake Bruin. This is the largest open team tournament in the area, drawing anywhere from 85 to 135 teams.

Based on 100 teams, the first-place winners will take home $5,000, and several other cash prizes will be on the line.

The official weigh-in and host marina is Shiloh’s Lake Bruin Resort.

Lake Bruin is in great shape going into the winter season. The lake level is a foot or so above normal, which puts a lot of fish holding cover in the water. Despite all the rain this month, the water clarity remains good, and we’re catching fish from both deep and shallow cover.

Lake Bruin offers hundreds of piers loaded with manmade brush piles, and that’s where you’ll find some nice bass. If the pier bite is slow, just move to the cypress trees that line the banks.

By Feb. 7 the big female bass will be in a pre-spawn mode so look for some heavy weights at the scales.

The bass and crappie spawn is only a month and a half away, and water levels are above normal on all our lakes.

High water levels are a good thing for the spawn. If the water stays up, and it should, the fish will have plenty of thick cover to build their nest.

A Merry Christmas to all and have a great, safe and Happy New Year.