A stretch of mild weather that loosens winter's grip is an alarm bell for stream smallmouth anglers fed up with being stuck indoors. And that mild weather isn’t going to send buckets of meltwater into Midwestern waterways.
Some, like my friend Jim Carpenter, would rather put on a pair of waders and jump right on into the streams to fish for winter smallmouth bass than any other way. For Carpenter, wade fishing a cold stream for bronzebacks is a surefire way to melt away the winter doldrums.