Brandon Cobb fishes the FLW Tour and in 2015 he will also fish the B.A.S.S. Southern Opens, but when he just wants to go catch fish and have a blast at it you will find him on South Carolina’s Lake Greenwood.

And the Christmas season and beyond is a prime time to be on the lake near his home, he said.

“This time of year through January Greenwood is a pretty stable lake,” said Cobb who was a member of the Clemson University Fishing Team while he earned his undergraduate degree. “The only thing different right now is that there are a good many fish shallow – but there are just as many deep as always.”

And they are biting he said. Cobb has been fishing the lake pretty regularly during the tournament off-season, honing his skills for the rigors of fishing two major series in 2015.

“I’ve been out there and gone a half a day without a bite, then catch seven or eight in a row in the 2- to 6-pound range. The jigging spoon bite is good, but you never know what you are going to catch. You might be catching 100 fish a day and 10 of them will be bass while 70 or 80 will be perch.”

But the perch, which could be a nuisance to the die-hard bass fisherman, are a prime indicator you are fishing in the right spot, Cobb said.

“The perch are a good sign. If there are no perch around there probably isn’t any bait around.”

While many anglers watch for bird activity to locate feeding fish in winter, Cobb pointed out that when the birds congregate so do fishermen.

“There are crowds around almost every group of birds. If you are bass fishing you are better off using your electronics in areas away from the birds to find bass.”

Cobb said a jigging spoon, a drop-shot and the Alabama Rig are top choices on Greenwood this time of year as most of the fish are congregated 25 to 40 feet deep.

“This usually goes on until around the end of January and sometimes into February until the fish go into pre-spawn. When they do there will still be fish out there deep, but in a tournament situation you will stat seeing more fish being caught shallow on a jerkbait or a crankbait.”

While Greenwood is one of the smaller lakes in South Carolina, it is home to some of the healthiest bass, Cobb said.

“You are not going to catch 40 to 50 fish a day on Greenwood, and there are not many tournaments held on the lake, but it takes over 20 pounds to win nearly every tournament that is held on the lake,” he said.