“From what I am hearing The Alabama Rig® has taken over Lake Wylie,” Montgomery said. “My dad and (luremaker) Louie Hull fished a team tournament on Wylie last weekend and they said every boat they saw was throwing The Alabama Rig®.”

The new fishing apparatus burst onto the national fishing scene in October when veteran bass pro Paul Elias won the Walmart FLW Tour Open on Alabama’s Lake Guntersville, leading wire to wire, and weighing in a whopping total of 102 pounds, 8 ounces, for the four days. His margin of victory was a staggering 17 pounds.

The Alabama Rig®, produced by Mann’s Bait Company Inc., consists of a hard-bait body that trails five wires with a swivel attached to the end of each wire. Both soft and hard plastic lures can then be attached by the swivels. The idea behind the presentation, which mirrors a smaller version of the saltwater umbrella rig, is to mimic a school of baitfish.

“I can see that The Alabama Rig® will probably work all the way through the winter,” Montgomery said. “From December all the way through February the fish are relating to bait and this rig is an excellent way to catch them when they are relating to bait.”

While The Alabama Rig® is the latest fishing fad, some of the old tried and true methods are also excellent choices when fishing Lake Wylie, Montgomery said.

“In the past the big thing on lake Wylie in the winter was grub fishing and it still works. Fishing a grub around the baitfish is still a big deal and is probably the No. 1 technique on Lake Wylie in the wintertime. You can also catch some bass in the winter on a suspending jerkbait.”

Montgomery said the water temperature in Lake Wylie is normally in the low to mid-50-degree range by December, and drops down to the mid-40s or so during the colder part of winter and stays in that range until February when the days start getting longer and periodic warming trends start to bring the water temperature back up.

“It starts warming back up gradually into the low to mid-50s by the end of February. Starting in late January and on through February is when the crankbait bite starts getting good,” he said. “Little crankbaits, like little ShadRaps and little square-billed crankbaits in crawfish color work best this time of year. The crawfish start coming out when the water begins to warm up a little bit and the bass love crawfish.”

This is the time of year when some of the bigger bass are caught, all on the smaller crankbaits worked along shallow rocky points as the bass are starting to move in close to pre-spawn areas and they are in a feeding mode, he said.

One other factor makes Lake Wylie a good wintertime lake, Montgomery noted, two hothole areas from electricity-producing plants located on the lake, one in the South Fork River area and one in Allison Creek.

“The one in the South Fork heats the whole creek, so it is a good spot in the winter. When it warms the water you can catch them around piers and if the water is a little dirty you can even catch some on a spinnerbait. And the crankbait bite starts a little earlier up there, too.”

Montgomery has spent recent weeks since the end of the major tournament season “rabbit hunting, deer hunting and striper and crappie fishing. That’s my life right now, that and keeping my wife happy,” he said.

He can enjoy it for a few more weeks until the first Bassmaster Southern Open on the Harris Chain of Lakes in January.

When not on the pro tournament trail Montgomery operates the Rack & Reel Outfitters with fellow tournament angler Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C. Sponsored by Ranger Boats, Zoom Baits and Evinrude Outboards, Montgomery guides on both Lakes Wylie and Norman. To book a fishing trip, call him at (704) 692-6642 or call (704) 484-7715. Check out the guide service website at: www.rackandreeloutfitters.com.