For the most part the bass were very tight-lipped this week.

You could catch a few small fish by beating the banks with shallow diving crankbaits, light jigs and soft plastics, but big bass were hard to come by. I think the big fish were off because of the heavy cloud cover. Lack of sunshine for almost 10 days shut the deepwater bite off. The big sows are deep and holding tight to thick cover and not eating.

A good example of the adverse conditions was verified by the Concordia Bass Club tournament on Lake Bruin this past Saturday. There were 38 anglers fishing and only one 4-pound bass was weighed. This is a lake that normally produces many 4- to 5-pound bass in January and an occasional 6-plus. Only 66 bass were brought to the scales. Twelve people did not land a single fish. Junior Book won the event with a respectable five bass limit weighing 14.79 pounds, but from there the weights dropped fast.

The good thing about the slow fish activity over the past week or so is that it’s going to get a lot better. We need some sunshine and eventually we’ll get some bright days and the shallow water bite will be stronger early and late and the big sows in deep water will be more active.

Water temperatures did not drop as far as I thought they would when the cold front passed a week ago. The average surface temp on Lake Bruin was 53 degrees. I boated only four bass on Lake Bruin this past Saturday. I’ve caught more fish than that with water temps in the low 40s.

The 21st Annual J.R. Roberts Memorial Team Bass Challenge will cast off Feb. 3 on Lake Bruin. Hopefully by then the fishing will better.

Regardless if the fish are active or not, someone is going to win the event. The host marina is Shiloh’s Landing. The entry fee is $120 per boat. Entry forms are now available.

This event draws anywhere from 80 to 120 teams per year. If you do not have a partner you can fish alone. Lake Bruin was 4 to 5 feet below normal but the rain really helped. The lake is now about two feet below pool stage. You can enter by mail or at Bryan’s Marine until 4:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2.

Eddie Roberts writes a weekly fishing column for The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached by e-mail at fishingwitheddie@highstream.net.