December 9, 2010
Fishing is still awesome out on the lake as many anglers are still catching good numbers. The few cold fronts that have passed through have kept the fishing stable as they continue to feed up before the colder water temps settle in late December and January. Water temps are fairly stable in the low 60’s and when we have the warming trends, like we should experience through Saturday of this week, the fishing stays hot as well. The big fish are still biting and we should start to see some ShareLunkers in the near future as the females will begin to get heavy with eggs.
Current Patterns -
Shallow: We have seen the bite is this depth zone continue to stay productive. The key has been to stay on the edges of the shallow grass in the 6-12 foot range. Shallow diving crankbaits have been catching bass in the 2-4lb range. Some anglers are also finding that soft plastic stick baits like the Zoom Super Fluke are taking quality bass as well. We have seen a lot of fish roaming the shallows and stealth presentations with lightly weighted soft plastics will catch these fish. Spinnerbaits and rattletraps continue to be my go to bait on windy days in this depth range. If you find the fishing to get tough try finesse presentations like the shaky head to continue catching fish.
Mid-Depth: The deep crankbaits like Norman DD22 and Lucky Craft D-20 are becoming more productive as the water temps decrease. Look for submerged trees in 15-20 foot that has some rock or dormant hydrilla nearby and you will find some fish willing to cooperate. A deep diving jerkbait over these depths will also catch good numbers. Look for suspending fish on your sonar equipment and then fan cast the areas systematically to get your best results. Don’t forget about the fall swimbait bite over this depth zone as well. The Optimum 5” BLT is awesome worked over mid depth waters this time of year.
Deep: The consistently bigger fish are coming from the deep water. Small football jigs still seem to produce the best and plastic worms are catching some fish as well. Bigger schools of fish are beginning to show up in key areas around rock ledges and a drop shot with a small worm has been very good.
Open Water: Keep a close eye on the open waters as birds begin to dive on schools of bait fish that are near the water’s surface. Bass and Stripers are often found right underneath these schools of bait. Approach these conditions with caution not to spook the fish and you can typically catch a few fish quickly with soft plastics, topwaters or crankbaits worked though the bait fish.
See you on the Lake,
Kurt
