Fishing the December Warming Trends

article by Kenny Covington

One of the interesting things about living in Louisiana is we rarely have a true winter season. We may have periods of cooler weather with a few days of actually cold weather thrown in, but we rarely have a true day after day winter season. That being said, if we take advantage of the breaks in our colder weather, I call them warming trends, bass fishing can be a successful year round pursuit.

First of all let’s understand what I mean when I speak of a warming trend. If we have two or three days where the daytime temps reach into the 50s or low 60s after a week or so of 40 degree weather, that can be all that is needed to put bass into an aggressive feeding mode. This is especially common in the month of December. These temperature changes, while subtle, are important. The longer the number of consecutive warmer days you have, generally, the better the fish will bite.

On lakes like Caney or Claiborne that are clear water fisheries, it is important to remember that clearer water warms up slower than a stained water lake like D’Arbonne or the Mississippi River oxbows, like Lake Bruin. A water temperature increase of a few degrees can make all the difference in the world, and the key is to look for areas that will warm up quickest or areas that hold baitfish. Both scenarios are good, but a combination of both are definitely fish magnets.

Now that we have given a basic idea to what we mean by “warming trends,” the question becomes what areas do you look for and how do you fish them? The first thing you want to consider is what type of lake is it and what types of cover are available. Here are a few examples: Lakes with an abundance of grass make your choice of areas to fish much easier. Start by fishing the edges, where the grass meets deeper water and then work shallower. If your favorite lake has a lot of boat docks, these can be awesome fish attractors. Begin on the deeper sides and fish towards the shallower walk ways. Fish in lakes with an abundance of cypress trees can be caught in water less than five feet year round, the key is are the fish on the outer trees or are they on the ones closer to the banks. All these things play a key role, so make sure to keep that mind when fishing this time of year.

The idea is to find the areas, where fish can easily move from deep to shallow, but don’t let the movement of deep to shallow water be confusing. To a bass that is in ten foot of water, five foot is their idea of shallow. If a bass stays in a five foot zone year round a move to three foot would be the same thing. Remember, the fish you will be targeting during these warming trends are fish that will spend the colder months in water shallower than fifteen feet deep. Even a subtle depth change can make all the difference in their world.
So now that we have an idea of where we are going to fish, what are we going to fish with? My five basic lures are a ½ Red Eyed shad (Rat L Trap style lure), a shad colored double willow leaf spinnerbait, a squarebill crankbait, a Spook and a small flipping jig. This list of lures is pretty basic, but at some point they will help you, not just to find active fish, but to catch them as well. Each lure plays an important part of the fish finding and fish catching equation. It is important to note that I rarely deviate from this selection of lures, because my experience has always been that at some point in time these lures will produce.

Start out using a lure that will allow you to cover water. My first choice would be a shad colored spinnerbait or Red Eyed shad to cover the flatter areas of a lake, especially if I am focusing on areas with grass. I would choose a squarebill, if I was fishing docks or cypress trees. These lures will effectively allow me to cover a lot of water in a short period of time, bettering my chances of locating active fish. Once a productive area is located, then you may want to experiment with other lures and techniques.

The choice of the Spook is the wildcard of the bunch. Regardless of how cool the water, during or after a warming trend, this lure will catch big bass this time of year, but it is a situational deal. It covers water, and it draws fish from a distance but it is best suited in bodies of water with good water clarity. Iit is especially effective when fishing seawalls. The idea with the Spook is to play with the speed of the cadence to get the most out of this technique.

The small flipping jig is simply a good clean up lure. After you have beat up a hundred docks and fished a thousand cypress trees, you can still go back through an area and catch fish on this lure. As far as colors go black/blue is about as good a choice as you can get.

As you can see, fishing these warming trends in December and the other winter months is not a complicated deal. Tie on your favorite lures for covering water, put the trolling motor down and get after it! Often times, the fish will be stacked up in small are areas, and you can have some awesome days on the water, if you can just locate them.
Well, it looks like we have run out of space for another month. Please be careful out in the woods or on the water this month. If you are fishing, please catch one for me! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each and every one of you! See you next month!