Locating Late Year End Bass

Locating Late Year End Bass

As the year end approaches, we will see many changes in the weather that will cause you to make changes in the way you fish during this time of year. The first noticeable thing is we are moving to the winter solstice, meaning that the days will become the shortest of the year as far as daylight. I have always found that short daylight means tough bites. Coupled with that the weather is always a daunting task to overcome, December is always a rainy nasty month in the south for sure, coupled with many cold fronts, lots of wind and challenging weather in general.

The good news is big bass seem to feed more in the cold water and weather putting you in position to land a personal best during this late season time frame. The bass seem to relate to deep water; note I did not say in the deep water but near bye. I find many days that the bass are in less than eight ft. of water but near deep and steep water drops; river ledges, long points, sharp contour breaks, inside and outside contour changes these all hold fish in the late year end timeframe. Electronics becomes more important than ever especially Lowrance Active Target as I find myself looking for fish and if I do not quickly see some fish on my Active Target I move on.

Lure presentation is also a big factor in getting bites during this time frame, not all presentations work and not all baits create bites; the choices you make become key to the success of your fishing day. My history tells me to slow down with my presentation, fish baits like football jigs, baits you can drag on the bottom. Baits that you can move slowly with lots of flash like heavy spinner baits, heavy swim jigs these are baits that allow you to put these baits in front of them and entice their curiosity by kicking up the bottom and causing them to strike. Patience becomes your dearest friend, because without it, this can be a long frustrating day on the water. Use your knowledge to make moves and fish hard so you can overcome the natural elements the weather presents.