Written By: Colt Bass
Colt Bass Fishing Guide Service, 828-381-3426
There’s pretty much one master rule for fishing our lakes in December, and really all winter. That rule is to fish the warmest water you can find. You’re most likely to find the warmest water at the southern end or the bottoms of the lakes. The nicest way I can put it, it’s not the most exciting month. We don’t have the hot holes and such as Lake Norman tends to, so our waters get pretty cold.
If I wake up feeling dangerous and decide to go for it, I’ll be looking for schools on the bottom ends of the lake, usually off of big points that gouge way out into the main body of the lake. Most likely I’ll start off the morning trolling jigs. They don’t hit the jigs much this time of year, but it’s more or less just a way to find them. Then I’ll drop down lines on them using medium sized baits, nothing too big, as there’s a lot of small bait in the lake right now and they kind of key in on that. Let’s say four inch-ish baits. Basically I’m just sitting on the fish, about an hour at a time. If they don’t bite in that hour, probably not going to get much out of ‘em. It does take time, thanks to that water temperature. If our water dips under about 55, they slow down quite and bit and become lethargic. If you throw it right in their face, meaning at least about 25 feet deep or better, they’ll eat. The silver lining is that when you do catch, you tend to catch good quality fish this time of year. Temper expectations going in, as you won’t put up big quantities typically, but with some patience and warm clothes, you can still have a great time out there fishing these beautiful lakes. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your families!