A week ago I was nailing the bass on a multitude of lures, but the last two times I have gone, I have caught ZILCH. I'm not sure what the deal is. I have tried spinners, jigs, worms, top water, and quite a few mid depth lures, but I cant seem to even get a bite. Maybe the full moon has had something to do with it, but jeez, its driving me nuts.

Water Description:

-The water is very clear, 6-8 feet clarity
-The weedline/bottom growth is in the process of dying off, its a green/brown mixture at this point
-The remaining weedline/bottom growth, is a mixture of dying vegetation that is about 1 foot thick
-The water was cooling down, but this past week it has actually warmed up some with our daily temperatures being in the high 70's low 80's during the day
-The water surface has been pretty smooth the past week while before it was pretty choppy for a week or two straight.
-Most of the prior bass caught have been healthy and fairly chunky so I know the bass have been eating

So, does anybody have any ideas on what I should try? What techniques or lures do you recommend trying, and please don't say senkos, I can't stand them.

I mentioned this another time..In FLorida our bass get lock jaw Nov. and Dec.

So I either Crappie fish or hunt..

hrm, maybe, but i would think it would be a gradual transition, not an abrupt shutoff. Im going to give it a few more times but if they dont bite, i;ll go to some older holes I have fished in the past and try to pull in a few crappie. thanks for the reply Chuck, I appreciate it.

10-4 good buddy..I can just remember fishing those months before...and maybe getting one tap..and that is it ..a tap and let go.

Now ,if I was a die hard fishermen like you..I'd fish by the moon ..if that didn't work..I'd close shop and fish for crappie or hunt.

However ; come to think of it I did have a few decent Dec. days..There is usally a breeze this time of the year ..some techniques I have had a good day in the past....

A. Drift 2 worm rods across deep structure..all morning..cold weather tends to make bass school up and when you find them you will get a few. for me ..deep structure is around the 8-10 foot range. {Especially the 1-3 days prior to new and full moon}

B. Another technique I had was trolling slowly lipless crankbaits or Little George ..the bass will most likely be submerged on the bottom chilling around some structure preferely brush piles...

Little George is a cold weather bait..you can cast it .It's a heavy piece of lead.{ Painted like a minnow with a tail spinner.} This has produced cold weather bass for me when ALL ELSE has failed.The pic below is twice the size of the real deal.LOL
If your water's bottom is mucky..or full of hang ups..DON'T BUY this lure..It's to be fished like a spinnerbait..slow retrieve off the bottom..it is not weedless. THe experts say that cold weather bass prefer smaller baits..I'd diffently tie on Mr. Rooster Tail and give him a try. This is the time of the year that pros go finesse..5-6 " worms...skinny inline spinnerbaits...Little George ..smaller spinnerbaits...

Little George..

the bottom is pretty mucky for sure, lots of junk everywhere, I have never seen or heard of the little george, but if you say it works, I'll give it a try. If not in this water, there are others I can think of where it shuold come along the bottom well. I told myself I wouldnt hunt this year after spending the money on the Lake Fork trip, but if the fishing stays this slow, I'm gonna have to do something, which means I'll prolly go pick up a hunting license and attempt to increase the amount of meat in the freezer.

Being that the bottom is mucky..don't waste your money..leave Little George in the store..if you aint got a boat..do some hunting partner..If you had a lon boat you could drift around with a couple of worms until you found the fish..

None the less...enjoy God's great outdoors ,
C7

caught a dink on a paddle tail fluke today. One dink in 45 minutes aint exactly fun, but better than many other things i can think of.

ALSO something to consider..you are fishing the bad side of the moon...just after a full moon..For us lunar guys...that is not a good time.PLUS when you are adding the factor of the cold fronts..and Dec. itself...you did good getting a dink..

Try you skills 1-3 days prior of the new moon..The new moon I beleive is Mon. This coming Sat. should be better for ya..

I understand that deer don't bite good at this time LOL but it's when they move around alot more..I'll be in a stand ALL day..God willing.

you know, I didnt even consider the moon phase, you bring up a good point with that. The fishing has slowly starting picking back up so maybe that moon phase was causing them to shut down some. I am about to head out for lunch for about 45 min with a jig and a fluke to see if I can't catch a few more. You mentioned it in another post and I think you were right when you said that you thought the bass school up together in the colder months. When I have caught them, they have all been grouped fairly close together. Good info and insights from you as usual Chuck, thanks!

I used to fish for bass 12 months out of the year before I learned of places to hunt in Florida. I remember the Dec. month being very slow { Meaning bass were hard to find} thus the reason I had to cover alot of water. When on the shore..I'd throw the Rooster out as far as I could..let it fall to the bottom and bring it in just fast enough to turn the blade...

OR stick 2 rods out the the back of the boat and fish a 3rd rod with another rod..Once I did that..just as I drifted over an 8 foot rock bar both rods in the back doubled up..I ended up reeling in 2 real nice fish..and every time I drifted over the rock bar I'd get another..

SO it appears the fish are harder to find but once you do you may catch a few..this seems to have been my pattern..This Sat.and should be your best bet...

I hate saying good luck...{ -; so God bless you in your fishing this weekend..I'm undecided what to do..drive 90 miles to hunt an unknown area or catch 20 crappie..supposed to be on the cold side..I'm leaning toward hunting..