Entry 131-1
Shaw Grigsby - How to Catch Bass in December
How to Catch Bass in December
Editor's Note: Shaw Grigsby of Gainesville, Florida, a well-known professional angler, enjoys fishing all the Strike King baits, especially the spinnerbaits. He has a TV show titled "One More Cast" on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN). This week he will discuss what baits to use in December, depending on the area of the country in which you're fishing.
Grigsby: If you're fishing in an area of the country that doesn't suffer from ice-up, the tube bait is going to be hard to beat this month, and I'm really excited about the new Bleeding Bait tubes that Strike King has just released. Not only do the new tubes have the Bleeding color inside the tube, but the company has created the Bleeding Bait tube in both the 3-1/2-inch and the 4-inch size.
At this time of the year, I Texas-rig the tube. I like a Tungsten-weight up on the line. I use either a No. 3/0 or a No. 4/0 hook, and I'll usually be fishing the tube on deep ledges. I'll use a heavy weight, either a 1/2-ounce or a 3/4-ounce. I'll cast the tube on top of the ledge and then drag it or slowly hop it over the lip of the break and down the ledge. I like the outside edge of a creek bend, or I like to fish a point where there is a quick drop-off from the top of the point down to deep water. I've caught bass as deep as 20 or 30 feet during December using a tube jig.
The bass are not going to be real active at this time of the year because the water is cold. So, you want the tube to imitate a crawfish. I've found that the best technique is to slowly drag the bait across the bottom, much like you'll drag a plastic worm at this time of the year. If you find an underwater stump, rock or log, then when the tube gets to that cover, let it sit still, and next shake the bait with your rod tip. Pause, then shake the bait again; wait, drag it a foot to 1/2-foot, and then shake it again. You want the bass to see this slow-moving bait coming across the bottom, ease up to it and inhale it just like they will a crawfish.
This technique is great for the middle of the country where the water is probably going to be really cold at this time of the year. However, if you're fishing in the South, the bass are in a pre-spawn mode, and if you're far enough south, like in Florida, you can find bass that are spawning. Now, if I'm fishing where the weather is warm in December, like you'll often find in much of the South, or even if your area is cold in the South, you'll still have those warm fronts come through where you're fishing. In southern waters, I'll probably be fishing a crankbait, and I like the Strike King Bleeding Bait series of crankbaits.
The bass will be staging just off the flats at this time of the year, and they're going to be from 5- to 12- to 15-feet deep. So, for this reason I'll choose the Series 5 crankbait because it can cover all these depths. You may be able to reach those fish with a Series 3 crankbait, but if I can only pick one, I'll use a Series 5. Even as far north as the Carolinas, you can still find bass ganging-up in that pre-spawn mode at this time of the year. Ilike to fish the Series 5 crankbait on 12-pound Magnaflex Line, and I use a slow retrieve. You want that Series 5 crankbait to have a big slow wobble as it swims. When the crankbait hits a piece of cover like a stump, a limb or a rock, stop the bait, and shake your rod tip to cause the bait to rock around or twitch, but not move. Shaking the rod tip gives the bait a lot of action, but it doesn't move the bait away from the cover. So, you're enticing the fish to come and eat the bait.
Now, if I'm fishing in Florida during December, I know that the bass are either just about to spawn or beginning to spawn. Therefore I'll fish a Bleeding Bait spinnerbait. I can cover a lot of water with a spinnerbait and either catch an individual bass that's coming in to spawn or locate a school of bass that is getting ready to spawn. Many times the schools will be on the outside edges of the grass, and the spawning fish will be inside the grass; so I'll work the outside edges first, hoping to find a school. If those fish don't bite, I'll start working my spinnerbait above the grass, hoping to get the spawning fish to bite. These are the tactics I use in December.
