Ned Kehde: December '24 and January '25 guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing

 Emerson Bihuniak of Lawrence, Kansas, with one the largemouth that he caught on Dec. 7

Introduction by Ned Kehde

For various reasons, December and January can be a devilish time for Midwest finesse anglers to get afloat. This odious phenomenon erupted during December of 2024 and January of 2025 when Mother Nature’s windy and wintery ways kept us at bay for many days in a row.  

We are delighted, however, that Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, has recovered from serious health woes and can fish again after a seven-month hiatus. He posted his first log on Jan. 15. But as it has always been, it is still a difficult task to catch the Florida-strain largemouth bass that inhabit the cold-water reservoirs that he fishes in north-central Texas. And it was cold enough that a sheet of ice covered a portion of one of the community reservoirs in north-central Texas that he fished on Jan. 23, and the surface temperature was 39 degrees in the main-body of a federal reservoir that he fished on Jan. 25.

After 12 to 15 inches of freezing rain and snow walloped many parts of northeastern Kansas on Jan. 4 and 5, our reservoirs became covered with ice. And we are hoping the ice will disappear before Valentine's Day.  

Therefore, this guide to Midwest finesse fishing contains only 10 logs.

What’s more, our ability to catch a significant number of largemouth bass in northeastern Kansas occurred only once, which was on Jan. 2, when I eked out 51 largemouth bass in two hours and 10 minutes at one of our state reservoirs.

We are thankful that Steve Reideler proofread all of these words. He made them more readable and understandable.

Dec. 7

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about his Dec. 7 outing with Emerson Bihuniak of Lawrence, Kansas, at a 44-year-old federal reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the low temperature was 21 degrees, and the high temperature was 51 degrees. The wind was calm for three hours; at other times it angled out of the east, south, southeast, and southwest at 3 to 14 mph, and there were some 18- to 23-mph gusts. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.22 at 12:52 a.m., 30.19 at 5:52 a.m., 30.11 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.04 at 2:52 p.m. 

The water level was a few inches above normal. The surface temperature ranged from 41 to 43 degrees. The water exhibited about two feet of visibility.   

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 3:13 a.m. to 5:13 a.m., 3:37 p.m. to 5:37 p.m., and 9:25 a.m. to 11:25 a.m.

We made our first casts around 7:30 a.m. and the last around 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

We spent the first 315 minutes of this outing dissecting a massive stretch of main-lake shorelines and points along the north side of this flatland reservoir, and these locales were mildly wind-blown. This area lies in the lower half of the reservoir.

The first 60 minutes were fishless.  During the next 210 minutes, we gradually caught 26 white bass and one freshwater drum.   We allured them by employing a swimming presentation that was terminated with a deadstick presentation; we would swim our Midwest finesse rigs from the shoreline for about 10 feet, and then we deadsticked them. Most of the strikes occurred during the deadstick motif. They were caught in two to four feet of water. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of it is cluttered with flooded trees, laydowns, and piles of tree limbs.

The final 45 minutes were spent inside a small feeder-creek arm. It was chockfull of schools of gizzard shad. Along its west and south shorelines and points, we caught five largemouth bass in four to six feet of water as we employed a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks; some of it is riprap.

Most of the 32 fish were allured by a radically shortened five-inch Z-Man’s coppertreuse ZinkerZ affixed to a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig; it was shortened to 2 ½ inches.  Some of the largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ on a black 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig.

In sum, we caught an average of 5.3 fish an hour. In our eyes, it was a spotty and trying six hours of fishing.  But when we chatted with a crappie angler, he was surprised that our catch was much more bountiful than his.

Dec. 9

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, posted a brief on the Finesse News Network about their Dec. 9 outing at an 84-year-old community reservoir in northeastern Kansas. 

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 41 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 57 degrees. The sky was foggy, misty, and fair. The wind was calm. The barometric pressure was 29.97 at 12:53 a.m., 29.85 at 5:53 a.m., 29.89 at 10:53 a.m., and 29.88 at 3:53 p.m.

The water level looked to be about six inches below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 42 to 44 degrees. The water exhibited seven to nine feet of visibility. To our chagrin, we failed to find any healthy or green patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, which is an upsetting event for largemouth bass anglers when the water temperature at this reservoir is in the low 40s and upper 30s. We suspect that the vast numbers of grass carp that inhabit this reservoir had consumed all of the patches of submerged vegetation that were quite vibrant in November and October.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 4:49 a.m. to 6:49 a.m., 5:13 p.m. to 7:13 p.m., and 11:01 p.m. to 1:01 a.m.

We made our first casts at 10:23 a.m. and our last at 1:40 p.m.

The wind was the calmest and the reservoir’s surface was the smoothest that we can ever recall encountering across the many decades we have fished in northeastern Kansas. In our eyes, it was a spectacular, delightful, and beautiful phenomenon.  But the largemouth bass fishing was horrendous.

When we fished this reservoir on Nov. 7, we caught 55 largemouth bass in 240 minutes. On this December outing, it was a mighty struggle to catch three largemouth bass in 197 minutes.

We failed to garner a strike along the shoreline of this reservoir’s 1,550-foot dam, around two offshore and boulder-laden humps, around two main-lake points in the lower half of the reservoir, along three main-lake shorelines in the lower half of this reservoir, and along about a 400-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline and around four main-lake points in the upper half of this reservoir.

One largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Two were caught on Z-Man’s yoga-pants Micro TRD affixed to a 1/30-ounce baby-blue Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. We failed to elicit a strike on six other Midwest finesse rigs.

We caught one largemouth bass along about a 500-yard stretch of a shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir. This area possesses a 25- to 70-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. The shoreline is cluttered with 21 docks, some concrete retaining walls, a few rock retaining walls, numerous overhanging trees, one massive laydown and some small laydowns, a few piles of brush, and a few meager patches of winter-dead American water willows. We crossed paths with several dead stems of submerged vegetation but no green ones. The largemouth bass was caught on the Micro TRD rig with a drag-and-pause presentation on a rocky terrain in about six feet of water between two docks.

We caught two largemouth bass along about another 500-yard stretch of a shoreline in the upper half of the reservoir. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of silt, gravel, rocks, and boulders. We fished around a few small dead patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, but we failed to find any healthy patches. This shoreline possesses a 25- to 55-degree slope. Its water’s edge has several concrete retaining walls, about 100 feet of riprap, 10 docks, one small rock bridge, a few minor laydowns, one tiny concrete and rock jetty, a few overhanging trees, and some shallow-water patches of winter-dead American water willows. The two largemouth bass were caught on back-to-back casts along an area that possesses a 45-degree slope; one was caught on the initial drop of the Micro TRD rig in five to six feet of water; the second one was caught on the initial drop of the Finesse TRD rig in five to six feet of water.

In the angling world, failure is a needed educational experience. And on this outing, we learned again that an essential ingredient to catching significant numbers of largemouth bass in the flatland reservoirs of northeastern Kansas when the water temperature is in the low 40s to upper 30s is to fish around patches of submerged aquatic vegetation, such as coontail, curly-leaf pondweeds, or even Eurasian milfoil in three to nine feet of water. And before the demise of this community reservoir’s patches of submerged vegetation, we used to tangle with scores and scores of largemouth bass in December, January, and February.

For instance, on Dec. 9, 2010, we helped Stacey King of Reeds Spring, Missouri, create a feature about the virtues of Midwest finesse fishing in cold-water conditions for "The Bass Pros" television show.

We created this show by using Midwest finesse rigs with a swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about five to eight feet of water around several magnificent patches of coontail along a 100-yard segment of a shallow-water shoreline on one of the shorelines in the upper half of this community reservoir. These patches of coontail were also intertwined with six docks.

King is a veteran and hall-of-fame angler, who has competed on the Bassmaster, FLW, and scores of other tournament circuits for decades.

During this outing on Dec. 9, 2010, the surface temperature ranged from 38 to 40 degrees, and several acres of ice covered the back end of the reservoir's primary feeder-creek arm.

To King's and the cameraman's amazement and delight, they captured enough largemouth-bass-catching footage for the feature in 3 1/2 hours, and during that spell, we caught 38 largemouth bass, including three lunkers. According to King, it often takes two days of fishing to garner enough footage for a TV show.

And besides exhibiting the virtues of Midwest finesse tactics, "The Bass Pros" television show revealed manifold merits of submerged aquatic vegetation.

To our dismay, however, it has been a difficult task to convince the managers of the community and state reservoirs in northeastern Kansas that it is an important task to cultivate and manually maintain at least 30 percent of the underwater terrains of these waterways with submerged aquatic vegetation.

Dec. 16

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, and Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about their outing on Dec. 16 at a 92-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 28 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 57 degrees. The wind angled out of the north and northwest at 5 to 18 mph, and there were many wind gusts that ranged from 24 to 29 mph. The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 29.97 at 12:52 a.m., 30.00 at 5:52 a.m., 30.15 at 11:52 a.m., and 30.16 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be several inches below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 41 to 42 degrees. According to our nine-foot push pole, the water exhibited from five to more than nine feet of clarity.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 10:53 a.m. to 12:53 p.m., 4:38 a.m. to 6:38 a.m., and 5:08 p.m. to 7:08 p.m.

It has been a chore to get afloat this December. Mother Nature’s windy ways have played the primary role in keeping us at bay. What’s more, the demise of sizeable patches of coontail, which used to grace the underwater terrains of several of our community and state reservoirs, has made it a difficult task for us to find and catch substantial numbers of largemouth bass during the cold-water months. And when it is windy and chilly and the fishing is trying, our geriatric bodies and souls are becoming reluctant to deal with those challenges. In other words, wintertime fishing for us old codgers isn’t as fun and rewarding as it used to be when we were whippersnappers and could waylay vast numbers of largemouth bass around patches of coontail in December, January, and February.

On our Dec. 9 outing at a nearby community reservoir, there wasn’t a whimper of wind, which made it an astonishingly delightful day to be fishing.  But we failed to find a healthy iota of any kind of submerged aquatic vegetation. Consequently, we begrudgingly struggled to catch three largemouth bass.

On this Dec. 16 outing, we made our first casts at 10:36 a.m.

We battled the wind that howled as briskly as 29 mph, and we searched in vain for patches of coontail, which have been the paragon habitat for largemouth bass at this reservoir when the water temperature is in the lower 40s and upper 30s. Instead, we found many burgeoning patches of curly-leaf pondweeds, but only one of them yielded a largemouth bass. By the time we executed our last casts at 2:00 p.m., our mechanical fish counter showed that we had caught only eight largemouth bass and accidentally caught one bluegill. Thus, it was another unrewarding, wind-blown, and cold-water ordeal for us old codgers.

Here is how this dismal outing unfolded.

One of the eight largemouth bass was caught on a Z-Man’s Junebug TRD MinnowZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Two were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Five were caught on a slightly shortened Z-Man’s PB&J TRD MinnowZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig.

The slightly shortened Z-Man’s PB&J TRD MinnowZ is at the top of this photograph. The Z-Man’s Junebug TRD MinnowZ is in the middle. The  Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-goby Finesse TRD is on the bottom.

,,,We used several Z-Man's Micro TRD rigs, Micro Goat rigs, Micro Tiny TicklerZ rigs, Micro WormZ rigs, and Finesse ShadZ rigs that failed to inveigle a largemouth bass. But the purple-haze Micro WormZ rig caught a bluegill. 

We caught one largemouth bass on a massive shallow-water flat in the back of one of this reservoir’s two primary feeder-creek arms. This entire area looks to be about the size of seven football fields. We fished across and around an area about the size of five football fields. The water’s edge of this flat is cluttered with significant patches of winter-dead American water willows, many overhanging trees, and numerous laydowns. The upper end of this flat is endowed with a small island, which is embellished with very shallow-water patches of winter-dead American water willows and littered with scores of concrete blocks and small boulders. Many segments of the underwater terrain used to be quilted with patches of coontail, but they have disappeared. It is now endowed with many manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees and burgeoning patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The patches of curly-leaf pondweeds have supplanted the patches of coontail. Some of the curly-leaf pondweeds are three feet tall. A submerged creek channel meanders across this flat, and it is also endowed with three tiny submerged creek channels. All of these submerged channels are ladened with silt. The largemouth bass was caught on the Junebug TRD MinnowZ rig with a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation in about eight feet of water around a submerged eastern red cedar tree and bits and pieces of curly-leaf pondweeds. (It is interesting to note that we caught 35 largemouth bass on this massive flat 25 days ago when the surface temperature was 52 to 54 degrees, and there were still some patches of coontail.)

Along about a 300-yard stretch of a main-lake shoreline, we caught one largemouth bass. This area has a 30- to 40-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, and the flatter portions of this shoreline’s underwater terrain are carpeted with some occasional patches of curly-leaf pondweeds.  The water’s edge is enhanced with patches of winter-dead American water willows and some laydowns. The PB&J TRD MinnowZ rig with a swim-glide-and-slight-shake presentation allured the largemouth bass around a laydown in about five feet of water.

Along about a 500-yard stretch of a secondary shoreline inside this reservoir’s second primary feeder-creek arm, we caught one largemouth bass. This shoreline has a 30- to 50-degree slope.

The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks; some of this terrain used to be enhanced with patches of coontail, but they have disappeared. Instead, there are a few patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge consists of many patches of winter-dead American water willows, some overhanging trees, some laydowns, several tertiary points, one secondary point, and a small shallow-water flat. The largemouth bass was abiding near the mouth of this feeder-creek arm, and it was caught on the PB&J TRD MinnowZ rig as we were strolling with the wind and employing a drag-and-pause presentation in about 10 feet of water around rocks and boulders.

Along about a 350-yard stretch of another secondary shoreline inside this reservoir’s second primary feeder-creek arm, we caught five largemouth bass. They were caught along the back half of this shoreline, which is where the shoreline has a 25- to 30-degree slope. The underwater terrain consists of gravel and rocks; some of this terrain used to be enhanced with patches of coontail, but these patches have disappeared. Instead, it is appointed with several significant patches of curly-leaf pondweeds. The water’s edge consists of patches of winter-dead American water willows, some overhanging trees, some laydowns, two tertiary points, four secondary points, and four small shallow-water flats. Three of the largemouth bass were caught on the PB&J TRD MinnowZ rig; one was caught around one of the secondary points as we were strolling with the wind and employing a drag-and-pause presentation in about 10 feet of water and many feet from the water’s edge; the other two were caught as we were using a swim-and-pause presentation in about four feet of water near some meager patches of curly-leaf pond and filamentous algae. Around these same patches of curly-leaf pondweeds and filamentous algae, the Finesse TRD rig inveigled two of the five largemouth bass with a swim-pause-and-slight-shake presentation in about four feet of water.

We failed to elicit a strike across the massive shallow-water flat in the back of this second primary feeder-creek arm. This flat used to be one of our most bountiful cold-water spots in all of the reservoirs that we fish in northeastern Kansas. Two submerged creek channels crisscross portions of this flat; many yards of these channels are ladened with silt.  The entire flat is about the size of four or five football fields, and an area about the size of two football fields has been overwhelmed with thousands of American lotus plants that are now exhibiting their winter-dead motif, and these American lotus plants have encroached upon many of the once glorious patches of coontail where we caught thousands of largemouth bass across the many years that we have fished this reservoir. There are several manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees and some burgeoning patches of curly-leaf pondweeds enhancing this flat, but we couldn’t find any patches of coontail.

We also failed to elicit a strike around one main-lake point and along about 250 yards of a main-lake shoreline and about 50 yards of the dam’s riprap shoreline. This shoreline lies between the main-lake point and the dam and its spillway. This shoreline possesses a 45- to 85-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. Some of the boulders are quite large. A few sprouts of curly-leaf pondweeds are enhancing the underwater terrain. Portions of the water’s edge are endowed with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows and three laydowns. We fished around a few sprouts of curly-leaf pondweeds.

 In sum, logs about these sorry outings are difficult to compose. But we do it for archival and historical reasons. And we can use them to exhibit how our waterways have changed over the years. They also reveal how our talents as anglers diminish as we become old codgers.

Jan. 2

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Jan. 2 at a 63-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported that the morning’s low temperature was 31 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 48 degrees. The wind was relatively calm at times while I was afloat, and when it stirred, it angled out of the southeast, east, south, southwest, northwest, and north at 3 to 7 mph. After 5:52 p.m., the wind began to roar from the north. The conditions of the sky varied from being overcast to cluttered with a few clouds to partly cloudy to mostly cloudy to fair.  The barometric pressure was 30.19 at 12:52 a.m., 30.14 at 5:52 a.m., 30.06 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.94 at 1:52 p.m. The NWS predicts that Old Man Winter will start waylaying northeastern Kansas on Jan. 3, and his wintery wrath will continue through at least Jan. 10. The predictions note that some area thermometers might plummet to -4 degrees and many inches of snow will cover our landscapes.

The water level looked to be about 1 1/2 feet below normal. The surface temperature ranged from 39 to 40 degrees. The water exhibited four to six feet of visibility.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would occur from 11:55 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., 12:21 p.m. to 2:21 p.m., and 6:08 a.m. to 8:08 a.m.

It was a chore for a variety of reasons for me to get afloat in December, and on those days that I could fish, Mother Nature’s windy and misty ways often kept this old codger at bay. Then on those few days when I did launch the boat, the fishing was so lackluster that I didn’t compose a log describing my piscatorial woes.

I feared this Jan. 2 outing would be another trying and woeful endeavor, but to my delight, it was surprisingly fruitful, and the relatively calm wind was delightful.

I made my first cast at 12:30 p.m. and the last one when I caught largemouth bass number 51 at 2:40 p.m. Beside the 51 largemouth bass, I accidentally caught five crappie and one bluegill.

Nine of the 51 largemouth bass were caught on a shortened Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD affixed to a 1/20-ounce baby-blue Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig; the TRD was shortened to two inches. Another nine were caught on a Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD affixed to a 1/15-ounce baby-blue Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. Thirty-three largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s bumblebee Micro TRD affixed to a 1/20-ounce baby-blue Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. I failed to elicit a strike on a three-inch Z-Man’s The Deal Slim SwimZ affixed to a 1/10-ounce baby-blue Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jig. The jig heads are painted a baby-blue hue with fingernail polish.

The Z-Man’s bumblebee Micro TRD rig is at the top of this photograph. The  shortened Z-Man’s twilight Finesse TRD rig is in the middle. The Z-Man’s The Deal Finesse TRD rig is at the bottom.

All of the fish were caught across an offshore section of a shallow-water flat in the back of one of this reservoir’s major feeder-creek arms. This flat is the size of many football fields. I spent these two hours and 10 minutes searching for patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in which largemouth bass dwell throughout the winter. This flat used to be endowed with vast numbers of coontail patches and a few patches of sago pondweeds that covered an area about the size of six football fields. But on this outing, it was a struggle to find a few winter-wilted patches of coontail across an area that is slightly smaller than two football fields.

The underwater terrain of this shallow-water flat consists primarily of silt. It is littered with numerous piles of eastern red cedar trees. A submerged creek channel twists and turns along portions of its western, southern, and northern edges.

None of the fish were caught around the eastern red cedar trees or along the edges of the submerged creek channel.  All of them were associated with patches of coontail in about four to seven feet of water. Seven were caught on the initial drop of my rigs. Forty-four were caught as I employed a slow swim-and-pause presentation; it was a two- to four-second pause.

The first 25 largemouth bass were caught in 55 minutes. The next 26 largemouth bass took 75 minutes to catch. That is a catch rate of about 22 largemouth bass an hour.

It is disheartening to report that the offshore shallow-water flats in the backs of this reservoir’s five feeder-creek arms used to be graced with magnificent patches of coontail from which Midwest finesse anglers could catch substantial numbers of largemouth bass in winters past. But nowadays, the only patches of submerged aquatic vegetation that enhance this reservoir's shallow-water flats during the winter are the meager ones that I fished on this outing. The demise of coontail patches is a phenomenon that is plaguing several of northeastern Kansas’ community and state reservoirs.  Here is hoping that the managers of these reservoirs can find a way to cultivate and manually maintain scores of offshore patches of coontail and other types of aquatic vegetation that largemouth bass will inhabit throughout the calendar year.

Jan. 15

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Todd Judy of Denton on Jan. 15 at three community reservoirs in north-central Texas.

I have been on a fishing hiatus since June of 2024 because of health issues. Now that those health issues are improving, I have been medically cleared to fish again. 

I am not too enthusiastic about plying any of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reservoirs in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan areas during the winter months because fishing for the Florida-strain largemouth bass that inhabit these reservoirs is quite difficult from mid-December to mid-March. Therefore, Todd Judy of Denton and I opted to enjoy a fairly mild winter day by slowly meandering along the shorelines of three community reservoirs that lie in a couple of suburbs south of Denton.

The weather has improved after a cold front accompanied by five inches of snow passed through north-central Texas on Jan. 9 and 10.  Jan. 15 was sunny. The morning’s low temperature was 29 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature peaked at 60 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.47 at 10:00 a.m. and 30.41 at 4:00 p.m. A chilly breeze blew out of the north at 5 to 10 mph. The sky conditions changed from clear to partly cloudy to mostly cloudy.

According to In-Fisherman’s solunar calendar, the prime fishing periods would take place from 5:24 a.m. to 7:24 a.m., 11:11 a.m. to 1:11 p.m., and 11:36 p.m. to 1:36 a.m. It also noted that the fishing would be average. 

We fished at the first two reservoirs from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Then after a lunch break, we probed the third reservoir from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The water at the first community reservoir exhibited about 12 inches of visibility. The water level appeared to be normal. The water temperature was 43 degrees. Its submerged terrain consists of clay and gravel. 

A shallow clay and gravel flat occupies the reservoir’s south end. 

The north shoreline has a 30-degree slope and is endowed with a small concrete water outlet. This area is adorned with a large submerged hydrilla bed.

The west shoreline is endowed with one broad clay point, a shallow sand and gravel ledge, and a small rock pile that lies about 10 yards north of the point. 

The east shoreline is mostly flat and curved with a shallow submerged gravel and clay ledge that runs parallel to this shoreline.   

The fishing at this reservoir was awful. We dissected the most promising features of this impoundment, and it surrendered only one largemouth bass. It was caught near the deep-water side of a ledge in the midsection of the east shoreline. It was abiding in five feet of water. It was caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ affixed on a 1/32-ounce chartreuse Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This rig was also utilized with a slow drag-and-deadstick retrieve. The deadstick portion of the retrieve lasted eight seconds.

The second community reservoir that we fished is about the size of a football field.  There isn’t any aquatic vegetation in this impoundment. The north shoreline is flat and is endowed with several small clay points and a small concrete water outlet. 

The east end of the reservoir has the deepest water, and it possesses a steep clay shoreline. 

The south shoreline is steeper than the northern and western ones, and a portion of it is adorned with a decorative stone wall and several prominent points. 

The west end of the impoundment consists of a large cove and a large island that is situated near the mouth of the cove. Two creek channels run parallel to the island’s northern and southern shorelines. 

The water level was normal. The water was murky from the recent runoff of the melting snow; it exhibited about 12 inches of visibility. The water temperature was 45 degrees. 

The fishing was as exasperating at this reservoir as it was at the first one, and we failed to muster any strikes.  

The fishing at the third community reservoir was slow, too, but it was better than the first two impoundments. 

The submerged terrain of this impoundment is comprised of mostly clay and gravel. There are three prominent points and several smaller ones that adorn the east shoreline. A couple prominent points grace the west shoreline. Also, a couple of long and shallow clay ledges parallel the east and west shorelines. Several patches of winter-dead lily pads line the north and west shorelines. 

We caught two largemouth bass and one large bluegill along the east shoreline, one crappie from a mud flat on the upper end of the reservoir, and one largemouth bass and another large bluegill from the west shoreline. Two of the three largemouth bass were caught in three to five feet of water from the sides of two of the larger points on the east shoreline, and one was caught from a tertiary point on the west shoreline in three feet of water.

One largemouth bass was allured by a slow drag-and-deadstick presentation with a Z-Man’s Bama-bug TRD BugZ matched with a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The second one was caught on a drag-and-deadstick presentation with a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ, which was trimmed to three inches and rigged on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.  The third largemouth was tempted by a slow drag-and-deadstick retrieve with the Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ rig.

We failed to elicit any strikes from a clay-and-gravel flat in the lower end of the impoundment and around a large decorative-rock dam on the south end of this impoundment.  

 Overall, the black-bass fishing in north-central Texas is in its typical wintertime funk. The black-bass bite at these three community reservoirs was horrid, and it was a chore for us to catch a total of four largemouth bass, two large bluegill, and one crappie.

Jan. 16 

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Bill Kenney of Denton on Jan. 16 at three community reservoirs in north-central Texas.

From 10:00 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m., Bill and I fished for 4 1/2 of these 5 1/2 hours at three community reservoirs that are situated east of Denton.  

The delightfully sunny weather reminded us more of early March than January, and by noon, we had discarded our hoodies and jackets and were relishing the warm sunshine. The sky was partly cloudy. The morning low temperature was 29 degrees. The afternoon high temperature climbed to 64 degrees. A light wind quartered out of the west-by-southwest at 5 to 8 mph. The barometric pressure dropped from 30. 40 at 10:00 a.m. to 30.24 at 3:00 p.m. 

According to In-Fisherman’s solunar calendar, fishing would be average with the most lucrative fishing periods taking place from 12:05 a.m. to 2:05 a.m., 6:17 a.m. to 8:17 a.m., and 12:28 p.m. to 2:28 p.m.

At the first community reservoir, the water was stained and exhibited about 18 inches of clarity. The water level appeared to be normal. The water temperature was 46 degrees, which usually is an indication of tough Florida-strain largemouth bass fishing in north-central Texas.

The west shoreline of this reservoir possesses 15- to 25-degree slopes. It also encompasses a concrete culvert and a shallow ditch that extends from the center section of the shoreline and courses through the center of the impoundment. This shoreline is also endowed with a shallow sand-and-gravel ledge that protrudes about 10 feet from the water’s edge. In fact, this ledge encompasses the entire impoundment, and most of it is covered with thick patches of submerged hydrilla and filamentous algae. 

The north shoreline is the steepest of the four; it possesses  25- to 30-degree inclines. The east and south shorelines are relatively flat and are embellished with scores of bald cypress tree knees, several tertiary points, and a couple of small brush piles. 

This impoundment’s underwater terrain consists of sand mixed with small pieces of gravel and rocks. 

In past winters, this reservoir has been one of our most fruitful wintertime venues, but to our dismay, we struggled mightily on this outing to catch two largemouth bass. 

The north shoreline yielded one largemouth bass. It was caught in about six feet of water and about 15 feet out from the end of a minor shallow point that is situated on the east end of the shoreline. This largemouth bass was caught on a slow drag-and-deadstick presentation with a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s Junebug Finesse WormZ that was shortened to three inches and rigged on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The remainder of this shoreline was fruitless.

We failed to elicit any strikes from the brush-laden east shoreline.

We ignored the shallow and flat south shoreline.  

Along the west shoreline, we caught another largemouth bass in five feet of water from the area where the concrete culvert and ditch meld together. It was caught on a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ that was shortened to three inches and rigged on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This rig was utilized with a slow drag-and-deadstick presentation.

At the second reservoir, the fishing was a tad better; we caught four largemouth bass. The water level appeared to be at normal pool and exhibited about 18 inches of visibility. The surface temperature was 47 degrees. The submerged terrain consists of clay, small pieces of gravel, and a few scattered boulders. A couple of shallow-water areas along the south shoreline are adorned with small clusters of cypress-tree knees.

At this impoundment, we focused our attentions on the steeper north shoreline and a large patch of submerged baby pondweeds on the west end of the north shoreline. This shoreline has inclines that vary from 25 to 35 degrees. The other three shorelines are flat. 

All four of these largemouth bass were caught many yards apart from each other. They were abiding in four to seven feet of water and about 15 to 20 feet out from the sand-and-gravel ledge and near patches of submerged baby pondweed. Two were caught on a shortened four-inch Z-Man’s watermelon-red Finesse WormZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce finesse jig that was employed with a slow swim-and-continuous-shake presentation. One was caught on a slow drag-shake-and-deadstick presentation with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Micro TRD fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. And the fourth largemouth bass was fooled by a slow swim-and-continuous-shake retrieve with a Z-Man’s hot craw TRD BugZ matched with a red 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.     

The third community reservoir that we fished has a submerged terrain that consists of clay, small pieces of gravel, and a few scattered boulders. It is devoid of any submerged aquatic vegetation. 

The water was stained and exhibited about 12 inches of visibility. The water level was at its normal pool. We were encouraged by discovering that the water temperature was 51 degrees. 

The fishing at this reservoir was a big disappointment. It yielded only one medium-size bluegill that was extracted from five feet of water near a minor clay-and-gravel point on the north side of the reservoir. It was snookered by the four-inch watermelon-red Finesse WormZ rig and a slow drag-and-deadstick retrieve. We were surprised that we were unable to entice any largemouth bass in the 51-degree water.

In closing, it was another lackluster day of winter bass fishing in north-central Texas. We could barely manage to eke out six largemouth bass and one bluegill in 4 1/2 hours. Two largemouth bass were caught from the first reservoir, four more were caught from the second impoundment, and only one bluegill was caught from the third one. We were also unable to establish a dominant lure or presentation. 

The local weather forecast is predicting another major cold front accompanied by blustery winds and possible snow flurries on Jan. 18 and lasting through Jan. 23, so we will not be fishing for the next few days. 

Jan. 23

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Jan. 23 at a community reservoir in north-central Texas.

The weather in north-central Texas has been cold and windy during the past several days, but a warming trend started on Jan. 22. On Jan. 23, the sky was clear and exhibited a pleasant Azure-blue hue. The morning’s low temperature was 25 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature peaked at 51 degrees. A chilly wind quartered out of the north-by-northeast at 10 to 15 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.53 at 11:00 a.m. and 30.45 at 2:00 p.m.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, fishing would be poor. It also indicated that the best fishing would take place from 5:15 a.m. to 7:15 a.m., 11:03 a.m. to 1:03 p.m., and 5:38 p.m. to 7:38 p.m. 

I conducted a solo jaunt at a heavily fished community reservoir in north-central Texas from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. I shared this reservoir with two other anglers. 

Upon my arrival, I discovered that several large sheets of ice covered a large mud flat on the upper end of the reservoir. The water exhibited about 1 1/2 feet of clarity. The water temperature was the coldest I have ever seen it at 40 degrees. The water level was normal. 

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists of clay, sand, and gravel. There used to be some magnificent patches of submerged hydrilla scattered throughout this reservoir, but nowadays, they are few and far between.  

My first casts were made around some sheets of ice that partially covered a shallow ditch that cuts across a large flat on the north end of the reservoir, and I failed to elicit a strike. 

I then fished my way southward along the west shoreline to get away from the ice. I failed to garner any strikes along a steeper stretch of this shoreline and around a fishing pier in the middle portion of the shoreline. A sand-and-gravel ledge on the south end of this shoreline was also fruitless.

A concrete-slab dam forms the southern perimeter of this reservoir, and it failed to yield a largemouth bass or a strike. 

On the east side of the reservoir, I caught two largemouth bass. They were abiding in five to seven feet of water around the deep-water side of a sand and gravel ledge that parallels this shoreline. Both of these fish were caught on a slow drag-and-deadstick presentation with a Z-Man’s molting craw TRD CrawZ that was matched to a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead

I failed to generate any strikes from the sides and end of a relatively large and broad point along the midsection of this shoreline. 

My last spot was on a submerged clay point that protrudes from the north end of this shoreline. A ditch that is covered with four to seven feet of water is oriented in a perpendicular fashion just south of this point and is about 10 feet from the water’s edge. I failed to catch any largemouth bass from the point and along the edges and bottom of the ditch.

Overall, it was a difficult task for me to catch two Florida-strain largemouth bass in the 40-degree water. I welded nine Midwest finesse rigs, and only the molting-craw TRD CrawZ combo was effective.

As for the other two anglers, who were fishing in front of me, I spoke with them for several minutes as we were all leaving. One of them reported that he was yo-yo-ing a large red-and-black one-ounce lipless crankbait across the bottom but failed to garner a strike. The second angler employed a suspending jerkbait and a finesse-worm drop-shot rig, and he also failed to generate any strikes.

Jan. 24 

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Jan. 24 at a community reservoir in north-central Texas.

I drove 13 miles to a small community reservoir south of Denton, where I spent three hours targeting Florida-strain largemouth bass. It is a different impoundment than the one I fished on Jan. 23.

It was another beautiful January day.  The sky was cloudless and sun-filled. The morning low temperature bottomed out at 25 degrees. The daytime high temperature topped out at 59 degrees. The wind blew out of the south at 12 to 20 mph.  The barometric pressure fluctuated from 30.43 at 11:00 a.m. to 30.27 at 2:00 p.m. 

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the optimum fishing periods would take place from 5:59 a.m. to 7:59 a.m., 11:47 a.m. to 1:47 p.m., and 6:25 p.m. to 8:25 p.m. The calendar also forecasted poor fishing.

I fished from about 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The water was stained with about 1 1/2 feet of visibility. The water level was slightly high. The water temperature was 40 degrees, and it was a very difficult task to garner a strike from the Florida-strain largemouth bass that inhabit this impoundment in 40-degree water.

I started fishing along the south end of the reservoir, which consists of a concrete and stone dam and spillway, two submerged rock piles, and a small brush pile. The bottom terrain along the base of the dam is covered with softball-size rocks. A steady trickle of water was flowing over the spillway, which is located in the middle of the dam. And this area failed to yield a strike.

After that, I plied the west side of the reservoir, which features a long clay-and-gravel ledge and two flat points. This shoreline is enhanced with several patches of winter-dead lily pad stems.  And I was dismayed that I was unable to elicit any strikes from this entire shoreline. 

Along the upper end of this reservoir, I failed to elicit any strikes from a shallow mud flat that occupies most of the northern shoreline. I did manage to catch one largemouth bass from a small feeder creek that enters the reservoir at the west end of this shoreline. This bass was abiding in the center of the creek in about four feet of water. It was tempted by a slow drag-and-deadstick presentation with a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead dressed with a 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ. This finesse worm was shortened from its original length of 4.75 inches. 

I finished the outing probing the east shoreline. This shoreline is endowed with two primary points, three smaller tertiary points, another long clay-and-gravel ledge, and a small clay flat covered with small broken branches and twigs. This shoreline is the steepest of the four. I was able to generate only one strike in four feet of water from the end of one of the tertiary points, and it was a large bluegill that engulfed a Z-Man’s Bama bug TRD BugZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This combo was employed with a slow drag-and-deadstick presentation. 

In closing, the black bass fishing in north-central Texas is in an awful state, and the results of this outing was as poor as the Solunar calendar had forecasted. I wielded a variety of Z-Man’s Midwest finesse baits affixed on an array of colors and sizes of Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jigheads, and my best efforts produced only two strikes; the first one was a largemouth bass, and the second was a large bluegill.

Some of us Midwest finesse anglers who fish throughout the winter wish our reservoirs in north-central Texas were graced with some northern-strain largemouth bass. 

Jan. 25 

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Jan. 25 with Bill Kenney of Denton at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

Depending on weather trends and water conditions, mid- to late-January is traditionally the time of year when anglers in these parts turn their attentions to pursuing the large aggregations of pre-spawn white bass that congregate in the many feeder creeks that flow into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reservoirs in north-central Texas.

Since the fishing in north-central Texas for Florida-strain largemouth bass and other black bass species has been tough this winter, Bill Kenney and I took advantage of a mild-winter day and fished for white bass instead. We plied one of several U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoirs in north-central Texas from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the white-bass fishing was as difficult as the black bass fishing has been.

The conditions of the sky changed from clear to partly cloudy to mostly cloudy then back to partly cloudy. The afternoon’s high temperature was 61 degrees. The morning’s low temperature was 25 degrees. The barometric pressure was 30.20 at 11:00 a.m. and 30.13 at 4:00 p.m. The wind blew out of the south at 12 to 17 mph.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table noted that fishing would be poor, and the most productive fishing periods would occur from 12:32 a.m. to 2:32 a.m., 6:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., and 7:12 p.m. to 9:12 p.m. 

We spent these 300 minutes inside the lower and middle portions of a minor feeder-creek arm on the north end of the reservoir. We were the only anglers afloat, but we shared this creek arm with about a dozen bank anglers.

The underwater terrain inside this creek arm consists of clay and gravel. The creek’s shorelines are steep and bluff-like in the upper reaches of the creek arm, and they become flatter in the middle and lower sections. Countless numbers of flooded bushes, submerged brush piles, partially submerged laydowns, and submerged stumps adorn the shallows around the shorelines.

The water in the main-lake area was murky with about 12 inches of visibility. We were surprised to discover that the surface temperature was 39 degrees, which is the first time we have seen this reservoir’s surface temperature this low. The water was about four feet below its winter-pool level. 

In the lower and midsections of this creek arm, the water conditions were much better. The water exhibited about three feet of visibility. The water temperature ranged from 53 to 57 degrees. And though we crossed paths with several large aggregations of threadfin shad, it was still a chore to catch five white bass and one largemouth bass.

Four of the five white bass and the one largemouth bass were allured by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed to a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead that was employed with a moderate-paced swimming retrieve. The other white bass was enticed by a slow-swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s chartreuse sparkle GrubZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. These fish were caught in four to six feet of water from the edge of the main creek channel near submerged laydowns and stumps.

Jan. 28  

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Jan. 28 at a community reservoir in north-central Texas.

 I have heard it said that it takes 10,000 casts to catch a muskellunge or muskie. After this Jan. 28 outing, I am beginning to think that it takes 10,000 casts to catch a Florida-strain largemouth bass during the cold-water months of winter in north-central Texas.

It was overcast on Jan 28. The morning's low temperature was 41 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature reached 60 degrees. A light breeze wandered out of the south at 3 to 6 mph. The barometric pressure dropped from 30.19 at 11:00 a.m. to 30.11 at 3:00 p.m. 

I elected to spend some time checking water temperatures at five community reservoirs east of Denton in hopes of finding warmer water to fish. Four of them had water temperatures that ranged from 40 to 43 degrees. The fifth one had a surface temperature of 51 degrees, so I decided to concentrate on that one. This was the first outing that I have conducted at this reservoir this year.  

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar predicted great fishing, and the optimum fishing periods would take place from 3:06 a.m. to 5:06 a.m., 9::21 a.m. to 11:21 a.m., and 9:49 p.m. to 11:49 p.m.

Besides the 51-degree water temperature, the water clarity was 18 inches. The water level appeared to be normal. 

This reservoir’s upper and lower regions possess two concrete culverts with a connecting ditch that courses across the middle portion of the reservoir. The shorelines are endowed with scores of bald cypress-tree knees, several points, and a small brush pile. Several shallow sand-and-gravel ledges extend about three to five feet from the water’s edge. The ledges are covered with 12 to 18 inches of water and drop off into three to five feet of water. The deep-water sides of these ledges are also adorned with several large walls of baby pondweed mixed with vast amounts of filamentous algae. The bottom terrain consists of sand mixed with small pieces of gravel and rocks. 

I was disappointed to discover that the bass bite was nearly non-existent at this impoundment; it yielded one largemouth bass. I also caught one black crappie. Both of them were caught in five to seven feet of water from the deep-water side of one of the sand-and-gravel ledges at the lower end of the impoundment. They were caught on a 2 3/4-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD TubeZ that was matched with a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, and this rig was implemented with a slow drag-and-shake presentation. 

Three prominent points, several smaller tertiary points, the two concrete culverts and portions of the connecting ditch, several large patches of submerged baby pondweed, and three other sand-and-gravel ledges were fruitless. 

The weather forecast for the next week includes two days of rain and more early-spring-like temperatures hovering in the mid-60s to low 70s. So we are hoping the water temperatures in the waterways of north-central Texas will rise several degrees and improve the fishing.