Ned Kehde: Guide to Midwest Finesse Fishing: December 2025

Dec. 9

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Dec. 9 outing with Pok Chi Lau of Lawrence at a 63-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Until today, Mother Nature’s windy ways with Old Man Winter have kept me at bay since Nov. 19. My 85-year-old body is having a difficult time tolerating Old Man Winter nowadays.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 32 degrees, and the afternoon’s high was 57 degrees. The wind angled out of the south and southwest at three to 17 mph; some gusts reached 24 mph.  The sky was primarily fair, and for a short spell, it was cluttered with a few clouds. The barometric pressure was 30.02 at 12:52 a.m., 29.93 at 5:52 a.m., 29.76 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.62 at 2:52 p.m. The NWS predicted that the wind would howl from the north with gusts reaching more than 40 mph on Dec. 10.

The water level looked to be about 3 1/2 feet below normal. The water exhibited about five to eight feet of visibility. The surface temperature was 39 degrees.

In-Fisherman’s solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 2:10 a.m. to 4:10 a.m., 2:35 p.m. to 4:35 p.m., and 8:23 a.m. to 10:23 a.m.

We made our first cast at 11:13 a.m. Upon making our last cast at 1:38 p.m., our two fish counters indicated we had caught 45 largemouth bass and seven crappie.

We spent the entire 135 minutes probing a shallow-water flat in the back of this reservoir’s largest feeder-creek arm.

This flat looks to be the size of many football fields. A submerged creek channel meanders along its west side.  The underwater terrain is emblazoned with numerous patches of coontail and sago pondweeds, which are growing in two to seven feet of water. During the warm-water months, many yards of this flat are entwined with patches of southern naiad, which has adversely affected the thickness and well-being of the coontail patches. There is an array of man-made piles of eastern red cedar trees in three to 10 feet of water, and many of these piles are intermixed with patches of coontail and sago pondweeds.

We fished across and around an area about the size of three football fields.

One of the 45 largemouth bass was caught on a shortened Z-Man’s purple-death TRD TicklerZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. One of the 45 largemouth bass was caught on the three-inch tail section of a seven-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse WormZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Seven of the 45 largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Micro Goat affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Eight were caught on a 2 ½-inch segment of a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-orange ZinkerZ affixed to an orange 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig. Twenty-eight largemouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

This is our hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig.

Seven of the 45 largemouth bass were caught along both edges of the submerged creek channel in water as shallow as three feet and no deeper than six feet. One was caught on an accidental deadstick presentation. One was caught on the initial drop. The other five were caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation. Most were caught on patches or adjacent to patches of coontail.

The bulk of the 45 largemouth bass were caught around three sections of this massive flat. They were caught around either patches of coontail or sago pondweeds. A few were caught adjacent to a few piles of eastern red cedar trees, which were entangled with patches of coontail. They were caught in three to seven feet of water as we employed a slow swim-and-pause presentation that allowed our Midwest finesse rigs to polish the tops of the submerged aquatic vegetation. Several were caught as we were strolling. As we strolled, we were propelled by either the wind or a bow-mounted electric trolling motor, and we used a swim-and-pause presentation. Strolling allowed us to counteract some of the dastardly effects of the occasional gusts of wind and quickly dissect a few large sections of this massive flat.

The sections of the flat that are devoid of either coontail or sago pondweeds were fruitless.

We elicited 13 strikes that we either did not hook or the fish quickly unfettered themselves from the hook.

In sum, we caught an average of 20 largemouth bass an hour.

Dec. 11

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at a 93-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on Dec. 11 with Pok Chi Lau of Lawrence.

The National Weather Service reported the morning’s low temperature was 30 degrees. The afternoon’s high was 53 degrees. The wind angled out of the east, southeast, south, and southwest at 6 to 12 mph. The sky was overcast for the first five hours. It was fair for the rest of the day. The barometric pressure was 30.06 at 12:52 a.m., 29.97 at 5:52 a.m., 29.81 at 12:52 p.m., and 29.73 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about 2 ¼ feet below normal. The water exhibited more than 12 feet of clarity. The surface temperature was 42 degrees. The patches of American water willows are in their winter-dead state. The submerged patches of curly-leaf pondweeds are growing. The submerged patches of coontail are exhibiting their wintertime flaccidness. The patches of brittle naiad are wilted and dormant.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 3:48 a.m. to 5:48 a.m., 4:09 p.m. to 6:09 p.m., and 9:58 a.m. to 11:58 a.m.

When we made our first casts at 10:45 a.m., we were hoping to tangle with more than 50 largemouth bass.  But when we made our last casts at 2:45 p.m., we caught largemouth bass number 28.  In short, it was a puzzling and disappointing outing.  

Five of the 28 largemouth bass were caught on a slightly shortened Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ affixed to a pink 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jighead. Six were caught on a Z-Man’s hot-snakes Tiny TicklerZ affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. Seventeen were caught on a slightly shortened Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead.

Inside one of this reservoir's two primary feeder-creek arms, we struggled to catch nine largemouth bass.  (This flat normally yields two dozen or more largemouth bass.) The shorelines along this feeder-creek arm possess a 25- to 40-degree slope. Its water’s edge is adorned with patches of winter-dead American water willows, several overhanging trees, some laydowns, and several piles of tree limbs. Its shallow-water flat is the size of many football fields. It is endowed with four submerged creek channels, a small island embellished with a meager patch of winter-dead American water willows, several humps, and a few minor ledges. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt. Portions of the submerged creek channels are silt-laden. Coontail, curly-leaf pondweeds, and many manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees adorn the underwater terrains of this massive flat.  We caught one largemouth bass along one of the shorelines. And across portions of the massive flat, we eked out eight largemouth bass. One was caught on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water around a patch of coontail adjacent to the shoreline. Four were caught on the coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ rig with either a slow swimming presentation or a slow swim-and-pause presentation around patches of curly-leaf pondweeds in five to seven feet of water. The other four were caught on the hot-snakes Tiny TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-and-pause presentation in three to seven feet of water around patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds.

We caught one largemouth bass around the main-lake point at the mouth of a small feeder-creek arm. This point has a 35-degree slope. Its underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are festooned with patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds, as well as some manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees. The water’s edge is embellished with thick patches of winter-dead American water willows. This largemouth bass was caught on the hot-snakes Tiny TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-and-pause presentation in about five feet of water around a patch of coontail.

We caught one largemouth on a shallow-water flat inside the small feeder-creek arm. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and silt. Segments of the underwater terrain are endowed with a few piles of eastern red cedar trees, patches of coontail, and curly-leaf pondweeds. Much of its submerged creek channel is filled with silt. This flat is about the size of a football field. We fished about half of it. The largemouth bass were caught on the coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ rig with a swim-and-pause presentation in about six feet of water.

Inside this reservoir’s second primary feeder-creek arm, we fished along sections of its two secondary shorelines and across portions of its massive shallow-water flat.

It was a hellish chore to catch two largemouth bass along about a 500-yard stretch of one of the secondary shorelines. The underwater terrain of this shoreline consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders, which are adorned with occasional patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds. There are two small shallow-water flats that are abounding with patches of coontail and some sprouts of curly-leaf pondweeds.  Portions of the water’s edge are lined with winter-dead patches of American water willows, overhanging trees, and laydowns. The slope of this shoreline and its points range from 25 to 50 degrees. The hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig inveigled one largemouth bass with a slow swimming presentation around some meager patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in about five feet of water. The second largemouth bass was caught on the Tiny TicklerZ rig with a slow swim-and-pause presentation near a massive laydown and patches of submerged aquatic vegetation in five to six feet of water. willows.

In the back of this primary feeder-creek arm, we fished across a portion of its massive shallow-water flat. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and silt.  It is about the size of five football fields, and about a third of it is covered with stems of winter-dead American lotus plants; some portions of the underwater terrain are endowed with patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds. Manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees embellish some of the underwater terrain. Two submerged creek channels, which are somewhat silt-laden, crisscross this flat. The hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig with a slow swim-and-pause presentation caught two largemouth bass around patches of coontail in about six feet of water.

We fished along about 600 yards of this primary feeder-creek arm’s other secondary shoreline and around two secondary and two tertiary points. The slope of this vast area ranges from about 25 to 50 degrees. The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, boulders, and one significant submerged rock-and-boulder fence. Most of the flat and shallow-water sections of the underwater terrain are coated with patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds.  A few manmade piles of eastern red cedar trees enhance the underwater terrain. The water’s edge is often lined with patches of winter-dead American water willows, some overhanging trees, a few piles of tree limbs, and several well-aged laydowns. This shoreline and its points yielded 11 largemouth bass, which were inveigled with our hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig. We allured them by using a swim-and-pause presentation to polish the tops of the submerged aquatic vegetation. They were caught in four to eight feet of water.

From the mouth of this primary feeder-creek arm, we fished along about a 700-yard section of a main-lake shoreline. It has a 40- to 70-degree slope.  The underwater terrain consists of gravel, rocks, and boulders. One area is enhanced with a stone-and-concrete foundation of a barn and house. Submerged patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds coat a few sections of the underwater terrain. The water’s edge is garnished with winter-dead patches of American water willows, some significant laydowns, and many piles of tree limbs. It was a tussle to catch two largemouth bass along this shoreline. They were caught on our hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig. One was caught on a drag-and-pause presentation in about six to seven feet of water along a section that was devoid of submerged aquatic vegetation. The second one was caught on a slow swim-and-pause presentation around patches of coontail and curly-leaf pondweeds in about five feet of water.

In sum, we caught seven largemouth bass per hour.

Dec. 17

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at a 93-year-old state reservoir in northeastern Kansas on Dec. 17 with Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported the morning’s low temperature was 22 degrees. The afternoon’s high was 59 degrees. The wind was calm for six hours. At other times, it angled out of the northwest and southeast at 3 to 15 mph. The sky was fair while we were afloat. The barometric pressure was 29.11 at 12:52 a.m., 29.12 at 5:52 a.m., 29.08 at 12:52 p.m., and 28.93 at 2:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about 2 ¼ feet below normal. The water exhibited more than 14 feet of clarity. The surface temperature was 39 degrees. The patches of American water willows are in their winter-dead state. The submerged patches of curly-leaf pondweeds are growing. The submerged patches of coontail are exhibiting their wintertime flaccidness. The patches of brittle naiad are wilted and dormant.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 4:15 a.m. to 6:15 a.m., 4:36 p.m. to 6:36 p.m., and 10:25 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.

We made our first casts at 10:30 a.m. and our last ones at 1:30 p.m.  During these three hours, we failed to catch a largemouth bass. We elicited three strikes, and one was a hefty crappie. We hooked the other two strikes for less than a minute before these fish liberated themselves. At noon, we talked to two talented anglers who said they had been fishing since daybreak and had failed to catch a largemouth bass.

It was a puzzling day indeed at our most fruitful state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

Dec. 31

Ned Kehde of Lawrence, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Dec. 31 outing at a 63-year-old and heavily fished state reservoir in northeastern Kansas.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 16 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature was 59 degrees. The wind fluctuated from being calm to angling out of the northwest, west, and southwest at three to 10 mph.  The sky was fair. The barometric pressure was 30.17 at 12:52 a.m., 30.16 at 5:52 a.m., 30.11 at 11:52 a.m., and 29.96 at 3:52 p.m.

The water level looked to be about 3 1/2 feet below normal. The water exhibited about five to six feet of visibility. The surface temperature was 38 degrees, and to my chagrin, this reservoir’s most fruitful wintertime largemouth bass local, which is a shallow-water flat in the back of this reservoir’s largest feeder-creek arm, was entirely covered with a thin sheet of ice.

In-Fisherman’s solunar calendar noted that the best fishing would take place from 4:29 a.m. to 6:29 a.m., 4:51 p.m. to 6:51 p.m., and 10:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.

I spent about 20 minutes breaking up portions of the sheet of ice that covered this shallow-water flat.

This flat is the size of many football fields. A submerged creek channel meanders along the west side of it. Its underwater terrain is emblazoned with numerous patches of coontail and sago pondweeds that are growing in three to eight feet of water. There is an array of man-made piles of eastern red cedar trees in three to 10 feet of water, which are intermixed with patches of coontail and sago pondweeds.

Then I made my first cast at 2:11 p.m. On my seventh cast, I caught a largemouth bass in about six feet of water on the initial drop of a Z-Man’s hot-snakes Finesse TRD affixed to a red 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. This cast was made to the outside edge of a massive sheet of ice that was covering winter-wilted patches of coontail and sago pondweeds.

Thirteen minutes later, and along the outside edge of another massive sheet of ice, I caught another largemouth bass on the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig while I was employing an extremely slow swim-and-pause presentation and polishing the top of patches of coontail about in about four to five feet of water. This was the last bass of this outing and 2025.

I spent the final 13 minutes of this one-hour and nine-minute outing casting and strolling with a drag-and-pause presentation in eight to 12 feet of water along a short section of the dam’s riprap shoreline with the hot-snakes Finesse TRD rig and a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin TRD HogZ affixed to a baby-blue 1/15-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse ShroomZ jighead. I failed to elicit a strike.

I made my final cast and stroll for 2025 at 3:20 p.m. and went home to compose two logs about this sorry outing and the wretched one that Rick Hebenstreit and I suffered through on Dec. 17.

I also calculated the number of days and hours I fished and the number of black bass my colleagues and I caught in 2025. Throughout the year, we fished only in northeastern Kansas.

In short, the last part of November and all of December of 2025 were ill-starred days to be afloat in pursuit of largemouth bass in community and state reservoirs in northeastern Kansas. Old Man Winter made January and February even more joyless and fishless. During those 105 days, I was able to fish only six times for 14 hours and two minutes and caught only 135 largemouth bass.

In total, I fished 68 times in 2025. Most of these outings were with a partner or two. These outings occurred at northeastern Kansas community and state reservoirs.  We fished for a total of 224 hours and caught 32 smallmouth bass and 2,461 largemouth bass. We caught an average of 36 black bass per outing and 11 per hour. During five of those 68 outings, we caught 101, 102, 107, 110, and 123 black bass.

These calculations reveal that my 85-year-old body does not have the wherewithal to fish as often and capably as it did years past.