Ned Kehde Midwest Finesse Fishing Report: February 2025

One of the five largemouth bass that Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, caught on Feb. 25 at a power-plant reservoir in northeastern Kansas. 

Introduction by Ned Kehde

These nine logs exhibit how difficult it has been for Midwest finesse anglers to deal with Mother Nature's prolonged affair with Old Man Winter, which began nearly unabated on January 4 in northeastern Kansas. And until Feb. 28, ice covered or partially covered most of the waterways in northeastern Kansas for 53 of the first 59 days of 2025.

Thus, after my Jan. 2 outing, when I caught 51 largemouth bass in two hours and 10 minutes, the Old Man Winter’s frigid forays kept me at bay for 57 continuous days.

Even the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri was ice covered for a few days, and scores of the tournament anglers who competed in the Major League Fishing Toyota Series failed to catch a largemouth bass or spotted bass on Feb. 27 and 28; a few of these talented anglers said they even failed to elicit a strike.

Ice even coated portions of Table Rock Lake along the southern border of Missouri and the northern border of Arkansas.  

These dastardly and frigid deeds played havoc with anglers who plied the reservoirs in north-central Texas in February. According to Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, Old Man Winter even created a few sheets of ice on one of the north-central Texas community reservoirs where he fishes. And the cold-water conditions at all of the community and federal waterways where Reideler and his Midwest finesse colleagues fished made the Florida-strain largemouth bass difficult creatures to catch. 

During the first week of February, Aaron Suess of Gardner, Kansas, and his son were hoping to find a piscatorial haven from all of our wintery woes. Thus, they ventured to OH Ivie Reservoir, Texas, where he caught a 10.87-pound largemouth bass in February of 2023 and a 13.87-pounder in February of 2024, as well as scores of two and three pounders. But this February, they fished for four days and nearly 40 hours, and he said it was a whale of a struggle to catch 24 Florida-strain largemouth bass. Twenty-three of them were two to three pounders, and one of the 24 weighed nine pounds. He also noted that the anglers who were fishing with guides struggled to catch one to two bass per outing. Suess described this February’s angling at OH Ivie as perplexing and trying, and according to him, it was even sorrier for the anglers who hired guides; they struggled to catch one or two largemouth bass an outing.

As this wicked February came to an end, it was difficult to recall the various bonanzas of Februarys of the past, such as the 3 ½-hour outing on Feb. 9, 2012, at a community reservoir in northeastern Kansas, when Rick Hebenstreit of Shawnee, Kansas, and I caught 118 largemouth bass on a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Junebug ZinkerZ affixed to a red 1/16-ounce mushroom-style jig in 3 ½ to six feet of water around patches of Eurasian milfoil and curly-leaf pondweeds, and the water’s surface temperature was 39.7 degrees. Here is hoping February of 2026 will be a bountiful one.

Feb. 3

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with John Thomas of Denton on Feb. 3 at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

January was a brutal month for fishing for Florida-strain largemouth bass in north-central Texas.

We experienced near-record low air temperatures and water temperatures, and ice formed on a couple of our community reservoirs. And to add salt to those wounds, north-central Texas was lambasted with three to five inches of rain on Jan. 29 and 30, which resulted in turning large portions of our federal, state, and community waterways into a muddy mess.  

What’s more, we fished five times in January for a total of 18 hours, and it was a grind to eke out a total of 15 largemouth bass and two spotted bass. We also caught five white bass and one crappie. This calculates to 0.94 black bass per hour and three black bass per trip.

In contrast to January, it has been unseasonably warm during the first three days of February. The weather was delightful on Feb. 3.  The sky was clear, and we didn’t see a cloud all day.  The morning low temperature was 56 degrees. The afternoon high temperature peaked at 83 degrees. The barometric pressure fell from 29.97 at 11:00 a.m. to 29.86 by 4:00 p.m. A blustery wind blew out of the south-by-southwest at 14 to 22 mph. 

John and I took advantage of the warm weather and fished at a north-central Texas U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ hill-land reservoir. It is the same federal reservoir that Bill Kenney of Denton and I fished on Jan. 22.

We fished for pre-spawn white bass inside a wind-protected feeder-creek arm in the upper end of the reservoir from about 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. We targeted largemouth bass and spotted bass from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. inside two feeder-creek arms in the reservoir’s lower section that provided us shelter from the wind.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table indicated that the most lucrative fishing would occur from 2:24 a.m. to 4:24 a.m., 8:37 a.m. to 10:37 a.m., and 2:45 p.m. to 4:25 p.m.

Upon our arrival at the boat ramp on the upper end of the reservoir, we discovered that the water was muddy, exhibiting less than six inches of visibility. The water temperature had warmed from 39 degrees on Jan. 22 to 47 degrees. The water level has been rising from the recent rains, but it was still 1.38 feet below its winter pool level.  

We started this endeavor searching for white bass inside a minor feeder-creek arm on the north end of the reservoir.

The water in this creek arm exhibited less than six inches of clarity; it displayed three feet of clarity on Jan. 22. The surface temperature ranged from 60 to 63 degrees. 

This creek’s submerged terrain consists primarily of gravel and clay. The shorelines where we fished are adorned with numerous submerged brush piles, submerged stumps, and partially submerged laydowns.  And as we were slowly motoring into the mouth of this creek arm, I damaged my outboard’s propellor when we struck a submerged stump that was camouflaged by the muddy water. 

After damaging the outboard’s propellor, we opted to continue our jaunt into the lower end of the creek arm by employing the trolling motor instead of returning to the boat ramp.

We made what seemed to be hundreds of casts and various retrieves with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ rigged on a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, a Z-Man’s The Deal Baby Goat affixed on a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Jighead, and a pearl Z-Man’s Baby Goat attached to a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead, and we failed to garner a strike.

After that miserable start, we decided to return to the boat ramp. We put the boat on the trailer and drove 15 miles to a repair shop. We replaced the damaged outboard propellor with a spare one and left the damaged one to be repaired. We then drove another eight miles to a boat ramp on the south end of this federal reservoir.

We fished for three hours inside two feeder-creek arms, and neither of them was very productive. We caught one largemouth bass in the first creek arm, and one largemouth bass in the second creek arm. These were the only two strikes we could muster.

The water conditions inside these two feeder-creeks arms were similar; the water was stained, displaying 18 inches of clarity. The surface temperature was 48 degrees.

Their underwater terrains consist of clay, small gravel, fist-size rocks, and scattered boulders. There is no aquatic vegetation in this reservoir. 

Both of these largemouth bass were caught near significant aggregations of threadfin shad that were abiding in seven to nine feet of water along two clay-and-gravel shorelines in the upper ends of these creek arms. These shorelines possess 45- to 60-degree slopes.

We failed to elicit any strikes from several steeply sloping secondary points, a concrete boat ramp, and several other steep shorelines in the lower and middle sections of these two creek arms.

Both of the largemouth bass were allured by a 4 3/4-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ that was trimmed back to 3 1/4-inches and matched with a red 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This combo was employed with a slow-swimming retrieve while constantly shaking the rod tip. 

We failed to entice any strikes with nine other Midwest finesse offerings.

Feb. 4 

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Feb. 4 at a community reservoir in north-central Texas.

It was an overcast day. The morning’s low temperature was 51 degrees. The high temperature struggled to reach 65 degrees. The wind blew out of the south and then it turned out of the north at 8 to 14 mph. The barometric pressure fluctuated from 29.99 at noon to 29.87 at 3:00 p.m. 

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the fishing was predicted to be poor, and the most optimum fishing periods would take place from 3:18 a.m. to 5:18 a.m., 9:31 a.m. to 11:31 a.m., and 3:44 p.m. to 5:44 p.m. 

I fished from 12:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Upon my arrival at the reservoir, I discovered that the water was dingy with about a foot of visibility. The water temperature was 59 degrees, which was much warmer than I expected. The water level was normal. 

I started fishing along the lower or south end of the reservoir, which consists of a decorative stone dam, a submerged rock pile, and a small brush pile. The bottom terrain along the base of the dam is covered with softball-size rocks. I slowly dissected this area with several of Z-Man’s Midwest finesse offerings, and I failed to provoke any strikes.

After that, I plied the east shoreline, and it relinquished one largemouth bass and four large bluegill. This shoreline is the steepest of the four. It is endowed with two primary points and three tertiary points. These five fish were scattered and abiding in five to eight feet of water and 35 to 40 feet from the water’s edge, and I couldn’t determine what they were relating to that far from shore. The largemouth bass and three of the four bluegill were enticed with a 4.75-inch Z-Man’s coppertreuse Finesse WormZ that was cut back to 3 ¼ inches and rigged on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The other large bluegill was caught on a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space guppy Slim SwimZ matched with a chartreuse 1/16-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. These two combos were employed with a slow and steady swimming retrieve.   

I caught one largemouth bass across a shallow mud flat that occupies most of the northern shoreline. It was relating to a large tree branch lying in three feet of water and about 15 feet from the water’s edge. It was caught on a slow swimming presentation with the 3 1/4-inch coppertreuse Finesse WormZ rig. 

A small feeder creek enters the reservoir at the west end of the north shoreline. It surrendered one largemouth bass that was abiding in four feet of water and in the center of the creek channel. It was enticed by a slow swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch space guppy Slim SwimZ rig. I fished from the mouth of the creek and into its middle section and garnered several subtle strikes on the 3 1/4-inch coppertreuse Finesse WormZ, but I was unable to hook those fish. 

I caught two largemouth bass and three bluegill along the reservoir’s west-side shoreline, which features three small patches of winter-dead water lilies, a shallow 30-yard stretch of a clay and gravel ledge, one primary point, and three tertiary points. All five of these fish were abiding in three to five feet of water near the deep side of the 30-yard clay-and-gravel ledge in the midsection of the shoreline.  The two largemouth bass were caught on a Z-Man’s coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ affixed on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead and a slow swimming retrieve while constantly shaking the rod tip.  Two of the three bluegill were allured by a slow swimming retrieve with the 3 1/4-inch coppertreuse Finesse WormZ. The third bluegill was caught on the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s space guppy Slim SwimZ that was utilized with a slow swimming presentation. 

In conclusion, I caught five largemouth bass and seven large bluegill in three hours.  Two of the five largemouth bass were caught on the coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ rig, two were caught on the 3 1/4-inch coppertreuse Finesse WormZ rig, and one was caught on the 2 1/2-inch space guppy Slim SwimZ combo. Five of the seven bluegill were tempted by the 3 1/4-inch coppertreuse Finesse WormZ, and two preferred the 2 1/2-inch space guppy Slim SwimZ.

Three of the five largemouth bass and the seven large bluegill were allured by a slow and steady swimming retrieve. The other two largemouth bass were attracted to a slow swim and constant shake presentation. I failed to elicit any strikes with a slow drag-and-deadstick retrieve, a slow drag-and-shake presentation, and a slow swim-glide-and-shake retrieve.

Feb. 6

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his Feb. 6 outing at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

I conducted a solo journey to a federal reservoir in north-central Texas. I rarely fish this reservoir in January and February because it’s such a devilish wintertime venue for Florida-strain largemouth bass. For example, the last time I fished at this impoundment during the winter was on Feb.19, 2024.

The water temperature was in the upper 40s, and I struggled to catch one largemouth bass and one spotted bass in four hours.

According to In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar, fishing would be poor on this Feb. 6 outing, but the prime fishing periods would most likely occur from 5:07 a.m. to 7:07 a.m., 5:36 p.m. to 7:36 p.m., and 11:22 p.m. to 1:22 a.m. 

 I was afloat from 11:17 a.m. to 3:17 p.m.

The morning’s low temperature was 63 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature reached 78 degrees. The wind quartered out of the southwest, west, and northwest at 10 to 15 mph. The barometric pressure measured 29.95 at 11:00 a.m. and dropped to 29.89 by 3:00 p.m. The sky was mostly cloudy with short spells of sunshine. 

This reservoir’s water level was at full capacity. The water exhibited about 30 inches of clarity. The surface temperature ranged from 50 to 54 degrees.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, pea-size gravel, rocks of all shapes and sizes, and quite a number of large boulders. At the north end of the reservoir, there are many acres of thick stands of flooded timber, laydowns, stumps, brush piles, and buck brush, and we usually avoid this area because it is such a challenge to navigate in a boat. I stayed in the lower end of the reservoir.

The reservoir was pretty busy, and I shared several areas with other kayak, pontoon, and bass boat anglers. The weather was wonderful, but the fishing was horrendous. 

This reservoir encompasses two large tributary arms; an east arm and a west arm. I fished inside three feeder-creek arms in the west one. 

The first two feeder-creek arms that I fished are situated on the north side of this tributary. I was hoping to cross paths with largemouth and spotted bass associated with concentrations of threadfin shad and abiding in the creek channels or around clusters of large rocks and boulders that enhance the steeper points and shorelines in the lower and middle sections of those two feeder creeks, and I failed to locate any largemouth bass and spotted bass. 

The third creek arm, which is located on the south side of the tributary arm, relinquished only one largemouth bass. This largemouth bass was caught in nine feet of water around a rock- and boulder-laden shoreline in the lower section of the creek arm. It was allured by a slow swimming retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ matched with a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

I failed to elicit any strikes with 13 other Midwest finesse rigs and various Midwest finesse presentations around seven rocky secondary points, two concrete boat ramps, three clay-and-gravel shorelines, a large clay flat adorned with several large patches of Eurasian milfoil, and the remnants of an old pond dam.

Overall, it was a great day for being on the water but a lousy one for bass fishing. Unfortunately, this will continue to be a normal day of wintertime Florida-strain bass fishing in north-central Texas until water temperatures begin to stabilize in the upper 50s.

Feb. 8 

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Feb. 8 at two community reservoirs in north-central Texas.

From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., I conducted a solo outing to five community reservoirs. I fished for about four of these six hours. 

My focus was to check the state of the water conditions in these impoundments. The water at three of the reservoirs was very murky with less than a foot of visibility. Their water temperatures were hovering in the low 50s. The water in the other two reservoirs was much clearer with 24 to 30 inches of clarity, and the water temperatures were 60 degrees. I focused my attention on the two reservoirs with 60-degree temperatures, and the fishing was quite bountiful for February.

It was warm, and the sun was intensely bright. The bluebird-hue sky was partly cloudy. The morning’s low temperature was unusually warm at 63 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was also high for this time of year, soaring to 80 degrees. The average low temperature in north-central Texas for Feb. 8 is 39 degrees, and the average high temperature is 60 degrees. A peppy wind quartered out of the north-by-northwest at 15 to 25 mph; a few gusts reached 30 mph. The barometric pressure dropped from 29.95 at 10:00 a.m. to 29.89 at 4:00 p.m. 

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, two of the 28 days of February were forecast to have excellent fishing, five days were forecast to be great, three were to be average, and 18 were predicted to have poor fishing. Feb. 8 was one of the 18 days with a poor fishing forecast.  The calendar also noted that the optimum fishing periods on Feb. 8 would take place from 12:40 a.m. to 2:40 a.m., 6:55 a.m. to 8:55 a.m., and 7:24 p.m. to 9:24 p.m.

The first impoundment’s underwater terrain consists of sand and gravel.  There are shallow sand-and-gravel ledges that extend about three to five feet from the water’s edge along most of its shorelines. Besides the sand-and-gravel ledges, thick patches of submerged baby pondweeds embellish many yards of the ledges. Numerous tree limbs, various types of wood debris, cypress tree knees, and cypress tree roots clutter the shallow-water areas and some of the deeper bottom sections in the lower end of the reservoir. 

The upper or north shoreline and the west shoreline are the steepest and possess 30- to 45-degree slopes. The east and south shorelines are flatter with 10- to 15-degree inclines. 

The water exhibited about 24 inches of clarity. The water temperature was 60.8 degrees. The water level appeared to be normal.  

This reservoir yielded 12 largemouth bass.  Eight were caught along the deep-water side of the patches of submerged baby pondweeds situated on the downward slopes of the shallow ledges across the north and west shorelines. The other four were caught around the shallow cypress tree knees and roots along the east and south shorelines. These 12 largemouth bass were dwelling in three to five feet of water.

Five of these 12 largemouth bass were allured by a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ affixed on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead with a slow-paced swimming retrieve. Five were fooled by a shortened 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s black neon Finesse WormZ that was pared down from its original 4.75-inch size, and it was attached to a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Jighead. This combo was implemented with a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve. The other two bass were enticed by a slow swim-and-constant-shake presentation with a 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Trick ShotZ rigged on a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

IMG_0651.jpeg
At the second community reservoir, the water was at its normal level. The water temperature was 60.4 degrees. The water exhibited about 30 inches of clarity.   

The lower and upper ends of this reservoir are flat and shallow. The upper end is adorned with a small fishing pier and a large patch of baby pondweeds. The middle section is endowed with several minor points composed of clay mixed with small gravel; this section has several shallow ledges and some medium-sized patches of baby pondweeds. 

Three of the larger patches of baby pondweeds in three to five feet of water and close to the shallow ledges in the middle section of the impoundment relinquished 14 largemouth bass and one black crappie. 

The shallow patches of baby pondweeds in the upper end of the reservoir and the shallow flat in the lower end of the impoundment were bereft of largemouth bass. 

Twelve of the 14 largemouth bass were allured by a slow-paced swimming retrieve with the 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig as it was maneuvered along the top and around the sides of the three patches of baby pondweed. Two of the 14 were caught on a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve with the 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Trick ShotZ combo. The black crappie was caught on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead dressed with a Z-Man's coppertreuse TRD TicklerZ and a slow swim-and-constant-shake retrieve.

The 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ rig is at the top of this photograph. The 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s black neon Finesse WormZ rig is in the middle. The 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Trick ShotZ combo is at the bottom.

This was the most bountiful outing I have had so far in 2025. It is also very unusual for us to tangle with 26 Florida-strain largemouth bass in north-central Texas this time of year.

The seven-day warm-weather snap that we have been relishing is petering out. Feb. 8 was the last warm day, and as I was driving home, a cold front swept across the north-central Texas' landscape and dropped the air temperature 20 degrees in about 30 minutes. This cold front is forecast to usher in much cooler air temperatures and intermittent rain storms over the next few days. Thus, my piscatorial endeavors will have to be put on hold until the rain storms pass and the weather stabilizes again.

Feb. 15 

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

North-central Texas has received its fair share of cold, rain, and wind since Feb. 9, and we are expecting another dose of freezing temperatures, wind, and an ice storm starting Feb. 16 and lasting through Feb. 21.   

Feb. 15 provided a brief respite from our winter woes. The conditions of the sky varied from overcast with mist to mostly cloudy to partly cloudy to sunny. The morning's low temperature was 53 degrees. The afternoon's high temperature climbed to 64 degrees. A robust and troublesome wind quartered continuously out of the south-by-southwest at 15 to 20 mph. Then it turned out of the west-by-northwest and wailed at 25 to 30 mph. The barometric pressure dropped from 29.77 at 10:00 a.m. to 29.70 at 4:00 p.m. 

Because of the problematic wind, I elected to err on the side of caution and conducted a bank-walking excursion at three community reservoirs in north-central Texas. I fished for six hours from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and I shared two of these three reservoirs with several other anglers.

According to In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar, the fishing would be average with the optimum fishing periods taking place from 12:09 a.m. to 2:09 a.m., 6:19 a.m. to 8:19 a.m., and 12:29 a.m. to 2:29 a.m.

When I arrived at the first community reservoir at about 9:50 a.m., it was misting heavily. I waited about 10 minutes for the mist to stop. Then I began fishing. 

The water at the first reservoir exhibited about 18 inches of clarity. The water level appeared to be normal. The water temperature was 54 degrees.

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 knees, several points, and a small brush pile.  A shallow sand-and-gravel ledge extends about three to five feet from the water’s edge, and this ledge surrounds the entire impoundment. The ledge is covered with a foot of water and drops off into three to five feet of water. The deep-water side of the ledge is also adorned with several large walls of baby pondweeds mixed with vast amounts of filamentous algae. The bottom terrain consists of sand mixed with small pieces of gravel and rocks. 

The Florida-strain largemouth bass fishing was trying at this impoundment; it yielded two largemouth bass. I caught them many yards apart in five to seven feet of water from the deep-water side of a sand-and-gravel ledge in the midsection of the impoundment. One was caught on a modified 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s Space Guppy Slim SwimZ with a Z-Man’s gold willow-leaf TRD SpinZ attached as an underspin, and it was rigged on a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This rig was implemented with a slow swimming presentation. The second bass was enticed by a slow swim-glide-and-shake presentation with a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin-orange TRD TicklerZ affixed to a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. I was baffled as to why three prominent points, several tertiary points, the two concrete culverts and portions of the connecting ditch, and the three other sand-and-gravel ledges were fruitless.  

After I finished fishing this reservoir, I journeyed to the second one, which relinquished 14 largemouth bass on Feb. 8. But this time, the fishing was much more difficult.

Thus, it was a chore to entice one Florida-strain largemouth bass. 

The water exhibited about 24 inches of visibility. The water temperature had dropped from 60 degrees on Feb. 8 to 50 degrees. The water level was normal.

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists of small gravel and sand. There are a few tree limbs, bald cypress knees, and patches of boulders cluttering portions of the shorelines in the midsection of the impoundment. There are also several shallow sand-and-gravel ledges extending about five feet out from the water’s edge that parallel the shorelines. Several large patches of submerged baby pondweeds adorn portions of the deep-water sides of these ledges. The shorelines are relatively flat with 10- to 15-degree inclines.

I caught this largemouth bass in the middle portion of the impoundment around a large patch of baby pondweeds along the shallow sand-and-gravel ledges in five feet of water. This bass engulfed a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Slim SwimZ matched with a chartreuse 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead that was employed with a slow-paced swimming retrieve. 

At the third community reservoir, I labored to catch two largemouth bass. This impoundment yielded 12 largemouth bass on Feb. 8. 

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists of a combination of small gravel and sand. There are numerous tree limbs, bald cypress knees, and other wood debris cluttering the shallow-water areas near the shorelines. Three sand-and-gravel ledges that extend about 10 feet from the water’s edge are embellished with several large patches of baby pondweeds. 

The shorelines in the upper and lower end of the impoundment are fairly flat with 15- to 20-degree inclines. The shorelines in the middle portion of the reservoir are steeper with gradients of 30 to 45 degrees. About 50 yards of this reservoir’s flatter shorelines are also adorned with bald cypress trees and partially submerged bald cypress knees. 

The water was murkier than it was on Feb. 8. It exhibited about 14 inches of clarity. The water temperature was 51 degrees; it was 60 degrees on Feb. 8. The water level appeared to be normal.  

I caught these two largemouth bass in three to five feet of water around the deep-water side of the shallow ledges that possess more partially submerged cypress tree knees and wood debris than patches of baby pondweeds. 

Both of these Florida-strain largemouth bass were induced by a slow drag-shake-and-deadstick presentation with a 3 1/4-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ affixed on a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This Finesse WormZ was trimmed down from its original 4 3/4-inch length to 3 1/4 inches.

In closing, it was a tough day of bass fishing. I caught two from the first impoundment, one from the second impoundment, and two from the third one. 

Feb. 24

 Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with John Thomas of Denton on Feb. 24 at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

I have not fished since Feb. 15 because a major cold front froze north-central Texas for several days.  On Feb. 24, John and I took advantage of a much warmer winter day and fished at a north-central Texas federal reservoir. We last fished this reservoir on Feb. 3, and it was a chore to catch two largemouth bass.

The sky was mostly clear with an occasional wispy white cloud drifting overhead.  The morning low temperature was 38 degrees. The afternoon high temperature warmed to 76 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.10 at 10:00 a.m. and 29.94 at 3:00 p.m. A light breeze blew out of the south at 5 to 10 mph. 

We focused our attentions on locating and alluring Florida-strain largemouth bass and spotted bass from 10:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. inside three feeder-creek arms and along a 200-yard stretch of riprap on the dam. All of these places are situated in the reservoir’s lower section.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table noted that the most productive fishing would occur from 1:04 a.m. to 3:04 a.m., 7:18 a.m. to 9:18 a.m., and 7:46 p.m. to 9:46 p.m. The fishing was forecasted to be poor. 

The black-bass fishing was mind-numbingly slow. 

The water level at this federal reservoir was 1.5 feet below its winter-pool level. The water inside the three feeder-creeks arms was murky and displayed between 14 and 18 inches of clarity. The surface temperature ranged between 44 and 48 degrees. The water along the dam exhibited 30 inches of clarity, and the water’s surface temperature was 44 degrees. 

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists of mostly small gravel, fist-size rocks, clay, some sand, and scattered boulders. There isn’t any aquatic vegetation, but there are a few remaining clusters of flooded timber. 

During these four hours, we spent three of them dissecting the interiors of the three feeder-creek arms, and none of them were very fruitful. We caught one 15-inch largemouth bass in the first creek arm, but we failed to entice any strikes inside the other two feeder-creek arms. The other hour we spent probing the 200-yard stretch of the riprap-laden dam was for naught; it failed to yield a single strike.

The one largemouth bass that we did manage to scrounge up was abiding along an underwater ledge that was entertaining a significant aggregation of threadfin shad in 10 feet of water. The shoreline adjacent to the ledge has a 45-degree slope.

We failed to elicit any strikes from numerous steeply sloping secondary points and shorelines in the lower, middle, and upper sections of these three creek arms.

This largemouth bass was enticed by a 4 3/4-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ that was shortened to 3 1/4-inches and matched with a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This combo was employed with a slow swimming retrieve while constantly shaking the tip of the rod, 

We failed to entice any strikes with several other Midwest finesse offerings. We also experimented with several different sizes and colors of suspending jerkbaits and balsa-wood finesse crankbaits, and they also failed to garner any strikes.

Feb. 24

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with John Thomas of Denton on Feb. 24 at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

I have not fished since Feb. 15 because a major cold front froze north-central Texas for several days.  On Feb. 24, John and I took advantage of a much warmer winter day and fished at a north-central Texas federal reservoir. We last fished this reservoir on Feb. 3, and it was a chore to catch two largemouth bass.

The sky was mostly clear with an occasional wispy white cloud drifting overhead.  The morning low temperature was 38 degrees. The afternoon high temperature warmed to 76 degrees. The barometric pressure measured 30.10 at 10:00 a.m. and 29.94 at 3:00 p.m. A light breeze blew out of the south at 5 to 10 mph. 

We focused our attentions on locating and alluring Florida-strain largemouth bass and spotted bass from 10:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. inside three feeder-creek arms and along a 200-yard stretch of riprap on the dam. All of these places are situated in the reservoir’s lower section.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar table noted that the most productive fishing would occur from 1:04 a.m. to 3:04 a.m., 7:18 a.m. to 9:18 a.m., and 7:46 p.m. to 9:46 p.m. The fishing was forecasted to be poor. 

The black-bass fishing was mind-numbingly slow. 

The water level at this federal reservoir was 1.5 feet below its winter-pool level. The water inside the three feeder-creeks arms was murky and displayed between 14 and 18 inches of clarity. The surface temperature ranged between 44 and 48 degrees. The water along the dam exhibited 30 inches of clarity, and the water’s surface temperature was 44 degrees. 

This reservoir’s underwater terrain consists of mostly small gravel, fist-size rocks, clay, some sand, and scattered boulders. There isn’t any aquatic vegetation, but there are a few remaining clusters of flooded timber. 

During these four hours, we spent three of them dissecting the interiors of the three feeder-creek arms, and none of them were very fruitful. We caught one 15-inch largemouth bass in the first creek arm, but we failed to entice any strikes inside the other two feeder-creek arms. The other hour we spent probing the 200-yard stretch of the riprap-laden dam was for naught; it failed to yield a single strike.

The one largemouth bass that we did manage to scrounge up was abiding along an underwater ledge that was entertaining a significant aggregation of threadfin shad in 10 feet of water. The shoreline adjacent to the ledge has a 45-degree slope.

We failed to elicit any strikes from numerous steeply sloping secondary points and shorelines in the lower, middle, and upper sections of these three creek arms.

This largemouth bass was enticed by a 4 3/4-inch Z-Man’s black-neon Finesse WormZ that was shortened to 3 1/4-inches and matched with a red 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. This combo was employed with a slow swimming retrieve while constantly shaking the tip of the rod, 

We failed to entice any strikes with several other Midwest finesse offerings. We also experimented with several different sizes and colors of suspending jerkbaits and balsa-wood finesse crankbaits, and they also failed to garner any strikes.

Feb. 25

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing with Mike Trometer of Farmersville, Texas, on Feb. 25 at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

It was another enjoyable winter day in north-central Texas. The morning’s low temperature was 44 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature reached 78 degrees. The wind quartered out of the south at 5 to 10 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.04 at 10:00 a.m. and 29.86 at 3:00 p.m. The cloudless sky displayed a wonderful Azure-blue hue. 

Mike joined me at a challenging federal reservoir in north-central Texas. Mike has never visited this impoundment before. It is the same one I fished on Feb. 6 when my best efforts garnered one Florida-strain largemouth bass in four hours. 

On Feb. 25, we fished inside two major feeder-creek arms, one minor feeder-creek arm, and three sandstone main-lake bluffs in the lower and middle section of the east tributary arm. In the lower end of the west tributary arm, we fished inside one minor feeder-creek arm and one major creek arm. 

We fished in water as shallow as three feet and as deep as 28 feet. We found decent-size schools of threadfin shad everywhere we fished, and after five frustrating hours, we caught only one largemouth bass. 

The water level was 1.58 feet below winter-pool level. The water exhibited about 2 1/2 feet of clarity. The water temperature was all over the board; it was in the lower 40s in one feeder-creek arm, the middle 40s in two of the other feeder-creek arms, the upper 40s in the fourth creek arm, and the lower 50s in the fifth one. Along the main-lake bluffs, the water temperature was 45 degrees. 

In-Fisherman's Solunar calendar indicated that fishing would be great on Feb. 25, and the most lucrative fishing would occur between 1:55 a.m. and 3:55 a.m., 8:09 a.m. and 10:09 a.m., and 8:37 p.m. to 10:37 p.m. 

We fished from 10:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

Where we fished, the underwater terrain consists primarily of red clay, pea-size gravel, chunky rocks, and numerous large boulders. There are thick patches of Eurasian milfoil and hydrilla throughout this reservoir. We avoided the north end of the reservoir, where we find it difficult to navigate through the many acres of thick stands of flooded timber, laydowns, stumps, brush piles, and buck brush.

We failed to entice any strikes around nine large patches of winter-dead Eurasian milfoil, 13 rocky secondary points, two clay-and-gravel flats, seven rocky secondary shorelines, two submerged rock ledges, one small offshore rock pile, and two dilapidated chunk-rock stock-pond dam walls inside four of the five feeder-creek arms. The three main-lake bluffs were also fruitless.

The other feeder-creek arm, which is located in the lower end of the west tributary arm, relinquished one largemouth bass. This largemouth bass was caught in five feet of water around a cluster of large boulders near the mouth of the creek arm. It was allured by a slow swimming retrieve while constantly shaking the rod tip with a shortened 3 1/2-inch Z-Man’s watermelon Finesse WormZ matched with a chartreuse 1/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. The original length of this Finesse WormZ was 4 3/4 inches. Two rocky secondary points, three patches of Eurasian milfoil, and the remnants of another dilapidated stock-pond dam failed to yield any strikes.

We were unable to elicit any strikes with nine other Midwest finesse rigs, a shad-hue spinnerbait and Chatterbait, a crawfish-imitation plastic bait rigged on a wobble-head jig, and a square-bill crankbait.

In short, this was another one-and-done winter outing. I had the opportunity to talk with another local bass angler who resides near a state reservoir in north-central Texas, and he reported that he hasn't had a bite in three days of fishing at the state reservoir. It proved once again that one of our greatest angling woes is having to pursue Florida-strain largemouth bass rather than northern-strain largemouth bass in the cold waters of north-central Texas.

Feb. 25

Bob Gum of Kansas City, Kansas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing at one of northeastern Kansas’ power-plant reservoirs on Feb. 25.

The National Weather Service reported that the morning’s low temperature was 36 degrees. The afternoon’s high temperature was 66 degrees. The wind angled out of the northwest, south, southeast, and southwest at 5 to 10 mph. The sky was fair.  The barometric pressure was 29.92 at 12:53 a.m., 29.96 at 5:53 a.m., 29.93 at 11:53 a.m., and 29.93 at 12:53 p.m.

All of the community and state reservoirs in northeastern Kansas are covered with ice. This reservoir’s power plant has been generating electricity for days on end. Therefore, the surface temperature along one of the steep shorelines in the center of the warm-water plume was 58 degrees, and it plummeted to 47 degrees along a riprap shoreline in the reservoir’s lower section. The water exhibited a greenish hue with about 12 inches of visibility.

I made my first cast at 7:15 a.m. and my last cast at 12:30 p.m.

It was a horrendous struggle to catch five largemouth bass. They were caught on a Z-Man’s Jumebug TRD TicklerZ affixed to a red 1/20-ounce mushroom-style jig, a Z-Man’s green-pumpkin Finesse ShadZ affixed to a red 1/20-ounce mushroom-style jig, and an ancient green-and-white three-inch jerkbait. They were caught in four to six feet of water. 

Feb. 27

Steve Reideler of Denton, Texas, posted a log on the Finesse News Network about his outing on Feb. 27 at a federal reservoir in north-central Texas.

For the past six weeks, I have been kvetching about the horrendous black-bass fishing in north-central Texas. But it was such a pleasant winter day on Feb. 27, that I couldn’t resist the temptation to venture to a federal reservoir and pursue some white bass. 

The sky was cloudless. The morning’s low temperature was 47 degrees, and the afternoon’s high temperature climbed to 73 degrees. The wind angled out of the north-by-northeast at 10 to 15 mph. The barometric pressure measured 30.32 at 10:00 a.m. and 30.24 at 2:00 p.m.

In-Fisherman’s Solunar calendar noted that the best fishing periods would take place from 2:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m., 8:58 a.m. to 10:58 a.m., and 9:25 p.m. to 11:25 p.m. The calendar also forecasted great fishing.

I fished from 10:30 a.m. to 2:42 p.m.

When I arrived at the boat ramp at the upper end of the reservoir, I discovered that the water in the main lake was muddy and exhibited about 10 inches of visibility. The water level was 1.54 feet below the winter pool. The water temperature was 48 degrees. 

The water inside the feeder creek exhibited between 10 to 24 inches of clarity. I was encouraged when I discovered that the water temperature varied from 60 to 65 degrees. 

The shorelines inside this creek arm are steep and bluff-like in the upper reaches of the creek. They become flatter in the lower and middle sections. A hodgepodge of flooded bushes, submerged brush piles, partially submerged laydowns, and a few submerged stumps occupy the majority of the shallow-water shorelines.

The fishing was pretty decent for February; I tangled with 20 white bass, one largemouth bass, and one freshwater drum. These 22 fish were abiding in nine to 13 feet of water and were relating to the bottom of the creek channel. Twelve of the 20 white bass were allured by a slow-paced hop-and-bounce retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl Slim SwimZ affixed on a red 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead. Five white bass and one largemouth bass were enticed by a slow hop-and-bounce retrieve with a 2 1/2-inch Z-Man’s pearl curly-tail GrubZ fastened on a chartreuse 1/10-ounce Z-Man’s Micro Finesse jig. The other three white bass were caught on a slow hop-and-bounce retrieve with a Z-Man’s pearl Baby Goat rigged on a blue 3/32-ounce Z-Man’s OG Mushroom Jighead.

Overall, the wintertime black-bass fishing remains difficult in north-central Texas. But during this four-hour and 12-minute endeavor, it was a joy to catch 20 white bass, one largemouth bass, and one freshwater drum.