Lake Jackson Fishing Report December 2015

Jackson: Level: 1.3 feet above full pool. Temp: Low 60s. Clarity: Mostly muddy due to heavy rains.

Bass: Tournament angler Aaron Batson reports, “Try a Spro RkCrawler crankbait in brighter colors, and fish it in the pockets. Try to bang it off rocks and stumps in 8 to 10 feet of water. Also, drag a 3/4-oz. football jig over the same locations. Try all black or black/brown. Also, try a Fish Head Spin in the lower lake where there is clearer water. Tip the Fish Head Spin with a V&M Shaky Shad in smoke shad or white ice colors. Count the bait down to the 10- to 15-foot range, and slowly wind the bait back to the boat, keeping it down in that depth range.” Keith Dawkins reports, “Concentrate on shallow rocks and docks on the main lake or pockets as the shad have begun to move back into them. Shad Raps and Bandit 300 crankbaits cast toward shallow rocks down the lake will work well for spots. As the shad have moved back into the pockets, I would concentrate on blowdowns, docks and rocks, starting with a 1/4- or 1/2-oz. double willowleaf spinnerbait in a white/chartreuse combo. Another good pattern to try is a silver and blue-back, 1/2-oz. Rat-L-Trap fished parallel to the banks. If you get a blue-sky day, or just prefer to flip, it’s hard to beat a jig with a crawfish or salt chunk trailer on Jackson. Jackson has always been good in the fall for big largemouth under docks and brush on jigs. While the spots are more abundant, the big hawgs are still there and are often easier to locate this time of year with bait in the pockets and very little fishing pressure. If you are not locating bass near shoreline structure, look in the ditches near the middle of pockets with your electronics, and drop a jigging spoon to fish grouped up on the balls of bait. Drawdown should start the day after Christmas and may help concentrate these fish on the deep drops near the end of the month.”