Lake Sinclair Fishing Report – December 2019

Sinclair: Level: 1.5 feet low. Temp: Water temps are in the high 50s in the backs of pockets and 60 to 65 degrees on the main lake. Clarity: According to Lakeside Chevron, most of the lake is clear, with a little color in the backs of some pockets.

Bass: Tournament angler Karl Pingry reports, “If you are not in the right area of the lake, bass fishing is tough. Here’s the good news: the catfish are biting everywhere on flatworms, and the hybrids can be caught on 1-oz. spoons. Just look for gull activity. The bass fishing has been much tougher, with 12 pounds taking first place and 10 pounds getting a third-place check in the Berry’s tournament last Saturday. However, five bass weighing 19 pounds was brought into Lakeside Chevron Saturday evening (Nov. 23). All were caught on a chartreuse-and-white Little Earl crankbait. The better fishing has been from Rooty Creek north toward Shoulder Bone. Jig ’n pigs in the blowdowns and monster worms on docks are taking the better fish. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits and Rat-L-Traps have been the moving baits working at press time. Look for the bass to settle into their normal winter pattern now that the water temps should stabilize and hopefully fall at a slower rate. Crankbaits in shad and crawfish patterns (a No. 5 Shad Rap in crawfish pattern is hard to beat), ChatterBaits and spinnerbaits will work, as well as flipping docks and blowdowns. Tournament angler John Duvall said to look for the bait to still move into the pockets early in the month before moving out toward the main lake by the end of December. Look to downsize your lures and fish closer to cover the first two days after a cold front moves through and you have bright bluebird skies. Make repeated casts to cover, and expect very few bites. Try using your moving baits the day a front is moving in and the barometer is dropping. That’s when the bass should be a little more active. Make sure you still have a jig and shaky head on the deck throughout the winter. Also look for deeper brushpiles to hold bass, as well. Use your plastics and even a drop-shot worm to coax the bass into biting. Flipping/punching grass in the midday sun will also hold a few fish at times.”

Crappie: Allan Brown reports, “Crappie are doing excellent while trolling jigs in all the major creeks. Coves of the main river are producing well, too. Brushpiles are holding good concentrations of fish. Use your electronics to locate the brush, and then drop a minnow rig down to the correct depth. Today’s electronics are key to finding structure to fish, and the displays are unreal. Dock shooting is producing slabs, as well as targeting docks near deep water and ones that have brush around them. As December rolls in, trolling will really fire up. Longlining jigs in deep water will be the ticket. Change color and jig size until you hit on the right combination.”