December in our area means short sleeve shirts one day and insulated coveralls the next. Cold fronts continue to keep water temperatures changing and the fish on the move.

Water temperatures slowly drop with each passing front. We’re in the season when the fish are scattered from the shallows to deep water. The bite may be good one day and terrible the next.

I’ve heard good reports on the bass and some fair reports on the white perch. The best perch reports are coming from the Saline/Larto Complex and Turkey Creek. The fish in Larto Lake are slowly moving to the deep man-made brush piles. The most productive lures are hair jigs and small live shiners.

The plastic tube jig that works so well in warmer waters usually does not produce as well as hairs jigs in cold water. The deep brush piles in Larto Lake can be hard to fish if the wind is blowing. If you can’t hold your boat in the mid-lake areas just move up the bayous that connect Larto Lake with Saline Lake.

Fish the intersections of the man made and natural bayous for big slab white perch. The white perch in Turkey Creek are holding in 6 to 8 feet of water around the lay downs and duck blinds. If you’re fishing the duck blinds be sure you know the duck hunting schedule and keep a safe distance away from the occupied blinds.

Cold water is turning the bass on. Good reports are coming from Lakes Concordia, St. John and Bruin.

Water temperatures average about 57 degrees. Jigs with pork or plastic trailers and the creature style lures will catch the bass in the oxbow lakes. The bottom lures will catch numbers of big bass but so will the Rat-L-Trap.

Just fan cast the flats with bream or shad pattern traps.

Bass fishing on Lake Okhissa over in Franklin County is cooling off a bit. When this new lake opened the average catch was 60 to 65 bass per person.

The fish are getting smarter but you can still have a great day of fishing on Okhissa.

Again jigs and soft plastics are the most productive lures.

This lake is loaded with feeder creeks protected from the winds behind the cold fronts so the wind is not a problem.

If you can’t stay out on the lake when the wind is up just move up a creek and fish the secondary points and drop-offs. Main lake humps; underwater islands and secondary points are producing more fish than shoreline cover.

The banks are getting a lot of pressure so you may need to use your sonar unit and back off the banks to catch bass on Okhissa.

Eddie Roberts write a weekly fishing column for The Democrat. He can be reached at fishingwitheddie@cox.net.