The few fishermen that braved the cold weather during the holidays caught some really nice crappie and bass.

The day after Christmas a strong cold front passed through the area around midday and the fish turned on. Just ahead of the cold front Lake Concordia produced one bass over nine pounds and several over five.

The weather went sour by noon with high winds and a hard cold rain. The nine-pound bass was pulled from a deep brush pile with a heavy jig and plastic trailer. The isolated deeper cypress trees produced several bass weighing from three to five pounds.

Since the opening of Lake Okhissa Lake Concordia’s bass have not been pressured. There was only one boat on the water that day. If you play the fronts just right Lake Concordia is the best place to catch a trophy bass this winter.

You may not catch a trophy fish from Lake St. John but if you’re after numbers of bass in the two to five pound range don’t rule this oxbow lake out.

Wind can be a problem with boat control on St. John. If you can hang with the windy banks, that’s where the best fishing will be. The bass tend to hold on the down wind side of the cypress trees facing upwind out of the current.

Present a jig or soft plastic lure just right and you can have a good day on St. John regardless of the weather. For crappie try the boathouses with brush sunk around them.

Hair jigs and shiners should produce some crappie but be patient and fish slow.

The Black River/Horseshoe Lake complex is another sleeper during the winter. Not many fishermen try these waters during the colder months.

If you are among them you’re missing out on the best time of year to fish the complex for bass and crappie. Depending on the water level and weather, the fish could be deep or shallow.

The most consistent bite during the winter will be from deep water. Again heavy jigs or soft plastics fished ahead of a heavy slip sinker are the most productive lures on the complex.

If the fish are shallow try medium diving crankbaits like a Bomber 6A or Bandit 200 series near the mouth of the drains and bayous. The crappie fishing is good in 10 to 15 feet of water. Try the thick brush piles around the docks in Black River Lake.

Happy New Year to all and see y’all on the water.

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