December is a great month to catch big bass and slab white perch.

Colder water temperatures make the fish more predictable, much easier to locate and catch.

November was a tough month for most, but some of the veteran anglers in this area did manage to put together a consistent pattern for catching numbers of smaller bass with an occasional good fish.

The same patterns should begin producing larger bass during the next month or so.

I noticed the success of those that caught fish in November had much to do with boat positioning and lure presentation.

It was hard to catch anything by random casting down a shoreline.

You could pick off a few small bass on shallow diving crankbaits and Rat-L-Traps fishing the shoreline cover but no big fish.

The larger fish were holding a bit deeper and would not move far to strike a lure.

An accurate cast presented at the right angle produced several limits of bass during the many club events this month.

During some days the bass wanted the lure cast toward deep water and worked back shallow.

On other days we had to cast shallow and work the lure very slow out to deep water.

For whatever reason, the fish were not holding tight to the cover. Once I worked the cypress root systems, piers or man made brush piles, I had to continue the retrieve anywhere from five to 10 feet away from the cover to get the strike.

This is a very time consuming pattern but it worked when other patterns did not. Try presenting your lure to the targeted cover at different angles.

If you can’t get a strike working lures from shallow water to deep water try presenting the lure from the opposite direction.

As the water continues to get colder bass and white perch tend to position a certain way and will not strike lures coming from behind them for the most part.

December will be quite a busy month for the local tournament fishermen.

The newly formed B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Club will have a meeting Tuesday night at Nikki’s in Vidalia.

If you plan to fish the federation events this year you need to make this meeting.

By joining the federation, all members are eligible to compete in the 12 monthly club events and two state qualifying events.

If you come out among the leaders in the state tournaments you advance to the regional’s where you could possibly achieve fame and fortune.

For more information on this or any of the local bass tournaments visit www.fishingwitheddie.com.

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