Dec 3 - After coming back to the dock twice to pick a couple of guys, we hit the water for a couple of hours. Found fish on Merimac hump and Spillway hump. Spillway hump had the largest concentration of fish on the NW side in 13 - 15 FOW. Water temp was 61. I found a 20 yard long line of fish that were active. Most of what we caught were magnums. We caught and released 32 whites, 1 yellow and 1 cat using Mepps #4 and slabs.

Dec 9 - I Went out solo between 12 and 3:30. Stayed on Merimac hump the whole time due to the wind. The fish were stacked on the north and NW side in 13 to 18 FOW. Water temp was 60. I caught and released 42 keeper whites. The fish wanted the Mepps #4 slow rolled using the crank and stop strategy. I tried to use a jig and slab but got nothing even though I was right on top of the fish. They were still biting when I left. One observation that I made was that several fish had red areas on their belly. Maybe from being plastered on the bottom?

I see you mention spillway hump often, is it marked on lake map?

The hump is in the middle of the lake due east of the spillway. You can find it on any topo map. Spillway hump is just the name locals have given it. Find any post made by Dennis Christian. He has a link at the bottom of his posts that show a CC map with associated names for various spots.

12/8/2021: I made a scouting run checking Long Ridge, Mid-lake Hump, 3-Jug Hump, Merimac Point, Iron Wall Hump, and Kevin's Point. Good news - there were fish at all these places, and I was able to catch them easily fishing straight down jigging and lifting a #4 silver Mepps from the bottom. I fish straight down when the fish are in 19 fow to 28 fow. When they are shallow (10 to 15 fow), I cast to them and work the Mepps back to the boat along the bottom. The finicky biting that has plagued us since August seems to have finally ended. A note of caution, at one spot I fished last week I caught a half dozen hybrids the same size as the white bass, so be careful what you keep.

12/11 and 12/14: Both days, I found good concentrations of fish on Saint Annes Point East. Fish are in 11 to 15 fow and they are taking either a #2 or #4 Mepps. Today, all were on a #4 - caught a limit in 45 minutes. Today I also found many fish at Long Ridge West (20 to 23 fow) and Key Ranch Drop-off in 12 to 14 fow. Caught 50 whites,a 23-inch hybrid,and 3 cats in 2 hr and 15 minutes today.- all on #4.

Dec 16 - Fished 12 - 4. Caught and released 47 in 13 - 18 FOW and water temp was 60.6. I only fished Key Ranch Drop Off and used Mepps #4. The fish wanted it slow rolled on the retrieve between pauses. I was marking medium size groups but they kept moving. After several attempts to relocate, I just stayed in one spot and let them pass by my location. I would catch 2 or 3 and then a lull. This was how it went during the afternoon. I also caught 1 LMB (3 pound), 1 Cat (5 pound) and 2 large yellow bass.

Thanks for your report. As the water cools down, at some point, fish will leave the shallow structures, and you will have to find them in 20 to 27 fow. On CC I have not had to deadstick - I can catch them fishing straight down by jigging and lifting a #4 Mepps on the bottom after locating them. They are easiest to locate by putting sonar on Zoom at X4. They look like bumps on the bottom - sometimes connected and sometimes separate.

Neat thread!

12/21/2021: Today I had guests Randy and Pat Vines fish with me. They had contacted me through the forum about showing them how I locate and catch fish. We fished from 10 AM until 3:15 PM. To maximize showing Randy how I locate fish, I used my scouting strategy of catching 5 to 15 fish at a spot then go look for fish at other spots. We found fish at every spot I checked and caught fish on all but two - Saint Annes Point East and the north finger of Spillway Hump. We caught fish at Long Ridge, Key Ranch Drop-off, 3-Jug Hump, Merimac Point, the western fork of Spillway Hump, Enchanted Isle Ridge, Game Warden Hump, and Spillway Point. We all used silver #4 Mepps Aglia spinners. In shallow water (10 to 15 fow) we cast to the fish; in deeper water (18 to 24 fow), we fished straight down on the bottom jigging, then lifting or moving the Mepps upwards or sideways. We ended up with 105 fish: 100 white bass, 2 nice yellow bass, 2 hybrids 21 and 22 inches, and a 3 lb largemouth bass.

The day started cold and foggy but cleared out and warmed up by noon. Here are some pics of the trip and some screenshots of what my graph looks like on sonar and side scan when I am on fish:

Randy holding a big white bass with Pat admiring it.


Randy and I with a double.


Yours truly with the 22 inch hybrid.


Sonar with 4X magnification of left side.


Sonar and side-scan side by side.

Do you guide Dennis? I live on Cedar Creek and havent done a lot of wintertime fishing.

Water temp in the 50s but fish are still relatively shallow and no need for DSing. Woohoo great catching day! You are da MAN, DC!

Great report. Thank you Mepps white bass master and mentor. Happy holidays!