Tis' the Season to Be Jolly, Bass Fishing will get Better Every Day
There is always some great news about Christmas time of year in the South, and North Alabama is no exception. When we have winter it generally occurs in December maybe into the first 2 weeks of January. Past that the days are getting longer and the bass fishing keeps getting better. The term we hear all the time this time of year, called the Winter Solstice, and it being the shortest day of the year, has some great meaning other than the obvious, a short day!
What it tells us is that the next day we start gaining daylight, and the days get longer everyday by about 2 minutes. The bass believe it or not react to the longer days, they feed more, they move up and down the shallow cover areas with just a little sunlight, the warm sunny afternoons become prime time fishing and your chance of hanging that record lunker comes with every cast.
I have many customers and friends that want to wait until the chance of cold weather is gone completely before they hit the water again. My comments to them remain the same; you may miss the best time of year. It's cold sometimes, and some days the bass just don't bite. So get up later because there is really no need to get on the water at first light, wait a couple of hours the best fishing comes midday. That longer day, everyday for the next several months just increase your chances of a big fish and a record bag and a lot of fun. Yes this time of year is the season to be jolly and Christmas is just one of the reasons.
However, if you live in my world these longer days make me happier than any of the present giving holidays. You see the best present I can give is to my customers; that being watching them catch a personal best bass or a 30-pound stringer and every day you are on the water from Christmas until the heat of the summer offers me that gift of giving.