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Date: December 24, 2025
Location: Neighborhood Pond
Conditions: 57°F, Overcast, Light Wind
Water Temp: Low 40s (Cold!)
There is a specific kind of stillness that settles over the Midwest right before a weather shift. Today, Christmas Eve, felt like a gift from the atmosphere. While we should be shivering, we’re sitting in the middle of a strange, beautiful warm front. It hit 57 degrees today with heavy gray skies, and they’re calling for 67 tomorrow. But I know the deal—the "real" winter is lurking just behind the weekend, waiting to drop the hammer.
I knew I had a small window, so I headed down to the neighborhood pond for a solo mission. This pond can be notoriously tight-lipped when the water temps are in the 40s, but I wasn't just there to fish; I was there to learn.
The Experiment: The "Dying Dance"
Lately, you can’t look at a tournament scorecard without hearing about the jighead minnow. It’s the darling of the Forward Facing Sonar (FFS) world, but I wanted to see if I could make it work from the bank, purely on feel and intuition.
The Rig:
Jighead: 3/16 oz 6th Sense (90-degree eyelet).
Plastic: Zoom Fluke in the 'Houdini' color.
The Connection: A Loop Knot.
I can't stress the loop knot enough. If you tie this bait tight to the eye, you kill the soul of the lure. The loop knot allows that jighead to swing and pivot, giving the fluke that erratic, shimmying action that looks exactly like a shad on its last leg.
The Technique: I’m still far from a pro at the retrieval. It’s a delicate balance—you want to retrieve it slowly through the water column, but you incorporate these specific, quick "pops" of the rod tip. The goal is to make the minnow do a "dying dance." It’s a struggle, a flutter, and then a glide.
Two "Love Taps" and Two Big Bass
In water this cold, you don't get bone-jarring strikes. You get feedback. I was working the fluke through the gray water when I felt it—not a hit, but a "love tap." It’s that subtle weightiness that tells you a bass has just inhaled the bait and is sitting still.
I set the hook and realized quickly that this wasn't a dink. For a neighborhood pond, this was a tank—a solid 2 to 3-pounder. A few casts later, almost an identical scenario played out. Another soft take, another heavy fight.
To land two bass of that caliber on a day when the bite is this sluggish? That’s more than just luck. In the 40-degree water, they weren't chasing, but they couldn't resist that Houdini fluke dancing right in their faces.
Reflecting on the Eve
As I packed up my gear to head home for Christmas festivities, I felt incredibly fortunate. There is something soul-cleansing about being alone on the water on December 24th. No noise, just the rhythm of the cast and the challenge of a new technique.
These two fish were a reminder that even when the conditions say "stay inside," there’s always a way to crack the code if you’re willing to experiment. I’m heading into Christmas Day with a full heart and a little more confidence in the jighead minnow.
