HOW THEY’RE BITIN’: Southwest Georgia fishing – Dec. 19, 2014 weekend

LAKE SEMINOLE: Bass have slowed, but individual fish size is good. Fish spinnerbaits and buzzbaits up the Flint and Chattahoochee for the best results. Try the channels with Carolina rigs and jigging spoons and fish slowly in the cool weather. Hybrids are pretty good on the Flint River arm, though colder weather could change that. Rat-L-Traps and large spoons are the best baits. Crappies are good along the grasslines at 10 to 15 feet on minnows. Catfish and bream are very slow. (half fish)

LAKE WALTER F. GEORGE: Bass are fair. Fish numbers are good, but individual fish are running small. During warmer days, bass will bite in the shallow grass on shallow crankbaits. The shallow ledges may also produce and some fish are schooling late in the afternoons. Ledge fish are best on Carolina rigs and spoons. Crappies are slow, but some action can be had along the creek ledges on live minnows. Hybrids have been good, but are slowing down. Seek them near creek mouths and watch for warm-afternoon schooling activity. Bream and catfish are very slow at present. (one-quarter fish)

FLINT RIVER: The fishing is slow overall and may get slower as the weather continues to cool down. There remains the chance to catch a few shoal bass on warmer days by floating down the river casting shallow, crawdad-pattern crankbaits in the shoals or fishing in the shoals from the upstream side with lead-head jigs. Topwater fishing is very slow. Largemouths are slow regardless of the bait or tactics one is using. Crappies are slow, though some may be caught up creeks and sloughs. Fish size is good, but numbers are down. Hybrids may be fair downriver toward Lake Seminole. Bream are slow and catfish have slowed with the cooler water temperatures. (one-quarter fish)

LAKE BLACKSHEAR: Bass fishing has been fair, but few can guess what the cooler weather will bring. The best bass fishing has been on the main lake. Try crankbaits in a shad color pattern and look for structure in the 10 to 15-foot depth range. Crappies are good. Moderate numbers and pretty good sizes have been the norm. Jig fishing around bridge structure and along the river channel has been productive. Catfish are fair in deeper water at the 10 to 20-foot range. Colder weather will probably cause a slow-down in the catfish action on Blackshear as on other waterways. There are no positive reports on striper fishing and bream fishing is described as very slow. (one-quarter fish)