Now that December is upon us I’d like to welcome back our returning snowbirds and give a first welcome to our new snowbirds coming down to Central Florida. For those that aren’t familiar with our area we have hundreds of lakes and world class bass fishing. If you have not experienced the tremendous fishing opportunities in Winter Haven or the grandeur of Olde World Florida on the Kissimmee Chain fishing out of Camp Mack, you owe it to yourself, and friends, family, kids, grandkids, take ‘em all out! So let’s get right into our December 2025 Florida Bass Fishing Report.
Looking at the extended range forecast it should be a great month for chasing some trophy bass with highs in the upper 70’s and lows in the mid to upper 50’s. If it’s mostly sunny the lakes should stay in the low 70’s and if we get clouds and rain they will most likely be in the upper 60’s (which is cooler than normal for this time of year). With all that said, the fish should be primed for an early move up to the flats and along the edges of creek channels. I often like to fish spots with “deep” water nearby, preferably some shell beds, and healthy vegetation.
Let’s start out at Camp Mack, an Old Florida Marina & RV Resort on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. I like to keep a full rod locker out on these lakes to include the following baits: Z-Man Chatterbaits with their ChatterSpike trailer, Spro Frogs, black & blue stickbaits, Gambler EZ Swimmers, ZMan JerkShadZ (flukes), Culprit Fat Max ribbon tail worm for swimming, Z-Man Palmetto BugZ or Turbo CrawZ for flipping, and a Devil’s Horse for topwater.
Moving over to the Winter Haven South Chain the lakes we’ll be focusing on fish primarily in the 6ft-14ft of water. I’m gonna expect a decent wave of pre-spawn fish feeding up the first & third week of the month then post-spawn females really feeding hard after the full & new moons. On trips here I’m most likely focusing on the grasslines. Up “shallow” it’s mostly swim jigs or a 1/4oz Z-Man Willow Vibe with a 3” grab trailer, smaller swimbaits and stick baits, Jerk ShadZ (flukes) but as we move out deeper I’ll start to include cranks baits, deeper diving jerkbaits, and Rattle Traps. With the cleaner spring fed waters of many of these lakes natural colors are typically best in bait selections. Hope you re able to take something from this December 2025 Central Florida Bass Fishing Report and use it on the water.
Capt. Scotty Taylor, owner Taylor Made Charters and TMC Guide Service
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