Florida Freshwater Fishing Forecast for December 28-January 4, 2025
Sunday's Comprehensive Fishing Article for Florida's Freshwater Anglers
Good Fishing Before and After the Cold Front
The Florida Freshwater Fishing Forecast for December 21-24, 2025, gives anglers a waxing first quarter moon which today is six days away from being at full strength, and a weather forecast which will produce ideal conditions until late Monday when a twenty-degree high pressure cold front begins to enter the state, producing strong west winds late in the afternoon and evening. However, fish will be in a pre-front, better-than-average feeding pattern today and Monday.
The approaching high-pressure system is a slow mover and will produce nighttime temperatures in the mid-thirties Tuesday through Thursday night. Water temps will drop enough to shut down fish feeding activity during the three-day period.
But the good news is warmer ideal temperatures will return just in time for the full moon fishing Saturday and next Sunday. The underfoot period will occur during the warm water period during the early afternoon hours and with the strong lunar influence, fish should be feeding well above average rates. And bright sunshine is predicted every day over the next nine days so you can expect water temps to climb in the shallow feeding grounds daily.
When the water temperatures drop out of the ideal feeding temperature range of seventy to eighty degrees, which will be the case beginning Wednesday, and remains in the mid to upper sixty-degree range as the daily norm, fish naturally feed during the warmest water period of the day.
It doesn’t matter much what the lunar factor is when water temps are sixty-seven degrees or lower for a daily high mark. Slow metabolism speeds trump all other fishing factors. The colder it is the less fish need to feed. So conversely, when water temperatures climb after six to seven hours of bright sunshine fish will naturally move into the warmer shallow waters and experience an increase in metabolism speeds which in turn enables a greater digestion, which results in a higher feed rate.
So, beginning Wednesday fish will be in their seasonal winter-feeding pattern of feeding in the warm water period of the day, every day, regardless of where the moon is. However ‘solar energy intensity spikes’ will be a positive factor. And for the next ten days the moon will be causing daily high solar energy spikes in the hours directly after the daily underfoot lunar periods.
Fishing will be good before and after the three-day cold front interference this week.
(End of Highlands News Sun Article)
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Solar-Lunar Factor: Solar noon occurs at 12:27:21 p.m. EST. today, and will advance over the next ten days to 12:32:00 p.m. EST. The first quarter moon occurred yesterday. The lunar orbit perigee occurs Thursday, the lunar high position within the solar energy path happens Friday, and the full moon arrives Saturday. In other words, for the next two weeks, the lunar affect will be a factor to consider when planning your fishing strategy. And plan for a very strong full moon phase, especially the first half Friday through next Sunday.
Weather Factors: Today fog will be a major factor when fishing the major underfoot period, but fish will be in the shallow feeding grounds where they’ve been for the past three days consistently. With the medium strength moon, feeding activity should be fairly good.
Pre-front conditions will begin late today which should greatly improve fishing during the hours just prior to and after the sunset, when the moon is overhead. Winds will shift from the northeast to the south and west, signaling the front will soon arrive. However this high pressure system is a slow mover so I’m predicting the pre-front conditions will last through tonight and into the sunrise-underfoot period Monday morning. You’ll know when the front has arrived and the pre-front period has ended when the west wind picks up speed.
Monday wind speeds will become a factor by mid to late morning, reaching speeds of fifteen mph from the west. And Tuesday temperatures will drop twenty degrees, and a strong northwesterly wind will prevail and continue through Wednesday and most of Thursday.
This weather system is the first winter weather of the season which will cause fish to change their feeding pattern from feeding-at-will due to high metabolism speeds, to feeding when metabolism speeds peak for the day due to accumulated solar energy after hours of bright sunshine.
The best fishing periods during the winter weather feeding pattern occur when there is a strong lunar period occurring during the warmest water period of the day. It doesn’t matter much whether it’s a major or minor period, except during the strong full moon phases of the winter season, the daily major feeding effort will occur when metabolism speeds peak for the day.
It should be noted that an ideal west wind speed of eight to ten mph will occur daily from Wednesday through next Sunday---always a sign of a winter weather pattern coming to stay for an extended period. As a result fish will follow the food chain in the opposite direction of the past three months which mainly was influenced by a northeast to easterly wind. East shoreline and west island shoreline feeding areas will soon be inhabited in greater numbers than previously.
Solunar - Weather Variable: With the moon moving into its most solar interfering days of its twenty-eight-day cycle, daily solar energy spikes mainly during the overhead and underfoot period will increase substantially.
Over the next seven days the underfoot period will boost fish metabolism speeds in two ways. The first will occur when the physical energy increases caused by positive ion levels spiking from the increase in lunar interference and the second occurs due to the increase in thermal energy caused by the energy spike and accumulated solar heat during the late morning to midafternoon hours.
It’s a known fact that fish can’t feed “Cold” nor “Hot”. And fish are just as comfortable during the hot water period of the summer, that is, “if” there is enough dissolved oxygen to breath in, as they are when they hibernate and feed just enough to sustain life during the winter months. Here’s in Florida’s freshwater bodies, fish feed almost daily during the warm water months and feed twice per week during the fifty-to-sixty-degree temperatures during the winter months when cold fronts prevail.
Anglers therefore will need to adjust their strategies to the winter fish feeding migration which will occur over the next seven days and will remain until a warm southern weather system interferes.
Major Solar-Lunar Period: Today the moon is underfoot at 6:52 a.m. producing a feed rating of five to six from 5:30-8:30 a.m. Daily the underfoot moon occurs later by an average of fifty-six minutes over the next four days and the feed rating will remain unchanged until the second half of the week when a strong full moon seven-day phase begins Wednesday. The feed rating will gradually climb to eight or perhaps nine by Saturday.
Minor Solar Lunar Periods: The moonrise occurs today at 12:40 p.m. and solar noon at 12:27 p.m. and combining these two solunar factors the warmest water period of the day from 12-4 p.m. the feed rating could and most likely will climb to five or perhaps six from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Daily the moonrise occurs later by an average of forty-seven minutes over the next four days, and the feed rating will remain unchanged through the midweek but will diminish heading into next weekend.
A second minor period happens today when the moon is overhead at 7:16 p.m. producing a feed rating of three to four from 6-8:30 p.m. Daily the overhead moon occurs later by an average of one hour over the next four days and the feed rating will be in the two to three range.
A third minor period happens today when the moonset occurs at 12:54 a.m. producing a feed rating of two or perhaps three from 12-1:45 a.m. Daily the moonset occurs later an average of by sixty-two minutes over the next four days and will remain at the same feed rating.
Prime Monthly Periods: December 31-January 6, 2026, strong full moon, 15-20 very weak new moon, Jan. 28-February 3 strong full moon, 14-20 new moon, Feb 28-March 5 full moon, 16-21 new moon, March 29-April 4 full moon, 14-21 strong new moon.
My Personal Bass Fishing Plan: When water temps drop into the sixty degree range or lower, I downsize bait as in short but very fat. My go to bait most days are one ounce black and red jigs with the same color trailers. My retrieve speed is ultra slow comprised with several very long pauses characterized by a rocking motion when paused next to plant root bases. And my favorite areas are where wind driven water returns from the shoreline shallows back toward the open deeper water---undertow areas.
I also use solid tube sized baits and fat thick creature baits with one ounce rattling bullet black weights up front. And “flipping” with some “pitching” are the preferred methods of bait presentation. Note, the silent bait entry is essential in causing the bass to suck-in the bait, anything unnatural such as a huge splash or any splash at all, will be ignored by the predator hunter female bass. And as most of you already know, the bigger the female, the more you won’t feel her suck it in. Try a yellow braided line in the sixty-five-to-eighty-pound range, it will help you notice the subtle ‘taking’ of your bait.
Lake Istokpoga S68 Spillway and Lake Level Status: Lake level is currently at 37.75 NAVD88 with four S68 spillway gates closed. The NAVD88 Offset to NGVD29 is + 1.16 feet = 38.91NGVD29. Current maximum high level is 39.5’ NGVD and the low level is 38.5’ NVGD.
Dave Douglass has been an artificial bait only bass fishing guide since 2005, and the writer of the Highlands News-Sun fishing forecast article since Oct. 2016 and previously the writer of the Highlands Today fishing forecast article which began in Nov. 2005. Contact email DavidPDouglass@hotmail.com or phone 863-381-8474.