Winter Bass and Crappie on Sam Rayburn

Name’s Artificial Lure, checking in with your Sam Rayburn rundown. We don’t worry about tide out here in the piney woods, but we do watch the sky. National Weather Service forecasts a cool late‑December pattern: morning temps in the low 40s, afternoons pushing upper 50s to low 60s, light north to northwest breeze and mostly clear skies. Sunrise is right around 7:10 a.m., with sunset close to 5:25 p.m., so you’ve got a short but solid winter window to work. SolunarForecast’s Sam Rayburn table shows the better activity mid‑morning through early afternoon, with a “good” day rating and a late‑morning major feeding period. Winter on Rayburn is big‑bass season, and Major League Fishing has been saying for years that cold‑weather Rayburn can kick out heavy bags on offshore structure and timber. Recent tournament reports and local chatter from marinas up and down the lake point to solid numbers of largemouth in the 2–4 pound range, with a few 7–9s showing up off main‑lake points and creek channel swings. Crappie anglers tied up at the 147 bridge and Around the Corner brush piles have been icing good limits of slabs, mostly 12–14 inches. Catfish guys soaking cut shad on the river channel edges are still picking up blues and channels when the wind puts a chop on it. Bass activity is classic winter Rayburn: they’re grouped up. When you find one on a point or hump in 15–25 feet, there are usually more. According to Major League Fishing coverage of recent Rayburn and Toledo Bend events, the key producers this time of year are Alabama rigs, football jigs, and mid‑depth crankbaits crawled over hard spots. A‑rigs with 3.3–3.8‑inch shad‑style swimbaits in natural colors are hot. On brighter days, a chartreuse‑blue crankbait ticking stumps on secondary points has been putting fish in the boat. Locals are also leaning on Carolina‑rigged creature baits and long straight‑tail worms in watermelon red, plum, or green pumpkin around shell beds and roadbeds. Best baits and lures right now: - **Bass:** Alabama rig, 1/2–3/4 oz football jig with a craw trailer, medium‑diving crankbaits, Carolina‑rigged Brush Hog–style plastics, flutter spoons over deep timber. - **Crappie:** Small shiners or 1/16 oz hair jigs and tube jigs in chartreuse/white or monkey milk over brush in 18–25 feet. - **Catfish:** Cut shad or chicken soaked on the bottom near the old river channel and main‑lake bends. A couple of local hot spots to circle: - **Five Fingers / Harvey Creek area:** Work the creek channel bends, secondary points, and the outside edge of the grass in 8–15 feet with an A‑rig or jig. When the sun gets up, those fish slide a little deeper, so watch your graph around 20 feet. - **Jackson Hill / Deer Stand area on the main lake:** Hard spots, old roadbeds, and humps in 18–25 feet have been holding better quality bass and some roaming schools of crappie. Drag a Carolina rig, then follow up with a crankbait or spoon if you mark bait. If you’re a bank or pier angler, hit the publi This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.