Fall Bass FishingFall Bass Are In A "Feeding Frenzy"But It Doesn't Guarantee You'll Get Bit!
Ah, fall bass fishing and the living is easy. What a great time of year. As the days get progressively shorter the air begins to cool producing crisp, calm mornings on the water. Mother Nature brings out her palette of colors and paints a beautiful picture for our enjoyment. Many will tell you that fall bass fishing is easy, a time of abundance. A time when your days on the lake will be nothing but "bass catching bliss". Cast out a hot dog smothered in mustard, ketchup, relish and onions and you'll catch bass. It makes no difference what you use for bait, they'll hit it. I don't know where the people who say this have been fishing but it sure hasn't been in my boat. Granted, bass are aggressive this time of year. They're hungry and feeding, anxious to build up energy reserves for the coming cold water months. That doesn't mean they lose all the instinct and "conditioning" that enabled them to live to see another winter. They may not be intelligent in the literal sense of the word, but their instincts and ability to develop "conditioned responses" to stimuli also means they're not "stupid" as that word is classically defined. What's this mean to you? Fall bass fishing can be great fun with fast action or incredibly frustrating if you don't understand the habits and instinctual urges of bass and the effect seasons have on them.
Fall Location Transition, What Is It?There are regional differences to the rate of water temperature change but "generally speaking" the following holds true. In the fall, as morning lake water temperature drops to 80 and below, the water's oxygen level goes up. This triggers increased feeding activity in bass. Baitfish also begin to "school" in open water as well as in the mouths of creeks. Once the water temperature reaches the 70's the shad will begin their migration into the creek arms. Why? Probably because the amount of nutrients in the main lake has been reduced over the summer. The water there also cools as sunshine duration decreases. Thus, the rate of growth of plankton, upon which the shad depend for food, declines. However, the shallow water in the back of creeks remains warm longer and there can be found the last plankton blooms of the year. Filter feeders like shad are drawn to this. As fall advances, the water temperature continues to cool. Often, frequent fall rains arrive bringing runoff to the back of creeks. This "moving water" serves as a "mixer" and introduces higher levels of oxygen into the shallow water found there. This will be higher than what is found out in deeper main lake water this time of year. This runoff also delivers additional small nutrients into the water which also feeds baitfish. Guess who is close by? With fall bass fishing the bass will be close by the migrating shad, so should you.
Irregular weather patterns can bring cold weather one day only to see a warm day the next. An October night might bring cold air temperature as low as the high 30's to low 40's and drop the "surface temperature" from the 70's to the low 60's in one night. Does that mean the water temperature drops accordingly? No, most likely not. A few feet down the water will remain warmer and the bass will still remain deeper. Clear water lakes and reservoirs will cool at a slower rate than comparable stained bodies of water. In October bass may still be found in their summer pattern (deeper) in clear water lakes but already into the fall transition (movement to shallow water) in stained or murky water, as it cools faster. Surprisingly, even when fall rains bring colder water run-off into the back of creeks churning the water and making it muddy, you may find bass moving into this shallow water. Why? Because despite the murky conditions the water is higher in oxygen levels than the main lake. Since the water in the main lake has greatly reduced oxygen after a hot summer this influx of "new water" filled with oxygen stimulates both forage and bass alike despite the murky water.
So what does all this mean to you? It means bass will be feeding shallow, deep, and everywhere in between! It means the best locations for fall bass fishing will depend on temperature trends, time of day and types of available cover. It means bass will be moving! It means you must be moving too! Follow the forage. Find the bass. Fall bass fishing finds baitfish on the move into the creeks. However, they'll first gather in deeper water, often in the mouth of creeks before moving. These bait balls draw "schooling" bass around and under them. There will be bass large and small either breaking through these balls, using the surface as a "wall" against which to pin them, or lurking underneath to pick off any that flutter downward after being stunned by the onslaught above. Keep in mind that crappie and small bass are also hunting these bait balls and are likely to wind up as food for larger bass. After the baitfish begin their migration from the main lake into the creeks follow them as the bass will be.
So Where Do You Begin?Shallow Flats, Backs Of Creeks Or Staging Areas In Deeper Water? After chasing "schooling" bass, which is often a hit or miss proposition, you will want to follow the forage into the creeks as they pull off the main lake and head into the creeks. First off, a good starting point is the back of the creeks! Look for bass where you found them last spring. Look for creeks that have inflowing water and multiple secondary points and banks lined with brush, stumps, standing timber, log laydowns and rock. If you find any vegetation in the back of a creek it's time to dance a jig! Your best chances of this will be found in major creeks toward the head of the river. Work outward toward the mouth of the creek. Secondly, an opposite strategy is to start at the mouth and main points of creeks and work toward the back. Here you may find baitfish schooling prior to entering the creek arm. Bass will be suspended close by attacking the shad. Additionally, you may encounter shad and bass off the main points of creeks as they're moving out of creeks toward deeper water in late fall. Thirdly,seek out main lake flats when fall bass fishing. These are often the destination of fall baitfish and bass. Some bass, particularly smallmouth, will remain around such flats ambushing baitfish instead of moving into creeks. This is especially true if deep water is close by. The smallmouth will move up and down from shallow to deep throughout the winter months if they need to feed.
Transition, that is, when bass move into the creeks, does not occur simultaneously across a lake. Normally, the upper regions will be the first to experience the drop in water temperature that triggers the transition. If the lake is large those bass in the middle portion of the lake may still be in their late summer pattern while those at the lower end may are still in their deep water summer patterns. Target your areas accordingly. General Guidelines For Fall Bass Fishing
Suggested Fall Bass Fishing Lure Selection
Crankbaits in baitfish colors are great early fall bass fishing lures, especially in lakes without a lot of grass. They work well on points in 8-12' of water where there is a lot of rock or stumps. The bass are hungry and aggressive, driven to "fatten up' for the coming winter months. Crankbaits should be worked fairly fast and bumping the bottom since the bass are aggressively feeding. Don't give them a chance to see it well.Shallow and medium running cranks are also good for working shallow flats in the back of creeks or for that matter main lake flats. They can be productive when fished around isolated cover like a single sump or stick-up. Big bass, especially largemouth, love these type ambush points. Use crankbaits to rip just above the top of deeper remaining grass as a fall bass fishing tactic. Be aware that shallow running crankbaits lose some of their appeal to bass in late fall as bass aggression begins to subside.
Spinnerbaits are also good fall bass fishing lures, especially around remaining vegetation which is usually found in deeper water, the shallow vegetation having died off and in so doing consuming much available oxygen. These 'dead grass' areas in shallow water have become unsuitable areas for bass. Grab a 1/2 ounce spinnerbait with tandem willowleaf blades and cast parallel to the outside grass edge as you would a shoreline. Use a medium speed retrieve. Bass in the grass can be pulled out doing this.Slow rolling a 1/2 ounce spinnerbait with a #4 1/2 or #5 willowleaf blade 10' down through flooded timber is another presentation that can be productive. Try and bring the lure as close to the trunk as possible. Spinnerbaits perform best around cover and aren't the best choice for open water. So use them around wood, grass and brush. These also work well along sheer bluffs that have a ledge 15-20' down extending outward 5-10' feet. When cast parallel to the bluff wall and retrieved just below the service any smallmouth bass holding suspended over this ledge can be called up by this presentation. My preference here is a 1/2 to 3/4 ounce spinnerbait with a single #6 Colorado blade.
Buzzbaits and other topwater lures are good fall bass fishing lures. Both morning and late afternoon are good times for bass tend to stay shallow longer and feed longer in the fall. Since much fall feeding takes place on or close to the surface a buzzbait is a good way to draw a strike. Bass can't clearly identify what the object chugging across the surface is so they strike it to stop what might be a good meal before it gets away. If the water is calm use a buzzbait that just squeals as the blade rubs against the rivet. If the water is rippled or you're around heavy cover, go with a "clacker" version, which is more noisy and creates a bigger surface disturbance. The latter will provoke the bass to leave its cover and give chase.
Schooling bass form as the days of summer fade and fall presents itself. Schooling can happen any time but you will see it most often in early morning and late afternoon, even dusk.Groups of 1 1/2 to 4 pound bass will come together to feed on the balls of baitfish that form in open water or in the mouths of creeks. Lunkers too, will circle lazily around the school waiting to pick off any baitfish that drift down stunned from the surface melee or are attempting a dash to sneak to the bottom to hide. 'Easy pickins', just like the "big uns" like it. Look for birds diving into, hovering over or just resting on the water. They're there because the baitfish are there. Move toward them without your main motor!!! You'll spook them for sure. Don't run directly into the school either! Ease up with your trolling motor and make long casts into or just past the school. Throw topwaters like Zara Spooks, Smithwick Devil's Horse, Lucky Craft Sammy's or even a buzzbait. To get to the bass under the school throw spinnerbaits (a little hard to cast long distance though) counting them down before starting your retrieve. Spoons are great for reaching bass lurking under the school looking for dead or dying shad. Plus, you can cast them a mile. And don't forget lipless crankbaits, like the Rat-L-Trap. Castability is a consideration for all lures used for fishing schooling bass. I've had good success when fall bass fishing by casting Berkley Hollow Belly and Yum Money Minnow swimbaits on weighted hooks into schools and counting them down 10'. I then begin my retrieve keeping the lure at about 8'.
Soft plastics always have their place but in fall bass fishing you'll get more reaction bites on faster moving baits. However, I have found a particularly effective and enjoyable way to fish fluke style soft plastics in schooling bass. I also use this in early spring for fishing flats. I take two white Zoom flukes and rig them on a three way swivel tied to 10-12lb monofilament. Both are paired with a 4-0 wide gap hook. They will drift slowly downward imitating perfectly a dying baitfish. I've also used Falcon weighted hooks if I want them to fall faster. You can cast this setup a country mile. Then each is tied to the end of fluorocarbon leaders, one 6-8" long and the other 10-12" long. I cast this rig into or past the schooling activity letting it sink before either beginning my jerk, pause, jerk, jerk, pause retrieve. Sometimes I just let them drift slowly toward the depths. I've yet to hook two at the same time doing this but I've seen it happen for other guys. Try it. It's a hoot! Another presentation for cooler water when fall bass fishing is a Drop-Shot rig hooked up with a fluke or Senko. However, unlike drop-shotting in spring, do not jiggle or shake the bait. Just let it "dead-stick" around structure move it ever so slightly around cover. Less rather than more action is better with this approach.
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