Fishin' In The Fall.

[Nick86794]

So in my first post, I introduced myself and my backround of bass fishing. Just to sum it up, I come from a successfull High School Bass Fishing Team from Illinois and now attend UW-Stevens Point and have joined thier fishing team who are currently ranked top 15 in the nation!

Okay, enough of that talk. Lets get down to why you are reading this. Fall bass fishing. Easy right? Or so you have heard. You can't ignore that fact that bass are moving into more shallow water to feed before winter comes yes? Well do you know exactly why? If you have ever fished in the fall, you would have notice that there are usually baitfish and panfish scattering everywhere. Why? Because bass are trying to eat 'em up for supper so they can fatten up for winter.

Now most people know why bass migrate to shallow water in the fall, but have you ever given a thought as to why thier food moves there? There are two good reasons. For one, as the weather cools off from all the rain they shad make kick start thier migration routes towards more shallow water such as creeks and creek arms. As the weather cools, the rain picks up inticapating the cold snow of winter, so all the nutrients from the shoreline and land washes into the water. Also, a lot of the nutrients in the middle of the lake are most likely depleated and with the rain washing nutrients into the waters in the fall, it's natural for them to seek out a new food source. Shad depend on plankton as their main food source being that they are filter feeders, and as the water gets colder, the less plankton there are to chomp on. However, in the back of creeks, the water heats up quicker than it would in the main lakes, so thats is where the last of the plankton are going to be hanging around; thus the shad move towards the plankton in the back of creeks and whose trailing right on behind? Thats right Big Ol' mama bass whose lookin to fatten up for the long winter.

As the rains picks up, not only does it wash nutrients into the water that attract shad, but all that runoff water that flows into creeks acts as a air-bubbler. JUst as it would in a fish tank, it adds high levels of oxygen that help give fish thier energy they need to chase after thier food. The deeper you go into they lake this time a year, the less oxygen you will find too. This the the other main reason why bass are attracted to creeks and creek arms during the fall. Now being that it's fall, the weather will bring irregular patterns that'll bring cold weather one day and warm the next. Does this mean the water temperature drops and rises at the same rate as the surface temperature? Actually no. Maybe at the surface it will become a bit cooler, but if you go down about a foot or two, the water is mostly untouched by the weather; so if the weather is warm one day then cold the next, dont be discouraged that you won't catch anything, go out and keep to the same patterns as you did the day before, and switch it up if you find they aren't acting the same as the day before.

If you are fishing clear water, keep in mind that it cools at a slower rate than a murky or stained body of water. Why? Think of the last time you wore a dark colored shirt in summer. Got really warm didnt it? It also took longer to cool down too, this is because like a dark shirt in summer, murky and stained water attracts heat and retains it too. As you get into October, bass in clearer lakes may still be in their "summer" pattern, meaning they are deeper than those in murky water who are already in thier fall transition to more shallow water.

Even though baitfish are transitioning into shallow water, more than often they will gather up in deeper water, more towards the mouth of creeks; then they all travel as a big ball of shad, or "school" towards the creek. Bass usually lurke under theres schooling bait fish. Bass as you know arent dumb, they will use the surface of the water as a barrier for the baitfish and pin them against is and pick them off one by one. Big lunkers usually hang off behind the pack, pickin off the stunned baitfish that fall down towards the bottom after being stunned by other smaller bass.

There are three main places for you to fish this fall. One of them being the back of creeks. Find spots where you caught them earlier in the spring such as places that have flowing water and lots and lots of secondary points, banks that have brushm stums, rocks, standing timber, and log laydowns. If you happen to come upon any vegetation really work that jig. Do not be afraid to get it into the thick stuff.

Remember to work outwards towards the mouth of the creek. Secondly, you are going to do the opposite of the first stragety I just told you about. Instead of starting in the back of creeks, start at the mouth and main points on a creek and work towards the back. Here you will find that there might be shad schooling and getting ready for the transition into the creek. Thus, you will find bass attacking shad, and most likely they will be suspended off a major point. Lastly, try your best to find lake flats. This is where most baitfish and bass will end up, particularly smallmouth mouth with stay within a big flat and ambush baitfish coming up from deeper water. The small mouth will tend to move up and down from the shallow flat to deep water in the winter months if they need to feed.

Some baits that are good for this time of year are crankbaits; usually in baitfish colors. Crankbaits work well in lakes without a lot of grass. Try trhowin them 8'-10' of water rippin it past or above rocks and or stumps. Crankbaits should be worked pretty fast and smacking the bottom since bass are aggressively seeking food. Do not what so ever give them a chance to see the crankbait. Make them chase after it and gobble it up. Shallow water crankbaits such as the Mann's Baby 1-Minus which I prefer, work well on shallow flats. Fish shallow crankbaits around a stick up, stumps and isolated cover.

Anothe great bait to use is the spinner bait. Spinnerbaits work well when teamed up with remaining vegetation which can be found in deeper water. Being that most vegetation has died off in shallow waters, try to stick closer to deeper water like the mouth of a creek where shad school up before moving shallow. I usually throw a 1/2_oz spinnerbait with dual blades, usually both willowleaf, and cast parallel to the outside edges of the grass as you would fish a shoreline; use a medium to moderate fast retrieve. Try not to fish spinnerbaits in open water, stick to structure suck as wood, like a dock or a fallen tree on a bank. Along with a spinnerbait try throwing a buzzbait. Since a lot if not most fall feeding is done close to the surface, this is a good way to get any hungry bass to strike. If the water is calm, just get the blade to "chirp" softly and slowly along the surface. If the water is more rippled due to moving or churning water, throw a buzzer that has a clacker which is more noise and creates a louder surface disturbance.

I personally prefer using jigs. Usually black and blue and the occational white. Anything from 1/4_oz to a 1/2_oz is fine, nothing too light or heavey. I usually use a 3/8_oz jig mainly because it isnt too heavy or too light. I have multiple trailers that I like to use. One of my favorites that you cant beat is a pork trailer. I prefer Uncle Josh pork trailers because bass love the taste and feel. Another is the Sweet Beaver by Reaction Innovation. My favorite color is Hematoma. Either size is fine but I prefer thier bigger size, the 4.20 over their smaller size 3.50- which has no realation to their color California 420, that I use for spring but thats a whole other story. The last trailer I use for my jigs I recently discovered from my high school fishing coach is by Netbait. The Paca Chunk in 2^3/4" It is a cross between plastic and pork. You get the action you would with a plastic bait, at the same time, the taste and feel of a pork trailer. There are many colors you can choose from but I ususlly get the chunk in either white or black and blue.

Any questions or comments please leave below.

You can email me too at welunick@yahoo.com but I would prefer anything left below unless its urgent.

Also attached are some picture of the trailers I use for my jigs.

Cabela's sells Reaction Innovation plastics while Bass Pro Shops sells Netbait. You can order these online or in store, of if you are lucky enough, you can find them at your local outdoor store such as a Fin 'n' Feather, or family owned stores.

[Grizzn N Bassin]

nice article man

[hooah212002]

If you are fishing clear water, keep in mind that it cools at a slower rate than a murky or stained body of water. Why? Think of the last time you wore a dark colored shirt in summer. Got really warm didnt it? It also took longer to cool down too, this is because like a dark shirt in summer, murky and stained water attracts heat and retains it too. As you get into October, bass in clearer lakes may still be in their "summer" pattern, meaning they are deeper than those in murky water who are already in thier fall transition to more shallow water.

You seem to be contradicting yourself here. Aren't you equating stained/darker water to a black t-shirt and saying it stays warmer longer? "murky and stained water attracts heat and retains it too" followed by "bass in clearer lakes may still be in their "summer" pattern"? Or was there a simple transposition of descriptors for water?

[Nick86794]

Big Hog. Hahah you are right. I got sidetracked writing about that and it must have gotten mixed up stating stuff like that. hahah my apologies. you know what I meant by it all anyways right?

[Nick86794]

What I meant to say was that since the water is murky and stained, the heat from the sun cannot penetrate the water as as it would with clear water, so naturally clear water would heat up faster and murky water would cool down faster. Get it?

[hooah212002]

Big Hog. Hahah you are right. I got sidetracked writing about that and it must have gotten mixed up stating stuff like that. hahah my apologies. you know what I meant by it all anyways right?

Yep, I got ya.

[hooah212002]

What I meant to say was that since the water is murky and stained, the heat from the sun cannot penetrate the water as as it would with clear water, so naturally clear water would heat up faster and murky water would cool down faster. Get it?

The concept isn't a difficult one to grasp, but it's probably one of those that are so obvious they are easily overlooked.

[Nick86794]

The concept isn't a difficult one to grasp, but it's probably one of those that are so obvious they are easily overlooked.

I know but coming from fishing on a team in high school, some people may not know about it ya know what I mean? and thank you for correcting me because I'd hate to give false info ya know?

[NCbassmaster4Life]

All you need to worry about in the Fall is chasing bait fish....rattle trap and top water bite, big ones in shallow creeks in about 1-6ft of water.

[Nick86794]

yes but you gotta know where to look for them

[gallowaypt]

I really appreciate articles like these, being so informative for new bass fishermen. Nick86794, in reference to your jig trailer choices, myself just now having bought my first jig, would greatly appreciate any advice as to how you rig/work this type of presentation. Also, maybe the specific jig head types you use with them? Thanks again for such a great read!

[JigMe]

Great write up, thanks. Someone else said it already, but chase the bait fish in the fall and you will catch them.

[cheezylotus]

good read, now let the temps drop!!!