I think I'm done for the year

[CybrSlydr]

Went fishing yesterday and hit up my PB spot as well as a couple other places I hadn't been to before at Salt Fork Lake.

Used the Deeper Pro+ to check out the contours of the PB spot.  Nothing too surprising aside from a drop off of about 5ft about 10ft out.  Didn't catch anything.

Deeper was reading the water temps at 50.  From reading it seems that 50 is great when you're warming up to it as it triggers pre-spawn action in bass but not so great when you're cooling down to it.

Once I get my new rod I'll take it out for a spin but I don't think I'll be catching any more fish until steelhead or it warms up in the spring.

[scaleface]

1 hour ago, CybrSlydr said:

From reading it seems that 50 is great when you're warming up to it as it triggers pre-spawn action in bass but not so great when you're cooling down to it.

That is opposite where I fish . The water is  usually much clearer now than spring and the bass are usually  feeding pretty good .

[Harold Scoggins]

144 days until spring!

[Oregon Native]

Catch quite a few bass in water in the low 40"s next to bank.  Have even used an A-rig along ice and had large mouth nail it.  Fishing is an adventure at times.

[lonnie g]

I noticed the bass in shallow water during the sunshine a couple of days ago here. looked like they were chasing minnows and blue gill

[CybrSlydr]

Maybe Ill give her a go when I get my new rod next weekend.

[J.Vincent]

Yep up here in Michigan , I'm still seeing shallow active Largemouth at the peak temperature of the day , especially when we have plenty of sun to warm the water. The bass I'm seeing are also foraging for Bluegill at the edge of the reeds and closer to wood cover. This should continue until mid November, but I agree the season is winding down 

[BassinSoldier]

I feel so bad for y’all norfers every time I see these. At least ya DO have the salmonids n other cold water fish to hold ya over?

[Boomstick]

I'm done for the year because the effects of chemo make my hands go numb in a very unpleasant manner, but I'd still be trying otherwise, at least as time allows with my son's travel hockey!

 

If the water's 50+, I would try a lipless crank. Once it drops below 50 degrees, spoons seem to remain be rather effective if you can find a deeper spot.

[Paul Roberts]

Bass will bite at 50F, and below. But you most often have to s-l-o-w down. Jigs, Chatters/SBs, jerks will work, but... you've REALLY got to S--L--O--W down. Slower than you might realize. A bit too fast and the lake will seem dead. It's not, it's just now in slo-mo.

 

Below 50F is when bladebaits, and lipless fished the same -yo-yoing- work really well. The trick is to minimize horizontal (forward) speed. That's why the yo-yoing. 

 

Locations may change too. In large waters, where bass may have to cover some distance to get to winter quarters, they may start heading out when water temps hit 50F. Many bass though, esp in natural lakes and ponds, may not have to move far. I commonly see bass in very shallow in low 40'sF water.

 

In the small waters I fish, I find the bass are still surface oriented, as that's where the heat still is. By the time the water hits 40F though, my fish move away from the shoreline out to deeper, now the warmer, water. They like "inside turns" in structure or cover, that create a bowl shape. They do not like to fight current at this time. In my dishpan-shaped more cover-free waters, bass will collect up near any object, sometimes just a single cover piece.

 

Bass are still interested in food, but they eat much less, and tend to shift to small prey items. For me, the Ned grubs, and hair jigs, are all need when the water is that cold.

 

You don't have to throw in the towel. It's just a different playing field.

[The Bassman]

I was out this afternoon in 30 mph wind with temp right at 50. Really frustrating that I was still spooking bass right off the bank. Bear in mind though that I fish smaller lakes on foot. The sun's effect is still pretty strong here. Last year I was catching fish right up to ice up and as soon as it went out the end of Jan. @Paul Robertsgave some good advice above.

[Team9nine]

There is no such thing as "too cold" for bass if you are willing to keep fishing. Last winter I caught them right up until ice. Some days the lake was half frozen over already, and other days it was literally freezing over as I fished, to the point that when I left, I could no longer fish what was a completely open pond just hours before. Then there were the trips in January and Feb. where a couple days of warm weather would open the ponds for a day or two, and I caught bass then, too. In the pic below, you'll see snow on the ground, and the pond edge completely frozen. I had to slide the bass over the ice shelf the last 5-10 feet just to land them, and then give them a good push to slide them back out to open water when released. I think they enjoyed the play time 

 

[Bluebasser86]

Find banks with deep water nearby. If you can find a topo map, look for the areas with the lines close together near the bank and fish those areas with slow moving baits like a suspending jerkbait or shakyhead. Dams and bluff banks will usually have deep water nearby and the rocks hold heat and a couple degrees makes a big difference during the winter months. 

[CybrSlydr]

Unfortunately the weather looks pretty bad for the forseeable future. 

Looking at a couple inches of rain on Wednesday and Thursday and temps in the low 60s to mid 50s.

 

Sunday might be fishable with AM showers but sun in the afternoon.

[scaleface]

Get out while you can . I caught 74 bass in two  trips last week . 73  came on    a spinnerbait .  Both days had high bluebird skies , light north wind and water temp in the low to mid 50's . I hope to make it a couple of more times in november . 

[Spankey]

39 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Get out while you can . I caught 74 bass in two  trips last week . 73  came on    a spinnerbait .  Both days had high bluebird skies , light north wind and water temp in the low to mid 50's . I hope to make it a couple of more times in november . 

I hear that. If I can get out two or three more times by mid November I’ll be happy. Rains ruined my season this year. I’ve gotten out, I’ve caught fish, I found a new home due to Mother Nature. But all in all it was thrown way off. Nice numbers your getting. A few more bass for me and I’ll be happy going into winter. I’ll be fishing for some stream trout until water gets hard. 

[CybrSlydr]

47 minutes ago, scaleface said:

Get out while you can . I caught 74 bass in two  trips last week . 73  came on    a spinnerbait .  Both days had high bluebird skies , light north wind and water temp in the low to mid 50's . I hope to make it a couple of more times in november . 

Astounding!

 

I can't imagine catching that many fish!

[Paul Roberts]

14 hours ago, Team9nine said:

There is no such thing as "too cold" for bass if you are willing to keep fishing.

Ditto that.

 

Here are 2 videos I made last winter that you might find helpful for understanding just what's going on for bass during winter...

 

 

 

[scaleface]

15 minutes ago, CybrSlydr said:

Astounding!

 

I can't imagine catching that many fish!

I like to fish small public lakes . I can usually  pattern bass much quicker than on large reservoirs . The one i have been fishing is 200 acres .  

[TnRiver46]

Fishing season is just kicking into full gear for me........ Rubbing it in.........

 

[Bankbeater]

With the ponds around here, you can have the temps holding around 45 degrees all day and catch one bass after another.  You have a day that starts out at 35 degrees and warms up to 70 degrees, and those same bass get lockjaw. 

[Bluebasser86]

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Fishing season is just kicking into full gear for me........ Rubbing it in.........

 

The older and crankier I get, the more I enjoy fishing during the winter when the fair weather fishermen and water fleas are nowhere to be found. Plus it seems every year for the last several years, I've caught my largest bass of the year in the months of January-March. 

[Hook2Jaw]

I feel bad for you guys up North.  At least all your personal best snowballs are bigger than mine.

[Spankey]

But all of our winters are not created equal. We all share the same dates on the calendar as to when seasons start but that’s about all. North Eastern part of the country is no comparison to parts of the south. I’m not envious. But you don’t know what winter is. 40-50 degree days up here in the heart of winter are like a spring thaw. We don’t have anyone to plow boat ramps and run salt spreaders. I’m only trying to say up here it does come to an end unless you want to put a hole in the ice. 

[WVU-SCPA]

November/December is my favorite time to fish in PA.

 

Muskie, pike, and big bass all will fall for a jerkbait,  steelhead are running from the great lakes, and big brown trout have left their summer haunts to spawn.  Don't fish them on redds,  but once they are finished spawning its fair game.

 

Lakes are drawn down,  meaning you don't need to launch the boat to hit spots.

 

The first decent snow fall,  hit a tail water or a lake that has open water.  There is a calming feeling fishing in the peace of falling snow.