Largemouth Bass Fishing in the Fall/Early Winter

[Matt Bacola]

I’d like to make a trip to GA to bass fish some small private lakes this fall/winter and I’m looking for suggestions on when the best time would be? I live in Ohio and in my experience, with the exception of potentially a short window around pre-spawn and spawn and sometimes a small fall feed window (usually in October) the Largemouth Bass fishing here is best when the water temps are the highest in July. I believe things are likely in different in GA, as the water temps get a lot higher and potentially make the fishing tough in the summer? How’s the fishing typically in the fall/early winter? Any times that are typically better than others? Any time to avoid? They plan will be to fish some small private lakes which may change the equation a bit as deep ledge fishing will not be an option. Any feedback, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[bigbassin']

If the area you’re looking at is in North Georgia, fall would probably be the way to go. I’m not sure I’d make a trip north of Macon in the wintertime. In and around Atlanta last year, I didn’t catch a bass from around December until March, didn’t consistently catch them until April and May.

 

From what I saw, there weren’t many bass reports being posted during the time I wasn’t catching fish so I don’t think it was just me.

 

Now you say small private ponds, which to me sounds more like South Georgia. Winter fishing as you get closer to the Florida line should get better going off of reports I’ve seen, however fall and spring are still going to be the best. Be aware I’ve never fished between Macon and the Florida line so that’s just secondhand information.

If the goal is to reach the best winter  bass fishing or to escape the cold, I’d recommend you keep going south to Central Florida. November through the end of March is the best season for fishing down there.

[Matt Bacola]

14 hours ago, bigbassin' said:

If the area you’re looking at is in North Georgia, fall would probably be the way to go. I’m not sure I’d make a trip north of Macon in the wintertime. In and around Atlanta last year, I didn’t catch a bass from around December until March, didn’t consistently catch them until April and May.

 

From what I saw, there weren’t many bass reports being posted during the time I wasn’t catching fish so I don’t think it was just me.

 

Now you say small private ponds, which to me sounds more like South Georgia. Winter fishing as you get closer to the Florida line should get better going off of reports I’ve seen, however fall and spring are still going to be the best. Be aware I’ve never fished between Macon and the Florida line so that’s just secondhand information.

If the goal is to reach the best winter  bass fishing or to escape the cold, I’d recommend you keep going south to Central Florida. November through the end of March is the best season for fishing down there.

Thanks! That's good information! You say you didn't catch a bass from December until March, how was the fishing in September / October / November? I'm guessing that the fishing could actually improve for a while as the water temps drop a bit coming out of summer and then start to go downhill once they get too cold?

[bigbassin']

Spent September and November fishing for trout, October was the only month in the fall I fished where bass would be. Only fished for about 4 hours total for the month, did catch a few bass and tons of panfish. 
 

Overall though, people typically do pretty good fall fishing.

 

My thought on the weather is it gets cold enough to move fish to deep water, and without a boat I can’t really access them. I don’t think it’s cold enough that they completely shutoff, you just have to know what you’re doing to catch them.
 

My other issue is that most of my fishing is wading rivers, which most rivers are high, fast, muddy, and cold during winter time making it unsafe to access most spots.