The bass have shut down.

[DogBone_384]

I'm in the same boat as many.  I goose-egged 7 out of 16 trips fishing S/E Mass and Cape Cod during September and October with my biggest fish being a 2.02 pound SMB.  I fished shallow/deep, throwing the kitchen sink and then some. 

 

I even got skunked at a 20 acre bowl known for good SMB that I know like the back of my hand.

 

I managed a swimbait sized read: (S-M-ALL) LMB today, in the rain, with water temps at 56.x.

 

I feel for the membership that's experiencing poor fishing like I am and hope it turns around before my waters turn solid.

[Bird]

Fish still hitting top water here in VA but heading to deer camp.

Back in the boat in December but will pick my days wisely, hate cold fingers. 

[Koz]

I’m going to disagree a bit on the discussions regarding water temperature. It should be remembered that how water temperature effects bass is dependent upon your location. So while temps in the 40’s or 50’s may be productive in NJ, down here in the south that’s frigid water for our bass.

 

For example, we’re in the fall transition here and air temp is upper 70’s and 80’s and water temp is still in the 70’s but the bass have shut down for now. In lakes during the transition you can expect bass to move to the shallows later in the day. But in most of the stormwater lagoons I fish have little or no depth change so the bass could gather anywhere. Also, there are no feeder streams. But we do have inlet and outlet pipes that connect the lagoons that balance water levels during heavy rains. Pressure from larger lagoons can create a stream like effect on connecting smaller lagoons nearby.

 

What this all means is that in the uniform depth lagoons the bass may be huddled in places out of casting range if the baitfish are in that vicinity. The only lagoons I have had success in this week are those without uniform depth and actually have shallow 1-2 foot water in some areas. But most lagoons are at 5 or so feet at the bank and max out at 7-9 feet. In my experience that’s not enough disparity to create a difference.

[Spankey]

13 hours ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

I only caught 10 fish on lipless cranks this year. Maybe i'm throwing it wrong or in the wrong spots but it's been a absolute bust for me this year. Love the KVD 1.5s though. Favorite colors have been Tennessee shad and chart black back. Sexy shad has also produced for me well in bodies of water with no shad. 

LOL! You southern guys have it soooo good down there. A friend of mine I used to fish tournaments with moved down to southern Georgia last year and caught his PB on New Years Eve. 7.2lb Largemouth on the alabama rig in cold open water. I was so jealous! 

Frog bite died off in early September in my neck of the woods. Once those night temps start reaching into the low 50s I give up on topwater. 

It’s not you most likely. You know how to handle yourself and you understand bait presentations. The metabolism of the fish change this time of year. What they were reaction striking during the summer is not happening now. The fall feed, the fall frenzy, that window may not be that big. And I’m willing to bet in some parts of the country it’s rather small window. One may feel October, November is the big fall feed feast but north here it may be mid-September into October. Admittedly fishing deep water is a weak point for me. I’m not finding bait all that shallow right now. I’m hoping this big rain we had/having will put some fish back shallower for the weekend. Don’t know all you can do is try. *note* I’m not scientist. I know I don’t have the answer. When you’re out......never give up. 

[TcRoc]

This morning was first in a while I got skunked but didn't think it was gonna be good ,, alot of rain last few days and big temp drop over last few days.. hopefully picks back up in next couple days

[Spankey]

On 10/31/2020 at 11:08 AM, TcRoc said:

This morning was first in a while I got skunked but didn't think it was gonna be good ,, alot of rain last few days and big temp drop over last few days.. hopefully picks back up in next couple days

Face those obstacles yesterday. Couple of days of rain threw off water clarity and finally saw a sizeable water temperature drop. But this is just surface temps. I did not throw my live well thermometer over to see what temp was at 20-20+ feet. 
 

Threw some #7 & #8 Shad Raps, had a Chain Pickerel on and lost him at side of boat. OK with that. At least he didn’t take my lure. 
 

Threw a Rage Craw and Zoom craw for majority of my time was getting hits but could not say if it was bass or not. Switched to Bitsy Jig with a grub trailer and hooked up a 12” bass. He was like hooking a trophy. Fished through some steady rain.  Winds picked up, and got miserable. 

 

Mid week temps are picking back up. I’m not ready to pack it in yet. A 6 pounder sticks in the back of my head. Have to believe it is doable. 
 

 

[TcRoc]

19 minutes ago, Spankey said:

Face those obstacles yesterday. Couple of days of rain threw off water clarity and finally saw a sizeable water temperature drop. But this is just surface temps. I did not throw my live well thermometer over to see what temp was at 20-20+ feet. 
 

Threw some #7 & #8 Shad Raps, had a Chain Pickerel on and lost him at side of boat. OK with that. At least he didn’t take my lure. 
 

Threw a Rage Craw and Zoom craw for majority of my time was getting hits but could not say if it was bass or not. Switched to Bitsy Jig with a grub trailer and hooked up a 12” bass. He was like hooking a trophy. Fished through some steady rain.  Winds picked up, and got miserable. 

 

Mid week temps are picking back up. I’m not ready to pack it in yet. A 6 pounder sticks in the back of my head. Have to believe it is doable. 
 

 

Yup been watching weather/temps.. nasty today with high winds gusting to 50... will get good again ,next 2 days in the 50’s than 60’s for 5 days or so lows in the 40’s .. so planning my attack and than bracing for a mental breakdown as I am not ready to hang’em up either. Last year was end of November 

[Spankey]

6 minutes ago, TcRoc said:

Yup been watching weather/temps.. nasty today with high winds gusting to 50... will get good again ,next 2 days in the 50’s than 60’s for 5 days or so lows in the 40’s .. so planning my attack and than bracing for a mental breakdown as I am not ready to hang’em up either. Last year was end of November 

You Penna., Jersey, New York State?

 

I’m Eastern PA. 

[TcRoc]

15 minutes ago, Spankey said:

You Penna., Jersey, New York State?

 

I’m Eastern PA. 

Southeastern Pa. 30 minutes NW of Philly... Limerick 

[Spankey]

13 minutes ago, TcRoc said:

Southeastern Pa. 30 minutes NW of Philly... Limerick 

Well we are truly in each other backyards. For real. 

[TcRoc]

2 minutes ago, Spankey said:

Well we are truly in each other backyards. For real. 

I think we talked last year .. Boyertown?

[Spankey]

16 minutes ago, TcRoc said:

Southeastern Pa. 30 minutes NW of Philly... Limerick 

This here will be another mind blower. I had to work a rare Saturday this past weekend. Were you headed on US202 south on Saturday morning pulling a Tracker?

2 minutes ago, TcRoc said:

I think we talked last year .. Boyertown?

I’m in Lansdale. Montgomery County. 

[TcRoc]

1 minute ago, Spankey said:

This here will be another mind blower. I had to work a rare Saturday this past weekend. Were you headed on US202 south on Saturday morning pulling a Tracker?

Nope .. I was on 202 south though headed to Dicks in Downingtown to grab some braid cause none of the local ones had it.

[ajschn06]

On 10/29/2020 at 3:11 PM, MN Fisher said:

Well, so do ours, but some of us don't fancy sitting out on the ice in below-zero wind chill to try and entice the fish to bite.

I had 43 degree water temp on Saturday and they were ACTIVE

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, ajschn06 said:

I had 43 degree water temp on Saturday and they were ACTIVE

My issue is that currently, launching and landing the canoe requires me to get my feet wet...I'm working on a solution for that, but it's not implemented yet. 43^o water and wet feet don't mix...especially at my age.

[ajschn06]

27 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

My issue is that currently, launching and landing the canoe requires me to get my feet wet...I'm working on a solution for that, but it's not implemented yet. 43^o water and wet feet don't mix...especially at my age.

I hear ya- I started carrying my trout waders in my truck for launching the boat once Sept hit...

[PhishLI]

On 11/2/2020 at 1:00 PM, MN Fisher said:

My issue is that currently, launching and landing the canoe requires me to get my feet wet...I'm working on a solution for that, but it's not implemented yet. 43^o water and wet feet don't mix...especially at my age.

I launch my yak in these. Pretty comfy too. Can't beat the $.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Tingley-31151-General-Purpose-Boots/dp/B07B4SJCQB

[Spankey]

Did have high expectations for yesterday. We are in a bit of a heat wave here in the N. E. . Beautiful day and picture perfect. I could not buy a bass bite. Jerkbait, jig and creature fished. Had a few hits. Pretty much chalked it up to a few hours of practicing with a few baits. 
 

Have rain moving in at mid week. I may try to fish it just prior to it starting. I’m not ready to give up yet. Fishing hard bottom quick drop off points I believe is the place to be. I feel the need to stick to that. 

[TriStateBassin106]

6 hours ago, Spankey said:

Did have high expectations for yesterday. We are in a bit of a heat wave here in the N. E. . Beautiful day and picture perfect. I could not buy a bass bite. Jerkbait, jig and creature fished. Had a few hits. Pretty much chalked it up to a few hours of practicing with a few baits. 
 

Have rain moving in at mid week. I may try to fish it just prior to it starting. I’m not ready to give up yet. Fishing hard bottom quick drop off points I believe is the place to be. I feel the need to stick to that. 

My water temps are 54 degrees and I can't find them with this mild weather, same boat man.. they're there but either not interested or already feeding up for winter, I actually don't know what to do right now lol. They don't even want the ned rig. 

[Spankey]

56 minutes ago, TriStateBassin106 said:

My water temps are 54 degrees and I can't find them with this mild weather, same boat man.. they're there but either not interested or already feeding up for winter, I actually don't know what to do right now lol. They don't even want the ned rig. 

My next time out it very well may be a plastics day fished real real slow. The Ned rig idea is good but slow creatures is about the same. I can’t make any excuses. I believe in what I’m doing. My baits are productive (generally). I believe the fish are on points that drop off to deep water quickly. Harder bottom. Don’t want to get frustrated over it. Will continue to keep trying. I’ll have to look harder for baitfish. 

[TnRiver46]

On 11/9/2020 at 1:31 PM, TriStateBassin106 said:

My water temps are 54 degrees and I can't find them with this mild weather, same boat man.. they're there but either not interested or already feeding up for winter, I actually don't know what to do right now lol. They don't even want the ned rig. 

Well, everyone in America is throwing the ned rig. Therefore they will quit biting it 

[Michigander]

On 10/29/2020 at 2:19 PM, roadwarrior said:

What does that mean?

Sta-Bil in the bearings and you fog the spool.

[GaryH]

After extensive time consuming and many long hours I finally discovered the bass shut down reason.