A little advice.

[Swamp Girl]

@Fishing_Rod: I love our weather, but hate the shortening days. Maine in the winter is often lovely, but for a few weeks, night arrives at 3:30 p.m. and that's brutal. It wasn't that long ago that I could launch 3:45 a.m., but now it's two hours later, which is two hours less fishing. Sigh. 

[Jar11591]

@gimruis took the words out of my mouth about launch time. 
 

Once the nights and mornings start to get cold, I am moving my launch time up a few hours. I’ve found frequently that as soon as the sun hits the cold air and the water gets smoky, the bite can turn on, but it’s often slow before then. It seems like sunlight can really activate them this time of year. And related to that, the bite windows are getting shorter and shorter. 
 

Busted leg is keeping me from being on the water at the moment, but if I was fishing your lake I would do pretty much what you did. Spinnerbaits and walking baits in shallow water. I also hit the timber with jigs this time of year because the fish return to the wood. During the summer the fish seem to abandon the fallen trees so I don’t spend very much time fishing them, but as soon as fall sets in the shallow water jig bite turns on again. I also change what kinds of vegetation I look for. Milfoil and hydrilla starts to die off, but the curly and broad leafed pondweed stays green long into the fall. And the fish migrant to it. 
 

But like every other time of year, spinnerbaits slow rolled on deep structure is the failsafe for me. It’s the closest thing to a guaranteed fish. Fall can have as many tough days as any season due to the unstable weather, so I often resort to this. 
 

Something tells me you’re gonna be slaying them all fall anyway, though. 

[Swamp Girl]

4 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

spinnerbaits slow rolled on deep structure is the failsafe for me. It’s the closest thing to a guaranteed fish.

 

This is exactly what I did tonight and it caught four of my five bass. They were in the same area, so I'm thinking they were wolf-packing. 

[Swamp Girl]

14 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

But like every other time of year, spinnerbaits slow rolled on deep structure is the failsafe for me.

 

Jar, I have a question: I try getting my spinnerbaits deep, but my pond is so shallow that weeds grow in its deepest part. So, I cast my spinnerbaits and count to four before beginning my retrieve and I retrieve weeds. Same with a count of three. With a two count, I can slow roll retrieve and catch them. I'm guessing your situation is different. Since I don't have electronics, there might be an area in my pond that is weed-free and maybe I'll find it one day and slow roll along the bottom.

[Jar11591]

@ol'crickety  I mainly use 3/4oz spinnerbaits which really helps getting it down and keeping it down, and I will actually fish my spinnerbaits right in the thick weeds. I’ll cast it out, let it fall until I know it’s on bottom. Then I give it a hard rip so it gets the blades spinning, and then every time I feel it hitting weeds, I rip it again. Ripping it through the weeds not only makes it come through cleaner, but can trigger strikes. 
 

So I cast, let it sink, rip it, then reel as slowly as I can until I hit more weeds, then I rip it again. 

[Swamp Girl]

4 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

@ol'crickety  I mainly use 3/4oz spinnerbaits which really helps getting it down and keeping it down, and I will actually fish my spinnerbaits right in the thick weeds. I’ll cast it out, let it fall until I know it’s on bottom. Then I give it a hard rip so it gets the blades spinning, and then every time I feel it hitting weeds, I rip it again. Ripping it through the weeds not only makes it come through cleaner, but can trigger strikes. 
 

So I cast, let it sink, rip it, then reel as slowly as I can until I hit more weeds, then I rip it again. 

 

Fascinating...and thanks! Are you retrieving weed-free spinnerbaits the majority of the time?

[Jar11591]

@ol'crickety the majority of the time, probably not. Maybe around 50/50. The type of grass matters as well. Broadleafed pondweed is a lot easier to fish through cleanly. Milfoil is a little harder, and hydrilla is the hardest. But the technique is effective enough to live with pulling weeds in frequently. 

[Swamp Girl]

14 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

@ol'crickety the majority of the time, probably not. Maybe around 50/50. The type of grass matters as well. Broadleafed pondweed is a lot easier to fish through cleanly. Milfoil is a little harder, and hydrilla is the hardest. But the technique is effective enough to live with pulling weeds in frequently. 

 

Thank you. I wanted to get a benchmark for weeds and you gave me that. So, when I try it, if I end up with weeds half the time, I won't feel like I'm failing. 

[Spankey]

18 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

@Fishing_Rod: I love our weather, but hate the shortening days. Maine in the winter is often lovely, but for a few weeks, night arrives at 3:30 p.m. and that's brutal. It wasn't that long ago that I could launch 3:45 a.m., but now it's two hours later, which is two hours less fishing. Sigh. 

I’m much further south than you but hate these shortening days also. It will be awhile before I see 4:15 am starts again. 
I’ll still be out for first light and will fish that way into the fall even with falling morning temps. I prefer that window and find it most productive. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

This is a really fun time of the year for catching schoolers. My son and I went out yesterday and caught 39 in an hour and a half. What a hoot ! We got a few more months before the battle for one bite a day starts. 

[Swamp Girl]

20 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

My son and I went out yesterday and caught 39 in an hour and a half.

 

^That^ deserves a Texas "YEE-HAW!"