Fall bass moving back into the "creeks".....?????

[Bassnajr]

As I read and re-read the copius articles on Fall bass fishing, one phrase continues to pop up: the bass and the baitfish will move into the backs of the creeks, follow them and you will catch some bass." This may sound stupid but, what creeks? Is this something that is primarily found in the South? I fish mostly reservoirs or spring fed ponds/lakes here in RI, or at least that's what I thought I was fishing. Is there a big difference (other than the weather) between Fall bass fishin in the North or in the South? I would assume that all bass follow the same patterns, even though it may be at different times of the year, or shorter periods of time. What about coves set back from the main body of the lake or pond? I don't know, maybe I am just reading it wrong.

Ideas, comments, advice???

bassnajr

[5bass]

When the writers refer to 'creeks', they are talking about creeks that feed into a lake or reservoir. Here in the South we fish a lot of river fed reservoirs that cover thousands and thousands of acres. Amongst all of those acres there are many rivers and creeks that feed the 'lake' or reservoir. Some creeks are very small (not boat friendly), others you can blast through at 70 mph for a mile or more. These are the creeks they are referring to.

In the fall a lake will turn over. This turnover is one of the signals that tells the fish that fall is upon them. The turnover creates less than optimal water for the fish to thrive so they seek out the clean water coming in from the creeks. I'm mainly talking about baitfish here but once the baitfish start to move into the creeks, the bass follow them right in there, so do the stripers and whatever else might be feeding on the shad. The further they go, the cleaner the water is. Thats how the big schools of shad end up stacked in the backs of creeks almost so thick that you could walk across them.

Once the creeks water temp gets too low for them to tolerate they will move back toward the deeper water of the main lake and by then the lake has settled down from the turnover. Or if the creek they are in gets deep enough before they make it back to the main lake, they'll stay in a creek all winter. There are several creeks in my home lake that have shad in them year round.

In short, if you notice the lake has turned over and the fish seem to have vanished, its time to find some cleaner water. In the creeks.  

[Red]

i am not trying to hijack this but i have a related question.  i fish a tank on the golf course that is actually part of lake waco.  there is a small "creek" connecting the two.  this creek is more like a narrow section of moving water that is at most 30 feel long.  the water seem to "run" from the tank into the main lake waco.  would this area be the "creek" area that your referring to 5bass?  also, on the main lake waco where this "creek" leads to is actually a good sized cove full of timber, but i have never fished it, might that be a good place to wet my hook?  i always notice bass boats in this cove but have yet to see one catch a fish.   have access to this entire cove from shore too.  i dont know why i havent fished it actually, just never did.

thanks

Cliff

[Mike 12345]

I read the same articles and magazines and, at least in my little section of my local lake, it holds up. As FBL said, if you get a map of the reservoir you are fishing, you'll probably identify named creeks as part of the lake. For example, on my lake, there is Drake's Creek, Cedar Creek, etc. Marinas in these areas are often named for the creek they are in (don't know if this is true in your neck of the woods).

In the fall, the bass follow the baitfish back into the shallows and feed. Here, you can see huge balls of minnows and/or shad in the water, and you'll also notice bass hammering them in the area (on the surface). Last week, while retying a shallow crankbait on my boat and fishing the shallows ( < 4ft water at the back of a cove/inlet) I saw a LMB swim quickly right by my boat, maybe 1 in under the surface, mouth wide open, scooping up the baitfish. Pretty cool.

As one direct answer to a part of your question, the 'inlet' that I fish this year is not a true creek- its an inlet, or branch, but it supports the same activity in fall and spring as the creeks have - by that I mean shallow flats where the bass spawn, and can also feed.

My lake is pretty dingy though- its no clearer in the back of the inlets/creeks than the main water- but the bass are still making the move, and have been for several weeks.

As I and others have posted in a few different threads I've read here,

the pattern that's held up for me this fall is following the action you see on top, then break out your shallow water crankbaits and get 'em.

Just as an interesting side note to my post, when the Bassmaster Elite Series event was moved from the "River Rumble' on the Mississippi to my lake (Old Hickory Lake, Nashville, TN) this past summer due to flooding, the Army Corps of Engineers was not generating through the dam (because of the flooding). This threw many of the anglers off, because they expected the fish to be in traditional summer patterns- deep ledges, etc. The fact there was no generation dispersed the fish, and in part, 'caused', or helped solidify, a shallow water pattern. Plenty of fish with lots of food, despite the hot water. The successful top of the standings followed this pattern into the shallows and capitalized. The fishing has been shallow here all year. FWIW.

Hope this helps a little. Good luck!

[Jig Man]

I don't worry about creeks and other feeder streams.  I concentrate on the main body of water and the lower parts of reservoirs.  The fish will be shallow especially on windy days.

Sometimes they will be on points and sometimes in the backs of coves.  My partner and I caught 42 bass Monday on main lake windy points in less than 5 fow.

[Tin]

Alan, forget about half the info you read when it comes to applying it to our lakes. You won't usually see largies schooling up and feeding on bait, all that stuff is for the southern guys who get to fish 50,000 acre impoundments with hundreds of creeks feeding into them and such.

The best thing you can do this time of year in our little puddles is fish the usual stuff like you would in early spring after ice-out because the fish are moving into their wintering holes right now. And use the same baits like jigs, traps, spinnerbaits, and jerkbaits.

[Bassnajr]

Thanks TIN...that's what I thought and what I have been doing!!!

It took another Yankee to know what I was talkin "bout!!!

ajr

[emosupremo]

But where exactly is this "back of creeks" the poster asked? ive read this other places too.

is it where feeders connect the lake or back up the feeder creek some indeterminate feet or miles? 

Suppose/guess im asking under what river morphology and depth and other water conditions do  the aforementioned bait/shad spawn?  anyone have a link to that?

 

[emosupremo]

"the bass and the baitfish will move into the backs of the creeks" was the original question posed. mine too. btw hello neighbor.

[RHuff]

Backs of creeks means the far end.. I always try to divide them into thirds.. 1/3 is from the mouth of the creek where it meets the main river channel into the creek.. 2/3 is the middle and 3/3 is the very back or end of it

[Woody B]

On 10/28/2008 at 9:39 PM, 5bass said:

The further they go, the cleaner the water is.

 

Yep.  the opposite of what happens during the Summer.  The creeks will be muddy, the main lake will be clearer.     But.....I believe that once a lake reaches a certain size there's certain bass who don't move around much.   (except to spawn)  The Dock bass hang near the docks year round.  The problem with docks is this time of year they're overfished.  I stopped skipping docks a couple months ago when every bass I caught had multiple previous hook holes in it's mouth. 

 I believe the deep structure bass tend to stay in one area.  They've got plenty of forage including baitfish, crawfish ect year round.   They only time they move is if the thermocline causes them too.

The bass that end up in the creeks are what I call the "ledge bass".  They hang around drop offs and ledges, then move up onto the flats to feed.  I believe these are the ones that go up into creek/river channels at times.   

 

This is just what I think.  It usually works for me but I'm certainly not an expert.  

 

I can usually always find bass on what I call a "normal" Carolina reservoir.  These are fairly shallow river and creek fed lakes with a maximum depth of 80' or less.   I struggle at the 200' deep rock lakes.  

 

I suspect oxygen levels play a big part in bass (and baitfish) behavior.   I'm surprised that some kind of oxygen meter isn't used by some.  (maybe one is)

[PaulVE64]

I primarily fish a fair sized river system that is fed by hundreds of creeks.

The resident smallies do run up the creeks during prespawn but leave after spawning. 

But our local ponds do have bass pushing baitfish in the fall due to turnover.

It helps me find them right when they're feeding up.