The Ups And Downs Of Fall Fishing

[Fishmaster10]

The fishing for me this fall has either been red hot or very slow. The bite has been changing often, one day they

can't get enough of my baits and in the next day or two they seem to slow down a lot. There have been a lot of changing temperatures lately, but when the temperatures were steady the fishing seemed to do the same thing. I was just wondering if any of you guys are experiencing or have experienced this much change in fall fishing?

[grimlin]

Every year....once the bite stops happening for me from shorefishing,I'm done.There is a small window of opportunity....you have to be there at the right time.Like you said it's gonna either be hot or very slow.That's the ups and downs of fishing in the Fall. Spring and Summer is actually my favorite time to fish.Only because I've been at it long enough I've developed a pattern of where the fish will kinda be at.

[EJVH3]

The water temp here in Akron, OH (Portage Lakes) is down to the low 50's and falling. Cold enough that I had to break out the Vibe-E/Sonar baits along with some very slow suspending jerk baits like the Lucky Craft pointer 78 and 100's. Once they get on that bite the catch rate starts to improve again untill the lake freezes.

[5bass]

That's typical fall fishing. You catch 10 one day, 2 or 3 the next day. I have found that the shad/bait activity is dictated by the air temps, water temps, barometer, wind, sun or cloud cover. With the bass keying on shad/bait in the fall, the shad activity dictates what the bass activity level will be. That said, I always fish areas that are filled with shad during the fall. If I pull into an area and see no bait, I leave. I fish the higher percentage areas.....backs of creeks, cuts, coves, etc....and I try to keep an eye out for shad pods and what they are doing. If they are just under the surface it usually means that they are active and I expect the bass to be a little more active as well so I choose baits that I can cover water with. If I notice that the shad are deep I will get over some shad schools and look at them on the graph and try to determine if there are bass down there around them. If there are bass with them deep, I will drop a spoon and try to get them going. The spoon will scatter the shad pods as it drops through them and is meant to get the bass fired up when they see the shad acting nervous and scattering around. A deep jerkbait is another bait I use when the bait is hanging out deep and not moving around alot. There are days in the fall when you have to pull out every technique you know before you can get on something steady. But don't feel bad, it happens to everybody. Just take your observations (weather and bait) and try to apply them to situations throughout the day.

[38 Super Fan]

Well at least you've been hot and cold, it's been all cold for me lately.

[A-Jay]

My past three days of fishing are a perfect example.

Day 1 - Pre frontal conditions (Warmer and Overcast) - very good day

Day 2 - Front (Rain and cooling) - OK day

Day 3 - Post Front (Today, Clear sky, windy and Cold ) Exactly 1 Dink -

A-Jay

[Fishmaster10]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm glad to know what I'm experiencing is typical of fall fishing. 5Bass your reply helps a lot. I to try to locate the shad as well when fishing in the fall, but your tip about using a spoon seems like it could be great at times.

[Fishmaster10]

38 Super Fan I hope things pick up for you, hang in there

[38 Super Fan]

38 Super Fan I hope things pick up for you, hang in there

Thanks, it is an up and down season, I'm sure it'll pick up again. I'll look to use some of the tactics mentioned here. FYI I got skunked again today.

[Diggy]

Caught 8 fish in about 1.5 hours a few days ago....and 1 in the last 2 days

[SirSnookalot]

I'm just starting to do a little bit of bass fishing, for the most part bass fishing is poor in the hot weather in my area. The fishing in my favorite canals has not really started yet, there are bigger fish there but kind of lazy now, I did stick 2 last week around 5- 6# each, but not a strike since then. My ponds are just staring to come alive, catching fish nearly everyday.

There is other action that is pretty good right now in Florida.

[sconyas]

Because of my job I haven't been out fishing much this year. I'm planning on having a week off in a couple of weeks and if the weather holds out (above 32 deg.) I'll be on the water the whole week. I was out last weekend and not even a bite. I typically use plastic worms, spinners and crankbaits. I was talking to some of the guys I work with and they were saying live bait was the best for fall fishing.

I've never fished this late in the season. Is there any truth to this? Or any suggestions?

I live in upper Wisconsin.

[Fishmaster10]

Because of my job I haven't been out fishing much this year. I'm planning on having a week off in a couple of weeks and if the weather holds out (above 32 deg.) I'll be on the water the whole week. I was out last weekend and not even a bite. I typically use plastic worms, spinners and crankbaits. I was talking to some of the guys I work with and they were saying live bait was the best for fall fishing.

I've never fished this late in the season. Is there any truth to this? Or any suggestions?

I live in upper Wisconsin.

I don't fish with live bait often, but I have to believe that it's definitely worth a try. The best baits during the fall for me are lipless cranks and spinnerbaits thrown near shad. I try to have my crankbait hitting the bottom anytime I can. The best areas for me seem to be in the backs of coves that have shad (I usually throw spinnerbaits in this area), sand flats or rocky shorelines (these are the areas where I bounce my crank off the bottom), and also drop offs that have structure on the shoreline (preferably rocks) before it drops off (I fish jigs or a texas rigged plastic on the drop offs). Hope this helps

[38 Super Fan]

Because of my job I haven't been out fishing much this year. I'm planning on having a week off in a couple of weeks and if the weather holds out (above 32 deg.) I'll be on the water the whole week. I was out last weekend and not even a bite. I typically use plastic worms, spinners and crankbaits. I was talking to some of the guys I work with and they were saying live bait was the best for fall fishing.

I've never fished this late in the season. Is there any truth to this? Or any suggestions?

I live in upper Wisconsin.

I fish with my Father pretty regularly, he almost always uses minnows, I almost always use artificial. Through most of this year, we would average about the same number of bass, but this Fall he's been catching a good bit more than me. Live bait is very good if you like fishing that way.

[brushhoggin]

tomorrow is the fourth day of warming trend before the next cold front here in the south, i expect to have a good day.

[Fishmaster10]

tomorrow is the fourth day of warming trend before the next cold front here in the south, i expect to have a good day.

I hope you get on em', let us know how it goes

[brushhoggin]

I hope you get on em', let us know how it goes

just got back. they were definitely on the move for some baitfish. caught about 10-12 on the rattlin vibe, all between2-4 lbs. lost a big one that broke my lure off. having too much fun and forgot to retie after a few. that fish owes me $7.99. then I proceeded to catch a bunch more keepers on a koppers crankbait. fished for three hours and caught roughly 20. didnt even bother slowing down. cloudy, windy and warm on the day before a front...coudn't have asked for better conditions. I love fall.

[Fishmaster10]

Sounds like a good outing, hopefully next time you can keep the big one on