Page 18 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine Classic 2023

Where Bass Go In The Fall?

Similar to fishing in the spring, fall can be divided or broken down into
three periods or phases. These phases are a mirror image of the spring but
for totally different reasons. Within each phase the tactics and approaches
also vary and change. Fall fishing begins when the air temperatures begins to
drop. As air temperatures drop, the water temperatures also begin to drop.
During this same time frame the amount of daylight is reducing. Each of
these three things trigger the fish to begin to make their moves.

Just as in the spring, there are three annually repeatable phases. The first
phase is an early fall transition where fish are begin to leave their summer
haunts. Remember in the heat of the summer, fish are buried in cover and in
deeper water. But, as the days get shorter, the air and water temps start
dropping, the bait-fish begin to migrate to shallower waters. As such, the
bass follow the food source to
those shallower waters. These
shallower areas include creeks,
pockets, shoals, humps and flats. These are
important for anglers to remember when
looking for bass. Each of these areas are
stopping places along the migration routes
for the bait-fish. These are similar to and
often the same highways bass follow during
the spring pre-spawn, spawn and post spawn
movements, just for different reasons.

As the air and water temperatures continue
to drop, but on a faster decline, the bass move into the next phase where they start
feeding up heavily. Some additional signals to indicate that the fish are in this
feeding period for us can include fall colors, anglers wearing long sleeves and
jackets. The bait has now arrived in these shallow areas mentioned before. No longer
are they in transition. The same holds true for the bass. They are shallow because
their food source is shallow! The bass are piled up and gorging on the bait-fish. This
can be one of the most fun and exciting times to fish. There are so many options for
bait selection from top-water to swim-baits.
The final phase is when temperatures begin to plummet as the days get shorter and

shorter and the bass now begin to move to
their winter habitats. This can be one
of the most challenging periods to catch
fish. They have been gorging so in order to
catch them, you will have to work harder.
The bait and the bass will now follow
those same highways back out on their way
to where they will reside for the winter.
18 Lady Bass Anglers Association
Where Do Bass Go In The Fall?