Page 10 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine Classic 2022

Fall Fishing

When the season transitions from summer to fall, fishing changes. There are multiple reasons for this. The forage supply
of the summer changes and becomes larger. Water temperatures begin to drop. All these changes in conditions cause
forage to relocate. As such, bass will adjust to survive. Just as we can sense that winter is coming, so do fish. They have
a goal of packing on the pounds by feeding heavily yet burning the fewest calories possible as the water temperatures
drop.

For us as anglers, the weather becomes more comfortable and the traffic on the lake decreases. Some of this decrease
is due to other activities picking up during the fall. These can be youth sporting events or hunting season kicking off.
Regardless, fall is a great opportunity to get on the water and catch an abundance of fish.

Living in the south on an impoundment, I will at some point encounter what
is called “turnover”. In short, as surface temperatures cool, so does the surface
water. As water cools, it sinks and mixes with cool water below. This really stirs
up the decayed plant material that has settled to the bottom of the lake during
the warmer months. The water dirties up and often smells less than rosy! Fish-
ing will be incredibly tough, and you might consider just picking up and going
to another lake or better yet, , look for areas of the lake, such as large creeks,
that are shallow, say less than 6’ deep. Shallow water doesn’t stratify and may be
unaffected by turnover. More importantly, many of these creeks have a source
of fresh water, which causes conditions to be more stable. You can do well if you
find an area unimpacted by turnover A favorite tactic is throwing a soft stickbait,
wacky rigged, on a spinning rod at shallow targets. River systems, because of the
constant flow of water typically do not have a “turnover”, or one that is as dis-
tinctive.

During the fall, the prime sources of food for bass tend to group up in predictable areas. Keep in mind that bass are not
the only predators that are following the food. It is not uncommon to catch a wide variety of species on an outing!
Baits of choice in the fall include a wide range of choices. Jigs, minnow style baits, suspending jerkbaits, bladed jigs,
crankbaits (lipped and lipless), top water and frogs are all viable baits. We will talk a bit more about many of these bait
choices in more detail a bit later. Some have even called fall a great time to “junk” fish. I am not sure I agree with the
“junk” fishing statement, but I do see that there is a wide array of bait that are viable. It is important to understand that
your artificial bait is competing with the real deal! It becomes important to figure out how to make your bait stand out
among the literally thousands of choices.

Fall like the spawn can be broken down. For spring, we have prespawn, spawn, and postspawn in the simplest of terms.
Fall can be divided into early and late fall periods.

Early Fall, can typically be considered as the time when the water temperatures start to drop and before the first major
cold front of the year. As previously discussed, bass will begin to make their way to shallower, more highly oxygenated
water following the forage. Begin looking for fish around ledges and drop-offs of your local lakes and rivers. Bass still
hold in those ambush points waiting for moving water to flow past whatever vegetation, structure of cover where they
are hiding.

Key features to look for are changes in the structure. These changes
include drops, points, intersections where two creeks meet, or a
creek meets the river or main lake. Keep an eye out for edges along
with healthy-looking vegetation.

8 Lady Bass Anglers Association Fall Fishing