Scott Petersen |
As the cool nights start to turn the leaves different colors
the cool nip in the air will signal that a change is happening.
The shorter days of sunlight will start to drop the water
temps that the lake has held all summer long. Following the
downward mark of the water temps will come fall turnover.
The cooling upper layer of water will become heavier than
the water underneath causing it to sink and pushing the warmer
water to the surface marking the start of the fall turnover
event. This process will generally last about 10 to 14 days
depending on weather conditions during that time period but
once turnover is done, the lake bite will go into full throttle
until ice up.
For
many fishermen bass fishing seems to end right after Labor
Day, but for some of the diehard bass fishermen they know
that some of the best bass fishing of the year will follow
the turnover period and they are all set to let the catching
begin. Once fall turnover is done and the lake starts to take
on the next calendar period bass will react in a favorable
fashion and put on the feed bag to get ready for the upcoming
winter months.
For
about the next month and a half bass with go through some
changes just like the lake will; so if you want to take
advantage of these different stages you have to pay attention
as to what is going on with the lake and the bass. Before
fall turnover starts bass could feel the change of the
falling lake temps and started to hit the shallows to
take advantage of the abundant food sources making the
shift and put on the feed bag to fatten up for the upcoming
winter period that will start in about 2 months. Almost
all of the lakes fish population will be drawn towards
the shallows during the early fall months to get ready
for the upcoming changes.
When
the bass hit the shallows they will be looking for a shallow
food source, bluegills and craws will pretty much fill
this bill as they have in the deeper water depths during
the summer months but in early fall frogs making their
way back to the lakes to hibernate will take center stage
for a few weeks. During the first few weeks of the fall
period bass will be on the roam and you will have to cover
water to stay with them. For these times I throw a lot
of chunk and wind baits like shallow cranks, traps and
spinnerbaits. All these baits get a lot of water time
the first month or so.
Shallow Crankbaits
Shallow and mid depth cranks are the two that will get the
most attention in the early part of the fall season when the
bass are making their way into the shallows. Rapala's DT Fats
1 and 3, Storms Sub Wart and Mid Warts are perfect bait to
have on your line at this time of the season. Long casts and
making contact with the weeds is key to getting and triggering
bites. You want a bait that will just tick the weeds on the
retrieve and not get hung up in the weeds so pick your baits
to fit the depth of water you are fishing. Shallow cranks
are a great choice to imitate bluegills and craws swimming
around in the shallows at this time of the season.
Traps and Spinnerbaits
These two baits fall almost into the same class. These bait
choices shine when the bass are located on the weedflats.
Along with the shallow cranks, traps and spinnerbaits excel
in getting bites when they are making contact with the weeds.
Spinnerbaits will be easier to work when the weeds are thicker
but if the weeds are sparse it seems the trap will shine
better as the action of the bait is more erratic.
Let's
start with spinnerbaits for the fall I make a few different
modifications to my fall baits. For one I use a trailer;
I generally use a twister tail for this or I will use a
Bass Pro Cajun Trailer. This bulks up the bait allowing
you to be able to work the bait slower. I many times will
use a double willow combination instead of a single Colorado
bladed bait. This again is a speed factor; I can work the
double willow slower than I can the a Colorado bladed bait
keeping the bait is the bass zone longer getting more bites
by the end of the day.
If it is traps I am fishing I will generally use these baits
in a little deeper water out on the flats targeting more of
the weed clumps than the solid weeds. Making weed contact
is more critical when fishing the trap than it is when you
are fishing shallow cranks or the spinnerbait. Part of what
makes the bass attack this bait is when you rip it off of
the weeds. I feel this is what triggers many of the strikes
that you will get. Make your cast and start to reel the trap
back to the boat, when the bait makes contact with the weeds
give the rod a good pull to break the bait free of the weeds
and get it on its way again. This is generally the time that
you will get the strike. This pattern of fishing is triggered
by a delicate balance. If you are in too thick of weeds you
will not be able to fish the trap properly getting hung up
all the time making a lot of your casts wasted and on the
other side of the coin if you are not making contact with
the weeds you do not have the trigger to get many bites.
All three of these baits make great choices before fall turnover
when the weeds are still alive and green. After fall turnover
the lakes shallow weeds will start to die off pushing the
bass and the major population of fish deeper when this change
takes place you will again have to move with the bass to catch
them for this you will need to reload and make adjustments.
The key now will be deeper green weeds on the deep flats and
on the edges. When you get to this time of the year you are
talking schools of bass again not a bass here or there like
you were fishing in the early part of the fall season.
Deep green weeds are key at this time of the season and will
fast become the attraction of later fall bass. These deeper
green weeds will still be giving off oxygen attracting not
only bass but other game fish as well. To help me find these
green weeds you cannot beat a deeper diving crankbait.
Deep Crankbaits
For this tactic I will use a Storm Magnum Wiggle Wart or a
Bomber Fat Free Shad. Both of these baits have wide wobble
actions and will shed the weeds better than other baits
when fishing this tactic. The key too fishing these baits
during the fall bite is boat position and making pin point
casts to the weed edge. Like when fishing a trap you have
to make contact with the weeds with your crankbait. Boat
position will play a big part of your crankbait just ticking
the weeds or getting hung up in the weeds and turning out
to be a wasted cast. Position your boat out far enough to
be able to cast to the weed edge and not too far on top
of the weeds. When you feel the bait tick the weeds give
the rod good pull like you are setting the hook to get the
bait on its way again this is generally when you will get
the bites or just after when the bait changes directions
at the end of the cast.
Jig-n-Pig
Once I have found a few active bass with the cranks I will
change to a jig combination to take the rest of the bass
that I can get to bite. There is something about fall time
and a jig that just seem to go together. It has been stated
many times if you are looking for one bait to fish during
the late fall months it has to be a jig I would have to
back up that statement. Now do not get me wrong there will
be days that you will catch bass on the deep crankbait tactic
we just covered but when you add up all the number at the
end of the season the jig will have caught more bass than
the crankbait will.
When it
comes to jig sizes you will have to carry a few different
sizes to fit the fishing condition you will be fishing in
the main sizes of Outkast Jigs that I carry are 3/8oz, 1/2
oz and 3/4oz. I use 3/8oz when fishing in calmer wind
conditions or when the bite gets tough fishing in cold front
conditions. I would say that for the majority of my fall bass
fishing I use a 1/2oz Pro Staff Outkast Jig. For high
wind conditions I use a 3/4oz Pro Staff Outkast Jig.
For the pig part of the jig I always carry a few different
options to play with and I let the bass tell me what they
want. Outkast Chunks, Craws and Fat Tail Grubs pretty much
fill out what I take and use during the fall months. I will
generally start with the Outkast Chuck and switch from there
until I find what the bass want for the day.
Let me add this if you are looking for a sleeper bait to
use at the end of the season try a texas rigged tube or tube
craw presentation. I feel that when the bass get touchy from
day to day and have a tendency to drop a jig before you can
get a good hook set on these days I put down the jig and pick
up the texas rigged tube. When the bass pick up the tube and
bite down they do not seem to drop this bait as fast allowing
you to get a good hook set. I feel this is due to one factor
that when they bite down on the tube it gives making the bass
think this is something real thus giving you extra time to
set the hook.
So do
not give up on bass so early this year you have some of
the best bass fishing of the year still to come. Shallow
cranks, spinnerbaits and traps will fill the bass fishing
bill before turnover and after deep cranks and jig-n-pig
combo’s
will be what take the bass later into the late fall season.
Green weeds will play a big part on locating bass at this
time of the season so pay attention to what conditions the
weed are in that you are fishing. If you have not fished for
late season bass before you may be a little surprised as to
how great the late season bass fishing is.
Create
some memories please remember to practice CPR (Catch, Photo
and Release). The future of fishing is in your hands. For
more timely bass tips and tactics please log onto www.fishinginsider.com
If you would
like to read more from Scott Petersen, visit his web site Fishing
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