Baitfish In The Fall

Key To Pinpointing Scattered Bass

As temperatures cool in the fall, finding shad is the best way to locate aggressively feeding bass. How many like fishing in the spring best? More than likely, most of you. The reason is clear. As lake water warms, bass begin feeding actively in shallow water. Include some cover in those shallows - rocks, boat docks or weeds - and you have classic spring fishing. What about fall? Fall is spring's evil twin: Water temperatures fall, bass scatter and anglers grumble in frustration. Nevertheless, fall offer some of the year's best fishing. The problem, quite simply, is turnover - a period before the fall pattern that jumbles a lake. In a matter of days, lakes change from easily understood ecosystems - where bass act in predictable ways - to hopelessly uniform "bowls of stew." Bass in the fall - like those in spring and summer - act in predictable ways. They orient themselves to structure, and though it sounds strange, shad actually become the structure. To understand this fully, you need to grasp why and how turnover takes place. Most lake water divides by temperature in the summer. Cold water stays on the bottom; warm water stays on top. The dividing line between the two is known as the "thermocline." Warm water usually has plenty of oxygen, cold water has almost none. As always, these rules have exceptions. Main lake sections and creek arms with strong current sometimes do not form thermoclines. Also, the thermocline depth is never uniform throughout a lake. The bottom layer of water - the "hypoliminion" - hold few bass because of low amounts of dissolved oxygen. The upper layer - the "epilimnion" - is where most bass live throughout summer. In the fall, lakes literally turn over. Layers mix as the warmer surface layer cools. Wind is the mixing power, and the process can last from several days to a few weeks, depending on the weather. During a mild fall season, lakes turn over slowly. If it's cold and blustery, they turn over quickly. The entire lake doesn't turn over at once. Instead, upper areas, such as major creek arms, turn over first. Midlake areas follow and finally the lower end and main lake sections complete the cycle. The effects of turnover are obvious. Bottom scum floating to the surface after a period of cool, windy weather, indicates the process has begun. Turnovers vary by region. In the North, for example, lakes turn over earlier than in the South. The turnover creates relatively even temperatures and oxygen mix throughout the lake. Where most bass in summer were stuck in the epilimnion, they can now cruise and feed at any depth. 

As a result, bass feeding habits change in three ways: (1) Finding bass forage - namely shad - becomes the key to finding and catching bass. (2) Bass begin feeding throughout the day. Cooling water temperatures make them more active. They have a biological urge to strengthen themselves for winter. (3) Bass now feed wherever the food is because temperatures and oxygen levels are more evenly distributed.

Turnover cools the lake, so shad seek warmer water in the creeks. As they weaken and die due to cooler temperatures, blustery fall winds blow them into bluffs, coves and pockets of creeks. Bass make their first movement in the fall to the points on the main tributaries. With a surface temperature of 60 degrees, they remain deep but move farther into the tributaries and creeks. At high 50s, bass move to the backs of coves and begin feeding. Shad, seeking warmer water, have moved into these areas. As the water nears winter temperatures, bass begin leaving the creeks to hold near the last major channel banks and swings, just inside the tributary mouth. Catching bass in the fall means finding shad. In the spring and summer, you have dozens of structure options. In the fall - only one: Find and fish the shad schools. You can find them with sonar, but the easiest way is spotting surface schools in creeks and coves. You can see them easily this time of year. If shad schools aren't working in a particular creek or cove, it's time to move. Ignore "fishy" looking water. Seek only the shad. Begin your post-turnover fishing trip by searching for shad in the major creek arms. Follow the wind into coves and pockets. When you find a school, throw a crankbait along the channel drop offs leading into the cut or cove. Don't throw into a school of shad unless you suspect bass are feeding beneath them. A calm school is often holding in a protected area. That's why it's better to throw your lure along the channels leading into a cut or cove first. When shad flip on the surface or large schools scatter and dart, bass are probably feeding beneath them. Target the school as if it were structure. Retrieve a crankbait through the school or drop a shad colored plastic grub into the group and bounce it on the bottom. Also, shad will gather around flooded timber, creating rings around the tree trunks. If you find this situation, make a low trajectory cast with a double bladed willowleaf spinnerbait so it hits the tree. The commotion scatters shad. Let the spinnerbait flutter to the bottom. Chances are the lure won't reach the bottom before a bass hits it. 

Who would have guessed fall fishing could be so productive?