| The answer to the question is fall bass fishing good or | | | | make similar shifts at this time that probably plays a |
| bad is that fall bass fishing is great. There are two | | | | large role as an additional attraction for the bass to |
| times a year when bass fishing is at its best and that | | | | make their move. I make this point regarding shad |
| is early spring when bass are in the pre-spawn stage | | | | because they are still the main forage bait for bass in |
| and fall. The spawn is past but soon cold fronts will | | | | most major reservoirs during the two earliest phases |
| begin to make there way through and temperatures | | | | of fall. Because of this very fact, crank baits are |
| will begin to drop creating conditions favorable for bass | | | | particularly lethal for finding schools of bass in the early |
| fishing. | | | | and mid-fall periods. Since the schools are working on |
| Cooler water temperatures usually means more | | | | shad, this should also tell you that the bait color most |
| oxygen in the water which leads to more activity | | | | productive will be silver chrome, bone, or white. |
| which in turn means the bass will feed more. They will | | | | Look for structure both below water and protruding |
| strike just about anything you throw at them but as | | | | above water. Top water baits are also ideal lures to |
| with any body of water you will have to experiment | | | | work in the fall periods. Not only can they be fished |
| some to find out what works best. | | | | near banks and vegetation but the can be fished |
| As I mentioned before cooler water will make the | | | | effectively over deep water structures. |
| bass more active so you should look for areas where | | | | The buzzwords for fall bass fishing is shallow and |
| shallow water is close to deeper areas The impact of | | | | structure. As the water temperature cools you will find |
| the cooling effects of the longer nights trigger bass in | | | | more bass schooling in the shallow water and they are |
| many lakes to begin a shift or migration. This | | | | more likely to be near structure where they can |
| movement is toward the back of coves, up creeks, or | | | | ambush their prey. |
| to a shallower staging area. The shad also tend to | | | | Doug Burns has been an avid angler for 35 years. |