The two times of the year when bass fishing is at its best are in the early spring and the fall before the winter sets in. The early spring of the year is often called the prespawn period. This time of the year is one of the best times for bass fishing because the bass are grouped into "Staging Areas." These staging areas provide the bass food and cover before going into their shallow spawning grounds or beds. Still, this period will be covered in another article later. Today we're talking about fall.
Now, the fall of the year is the other "Best Time" of the year for bass fishing because of the following conditions (there are more reasons, but these are the primary ones):
- The water temperature is cooling down, which means (in most cases) that you have a more significant amount of oxygen.
- Bass, more often than not, are schooled together.
- The cooler water temperatures allow the bass to become more active.
- This is one time of the year when bass will strike just about anything that you throw at them, although specific patterns work better than others (which will be covered in this article).
The primary things you need to know when setting out for fall fishing are:
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The temperature of the water.
The cooler temperature will make the bass more active, increasing its bass metabolism. This means the bass feed more often.
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The natural forage of that particular body of water.
Bass will eat natural forage in any given body of water, so your baits' color patterns and size should replicate the natural forage.
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The areas where deep water is close to shallow water.
Bass will typically be in shallow water areas close to deep-water areas, known as "Comfort Zones." For example, if you have a shallow water area that holds bass close to deeper water and a weather front (whether a cold or warm front) moves in, it will affect the shallow water first. The temperature will change much faster in the shallows than in deeper water. The deeper water will hold more stable temperatures; thus, the bass will move down in the more constant temperatures (or deeper waters).
- The areas where aquatic plant life is located (if any).
As I said before, almost any artificial bait pattern will work during the fall period. However, the following are some of the more preferred baits to use for fall fishing:
- Lipless Crankbaits (Rattle Traps, Cordell Spots, Etc.....)
- Top Water Baits (Zara Spooks, Floating Minnows, and Chug Bugs)
- Plastics (Curly Tail Worms & Lizards, Craws)
- Spinner Baits (Slow-rolling or working like a worm on the bottom)
- Pig-N-Jig combos
- Crankbaits (Deep divers working on the downward slopes or drops)
These are just some patterns that might help you to improve your catches.
