In the Autumn season, air and water temperatures finally cool down and offer up some relief for cold-blooded largemouth and smallmouth bass looking to gorge themselves in preparation for winter temperatures. Where does Bass go in the Fall?
In the fall, a bass goes to shallower H2O to fatten up for the winter months, where small bait fish like shad are in the Fall transition but with quick access to deep H2O when sudden cold fronts can interrupt this process, sending bass back into deep H2O until the weather warms the shallows again.
The Fall season changes at different times for folks depending on where you are in the country but with bass or any fish water, extreme temperatures that are too hot or too cold slow the action until there is a change or transition between seasons once again bringing life back to lakes, streams, and rivers.
Where Do Bass Go in the Fall
It’s September, and nights start to cool when air temps start to drop, which will lower the water temps, and that brings on the Fall Transition. That means it’s all about bait fish! During the Fall transition period, Most Largemouth Bass will move into shallower water along structures and coastlines. Early fall, before the lake turns over, is when bass will move back into the same shallow areas where they were feeding before the spring spawn.
Shallow water heats up quicker on short days of fall, and that’s where bait fish will be because they are looking for food. In the fall, the bass is fed more heavily to prepare for these cold winter months ahead. They will leave their deeper summer homes as the water cools to the mouths of creek channels, coastlines, or anywhere where the water is shallow, chasing active baitfish to feed on.
Fall Transition Bass Fishing
Smallmouth Bass typically will move to deeper water in packs or schools, looking for schools of baitfish in covers, structures, and ledges. Smallmouth bass that moves deeper will look for hard structures and will hang there in wait for baitfish that move in bunches using these hard lake structures as hunting grounds. If baitfish are not present in these areas, use reaction baits or jigs through the water column.
Covering lots of water is key in looking for schools of these fish. Use smaller bait lures, as smaller is better this time of the year. For deeper baits, focus your attention on deep transitions near the edges of grass flats, channel bends, and humps. Bigger Bass will stay on the edges because they are eating bigger baitfish.
Crankbaits are good for fall Transition fishing because they bring on reactionary bites even when bass are not terribly hungry. The right Crankbait for the job is dictated by the depth of water you’re fishing and how aggressively the fish are reacting. By late Fall, bass metabolism starts to slow down, they’re trying to conserve their energy and calories without burning too much, so they’ll wait for something easier to come along.
Smallmouth Bass typically will move to deeper water in packs or schools, looking for schools of baitfish in covers, structures, and ledges. Smallmouth bass that moves deeper will look for hard structures and will hang there in wait for baitfish that move in bunches using these hard lake structures as hunting grounds. If baitfish are not present in these areas, use reaction baits or jigs through the water column.
Covering lots of water is key in looking for schools of these fish. Use smaller bait lures, as smaller is better this time of the year. For deeper baits, focus your attention on deep transitions near the edges of grass flats, channel bends, and humps. Bigger Bass will stay on the edges because they are eating bigger baitfish.
Crankbaits are good for fall Transition fishing because they bring on reactionary bites even when bass are not terribly hungry. The right Crankbait for the job is dictated by the depth of water you’re fishing and how aggressively the fish are reacting. By late Fall, bass metabolism starts to slow down, they’re trying to conserve their energy and calories without burning too much, so they’ll wait for something easier to come along.
Early Fall Bass Fishing in 50-60 Degree Water
Because they are cold-blooded in nature, they are more active in warmer water because their metabolisms are faster. Their bodies use more energy, so they need to eat more often; the best water temperature for bass fishing is when the water is 50-60 degrees or higher. The bass’s body adjusts where ever they are throughout the water column, but when water temperatures warm or areas cool to 50-60 degrees, magic happens, a transitional shift from winter to spring or summer to fall.
Bass can survive in most temperatures but will eat more or less, just as humans do. If it’s too cold or too hot, they won’t eat as much. After a long hot summer and the air and water start to cool down, some bass will come to life, and their appetite will increase along with their metabolism.
These cooler water conditions get the blood flowing in the bass, causing them to want to feed. You will see more activity in the water as they come out of their slow, lethargic summer season and try to find something to put in their bellies.
While bass love to hide under-cover in other parts of the year, like winter and summer, it changes their main priority in the fall season when temperatures drop in the 50-60 degrees range, and they are focused on areas for baitfish feeding.
When the water temperature is cooling down from the hot summer temps between 50 to 60 degrees, you most likely are fishing between seasons when there is less sunlight and a smaller window for fish to feed until it turns off but more dramatic and exciting when they turn it back on.
Shad, one of the bass’ most common food sources, often travel to shallower water as the deep water gets cooler in the autumn. Bass will follow them there to gorge themselves. If the sun gets too bright in shallow water bass will take some cover, but most of the time, bass will be on the chase for baitfish with winter in the near future when their metabolism changes gear again, and cold water temperatures take over.
This is a critical time when fish are on the move from a point between deeper water to shallower looking for bait fish. They are gorging themselves to prepare for winter or spawning in the Spring when the temperatures indicate a change in the seasons.
What are the best live Baits for Bass fishing?
Bass are predators they’ll eat pretty much anything smaller than them in their natural environment like:
Minnows
Shad
Crayfish & other crustaceans.
Worms-Nightcrawler
Small Bluegills & small Catfish called “stones.”
Frogs
Insects on the surface-Grasshopper-Crickets-Dragonflies
Yes-Bass will eat smaller Bass .……………………………………………………………………………………….. Read More
Fall Bass Fishing Lures and Baitfish
Bass will eat pretty well in the Fall season They are more aggressive when the cooler air temperature comes in, dropping the water temps. Throw moving baits. Once you locate fish, try pitching and flipping soft plastics at them in cover. A wide arsenal of baits will find you bite in these water temps. Baitfish are in abundance at this time, so the choice of lure needs to reflect that. Color is important, and staying natural is key.
- Lipped Crankbaits
- Lipless Crankbaits
- Shallow Jerkbaits
- Large Swimbaits
- Topwater Bait
A red lipless crankbait does a great job of mimicking crayfish who are just popping out around late Fall. Another reason it works so well in 40-50 degree water temperatures is that they are great for fishing on the points or down banks where bass are congregating. You can fish them quickly in multiple different depths will bring in fish from the surrounding area if you don’t hit just the right spot.
- Deep Water Offshore Bait
Rapala Shad Dancer Crankbait
Already one of the deadliest deep-diving crankbaits on the market, the Rapala® Shad Dancer raises the bar wherever deep-bodied forage species roam. With its reconfigured, shad-style body profile, this silent swimmer exhibits the characteristics that have made the classic Tail Dancer so successful for casting and trolling: the steep-angled dives, the aggressive swim track, and of course, the signature hard-thumping, sweeping tail action.
- Shallow Water Baits
Strike King KVD Square Bill Silent Crankbait
“The Silent Assassin” Designed to the exact specifications of the 4-time Bassmaster Classic® champ, the Strike King® KVD Square Bill Silent Crankbait is a silent assassin, perfect for Kevin VanDam’s style of shallow-water power fishing. In addition to enabling this KVD hard bait to bounce and deflect off the cover, the square bill design also forces it to constantly wander with an erratic searching action while still running true.
Fish that move shallow in the fall transition is there to eat baitfish. Fish in shallow water will herd baitfish toward the back coves and shorelines. It’s important that you cover water quickly because the fish are congregating in schools. Fish group together in small pockets and cuts, and predatory fish like largemouth bass will lay in wait and ambush what comes their way.
They can be found in 5 ft of water or less, looking for shad and other baitfish. They will continue to stay in these low depths until temperatures cool further before moving out to deeper areas. For shallow fish, focus on lanes in the grass and the first hardcover near grass flats.
The common denominator of Fall largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Fishing is “fish where the bait is,” and in the warmer temperatures during sunshine-soaked daylight hours, baitfish will travel in the shallower waters at least until the chillier nighttime hours come. The fall season is the most active time of the year, leading into the most inactive season of the year, Winter and Winters Coming.
In the Fall season use search baits for bass to cover more water. One of the most important fall fishing tips is to cover plenty of water versus spending too much time in one spot. Use search baits, like a crankbait or topwater, to quickly locate schools of largemouth bass that are chasing shad to fatten up for winter.
How do you Catch Largemouth & Smallmouth Bass in the Fall?
You can Catch bass in the Fall if you:
- Understand the fall season transition period
- Identify baitfish & use a similar bait
- Look for grass that’s still green
- Cast baits on top of grass flats
- Find offshore structures/covers
- Find pockets
- Find cutouts on shorelines
- Use the right lure & location for temperature .………………………………………………………………………. Read More
Deep Water Fall Bass
The fall season is a great opportunity for the avid bass angler. Beginning around September, the fall weather patterns begin to set in. This means increased wind, decreasing water temperatures, and shorter days. It may not be the pleasant weather associated with summertime fishing, but it’s a dinner bell for Bass if you know the area to look.
Where does fall bass go? Try fishing the flats for fall bass. Fall bass typically moves into shallow water creeks during the fall months. Fish flats that are next to creek mouths, and try fishing in 3 to 6 feet of water with a few good fall fishing lures like a shallow water jerk bait or lipless crankbait. Focus on areas of the flat where there is hard bottom or bottom composition changes such as gravel to mud or gravel to sand.
The strategy should be to find the transition areas where the bass move to at the change of seasons. Focus on finding early fall areas from deep summer habitats into the shallower and mid-depth habitats.
After you find a suitable transition area, look for the bait fish and identify them Specifically, look for features within the area that Bass can use to ambush and corral in shallow bait fish. That is precisely where you want to fish.
During hot summer months, early fall on the edge of deep water near shallower water. Bass will stay in deeper cooler water temperatures waiting for the seasons to change. Once the summer months give way to Fall the bass will stage in areas that are shallower but near drop-off points where the water gets deep from a shallow area. This is a transition area for bass at the change of seasons to feed on small fish before the start of winter.
You can locate these spots by fishing them one cast at a time. The best way to find Bass in shallow water is to systematically break it down, starting deeper and working your way shallow until you get some bites.
Big bass doesn’t grow big by being dumb. As the bass ages, it begins to change its habits and becomes more aware of its surrounding environment. Those big females are very well aware that there’s a shad migration happening.
But the older and more ornery bass become, they have absolutely zero interest in fighting hundreds of small bass in creeks and spawning areas, for an insignificant meal. The shallowest water that’s holding baitfish whereas bass is on the edge of deeper water.
Fishing for bass in areas with water temperatures moving from warm to cold transitions within a few feet. Bass are predators Bass will do and go in the shallowest water that’s holding baitfish.
But Deepwater Bass fishing should not be discounted is much more important in the fall than some may think. As the water temperature cools, in a lake in early fall older fish especially bass know that cold fronts are going to happen and they need a way to easily adjust to these abrupt changes in weather. Nearby deep water allows fall bass to do just that.
We typically expect to find bass moving progressively farther into creek water, pockets in search of shad. It’s usually an all-out gorge fest, but it’s not always a linear deal for fall bass.
Keep switching up your lures if you’re not getting hits. Some anglers like to use shad-imitating crankbaits almost exclusively in fall bass fishing, but bass can get finicky when they’re schooling.
- Note big drops in water temperature. Another fall fishing advice is to consider the impact that a cold front will have on the activity level of bass during this time of year.
- With the transition into late fall fishing anglers see more reduced drops in temperature, and fish will be much less likely to chase fast-moving baits and bass fishing lures due to the fact that their metabolism will be slowing down in preparation for winter. Use smaller type baits from your tackle box for fall fishing maybe 2 to 3-inch soft plastic worms or creature baits, and fish much slower.
Where do Bass go in fall In fast rivers, bass will migrate to a sheltered bay to avoid moving water that tends to be colder; in lakes, they will move to deeper columns of the fishery where, at times, large populations of fish will congregate in the same pockets.
And just because these bass are congregating in the same area doesn’t mean that they are all either active or inactive. Jones said large groups of fish congregating on the bottom could be made up of both actively feeding and inactive fish.
Obviously, the cold weather affects any bass dramatically. Bass are cold-blooded and that allows their body temperature to be regulated by the water temperature, as the water temperature cools down, they go through quite a bit of biochemical changes. Ultimately, their metabolism slows down so much that it begins to offset feeding behavior in Fall.
Unlike humans, bass are cold-blooded animals. Simply put, their body temperature cannot retain heat in frigid temperatures. As the water temps get cooler in the Fall, they will try to move to the deepest area where the water is more stable and warmer As opposed to the summer season fall bass fishing where deeper water columns are preferred because it’s cooler
Where Do Bass Go in the Winter?
Bass don’t hibernate like other fish, they stay in deep H2O in winter, occasionally feeding but because of a loss of metabolism, they have a loss of appetite. Bass will hang around docks, in the deepest part of the H2O around pilings & rocks where small bait fish congregate & also for protection .…………………………………………………. Read more
JimGalloway Author/Editor
