BASS FISHINGBass Fishing Sports Blog

Fishing report

LAKE OKEECHOBEE

Flipping plastic creature baits in thick vegetation and pitching plastic worms around reeds have been the best bets for bass given the cooler water temperatures. Another option is to fish crankbaits around rockpiles in the rim canal around Clewiston.

EVERGLADES/FRESHWATER

Bass were biting plastic stick worms in the canals connected to Lake Ida and shaky head jigs around the bridges. Bedding bass were biting on the flats off the L-67A Canal.

SOUTH FLORIDA INSHORE

Capt. Dave Kostyo reported awesome tarpon fishing at night around Haulover Inlet. Alexander Schmieder, of Germany, went 8 for 10 on tarpon 30-80 pounds Tuesday. Capt. Rick Stanczyk of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada has been catching excellent numbers of snook and lots of redfish and pompano in Florida Bay.

SOUTH FLORIDA OFFSHORE

Dolphin have been the best bet and they’ve been biting anywhere from 100-750 feet. Capt. Mario Cote of No Vacansea said to just troll where you see birds. Thursday morning he had three dolphin and a small tuna in 250 feet off Hallandale Beach. Yvan Tardif, of Montreal, caught five dolphin, three big skipjack tunas and two blackfin tunas in 500 feet off Hollywood Tuesday afternoon.

SACRAMENTO — A proposal that attempted to diminish the number of striped bass in the Feather River system was rejected Thursday by the California Fish and Game Commission.

In a unanimous vote, changes were rejected that would have increased the number of fish that could be kept and allow smaller fish to be kept.

Striped bass are found in the Sacramento River as far upstream as Red Bluff and up the Feather River to Oroville.

The fishing regulation changes had been proposed by the Department of Fish and Game because striped bass, a non-native fish, are devouring native fish, including young endangered salmon and Delta smelt.

The recommended changes would have settled a 2008 lawsuit filed by the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta, a group of San Joaquin Valley water districts.

Since the commissioners rejected the recommendations, the issue will return to the courts.

The changes had been recommended not just by the DFG, but by the Delta Stewardship Council, the National Oceanic Administration Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Among other things, the plan would have:

Raised the daily bag limit for striped bass from two to six fish.

Raised the possession limit for striped bass from two to 12 fish.

Lowered the minimum size for striped bass from 18 to 12 inches.

Established a “hot spot” for striped bass fishing at Clifton Court Forebay and specified adjacent waterways in the delta. The daily bag limit there would have been 20 fish, the possession limit would be 40 fish, and there would be no size limit.

Clifton Court Forebay is a reservoir in the delta in Contra Costa County.

The proposal was controversial partly because people who like to fish for stripers feared the new rules would reduce the striped bass population so much they’ll become hard to catch.

But the lawsuit settlement required Fish and Game to come up with a plan to reduce the impact of stripers on the endangered fish.

The Coalition for a Sustainable Delta had pointed out that farmers’ water allocations from the delta were being cut because of the decline of fish listed as endangered, such as spring-run and winter-run salmon, Central Valley steelhead and delta smelt.

The suit charged that Fish and Game was contributing to the decline by protecting striped bass, which are non-native and not listed as endangered, and which prey on the endangered fish.

THURMOND LAKE

Raysville Marina (Leon Buffington and Doug Pentecost), (706) 595-5582 – Debbie Percival caught a 2½-pound crappie on minnows. Danny Johnson, Thomson, limited out on crappies on minnows. Cliff and Doane Crowe caught 60 crappies on minnows and jigs. Jack Owens and Billy Englett, of Grovetown, caught 36 crappies on Jan. 14 and 20 on Jan. 25. Minnows were the bait.

Ralph Barbee Jr., professional guide specializing in largemouth bass. (706) 860-7373 – Fishing by myself on Thursday, I caught three jacks, two white perch, one hybrid and two bass, all small, on bone-colored Rat-L-Trap. I fished ditches, casting out, letting it fall, lifting it up, let it fall, and they’d hit it sluggishly on the fall.

My show features Capt. Dan Utley out of Hilton Head, S.C. we catch large redfish, a 100-pound bull shark and another fish that got away. we fished cut mullet. Fishing with Ralph Barbee airs Saturdays at 11 a.m., and Sundays at 1:30 p.m. on Comcast Channel 21, My12TV, Knology Ch. 7, Atlantic Broadband (Aiken) Ch. 7 and Charter Ch. 9 (Fort Gordon).

William Sasser’s Guide Service, (Capt. William Sasser and Capt. mark Crawford, U.S. Coast Guard-licensed, full time professional guides specializing in crappies, hybrids and striped bass). (706) 589-5468 (William), (706) 373-8347 (Mark) or (864) 333-2000. (Clark Hill Herring Hut) – Mark: Josh Sandt, McCormick, S.C., Jason Sandt, Savannah, and Herb marks, McCormick, caught 13 hybrids and stripers running 3 to 12 pounds. they hit herring pulled beneath planer boards in the shallows. Ed Wiley, Summerville, S.C.; Jim Wiley and John Bracknell, Greenwood, S.C., filled a cooler with stripers ranging from 8 to 24 pounds on rainbow trout and herring pulled below planer boards. Check out my Web site: williamsasserfishing.com.

NORTH GEORGIA MOUNTAIN STREAMS

Carter and Hunter Morris, licensed professional guides specializing in glide fishing for rainbow, brook and brown trout. (706) 833-1083 (flyfishingnorthgeorgia.com) (facebook.com/flyfishingnorthgeorgia) – Hunter: Rainfall and erratic temperature changes seem to have the trout wondering what and when to eat. Dad and I had another fantastic trip at Fern Valley on the Soque River this week, but it was the perfect indecisiveness of the fish. Although we landed a lot of nice trout, we never were able to find a pattern or method that was consistently good. as long as the weather keeps changing so frequently, try the same thing with the glide patterns you are using, but change them often. an even more effective approach is to change methods often. If you’ve tried a couple of nymph patterns without much success, switch to wet flies or streamers, or vice versa The fish want to eat – you just have to give them a small extra encouragement right now.

MERRY LAND BRICKYARD PONDS

Check-in station, 1408 Doug Barnard Parkway, Gene Kirkland and Brantley Toomer, (706 722-8263) – Crappies remain on a tear, with minnows the preferred bait. Tim Johnston caught 65 huge crappies in the Membership Pond. bill Wright caught 72 crappies in the Ditch. Lula and Pete Williams caught 48 bream and catfish in the Pollard Pond on worms and liver. Larry Hamilton caught 71 crappies in the Membership Pond. Shawn Loper caught 76 crappies in the Ditch. Mitchell Brown caught nine bass, one an 8-pounder, on a crank bait in the Expressway Pond. Nick Loumas caught 67 crappies in the Ditch. Stephen Mobley caught 52 crappies in the Ditch.

SAVANNAH, GA.

Miss Judy Charters, Capt. Judy Helmey, (912) 897-4921 (missjudycharters.com.) P.O. Box 30771, Savannah, Ga. 31410-0771 – “Playing and swimming with the fish!” Capt. Judy gave a plug to Mike Dick, of the Savannah Dive Company, who offers private Scuba instruction. more information: (912) 210-6317. and don’t forget Capt. Judy’s own inshore fishing school on Feb. 4 and offshore fishing school on Feb. 11.

Robert Brown, who assists Alcoa with public relations, said the tree-cutting marks the construction of a new parking area at the access that will be completed by the end of the year.

“This (the new parking area) will allow us to have separate parking areas for boaters and the swimming/picnic area,” said Brown.

Visitors to the Pebble Beach swim area at Flat Swamp know that during the summer months the area can become highly congested with fishermen, recreational enthusiasts, and swimmers all seeking out parking spaces for their vehicles. at times, the traffic has overflowed to the roadside along Highway 8 near the access entrance.

The new parking area should resolve this problem.

Striped bass are being caught in excellent numbers at Badin Lake after virtually disappearing the past two years.

Guides Maynard Edwards and Jerry Hill have both heard reports that the stripers suddenly reappeared just before and after the Christmas holidays with anglers catching as many as 40 fish per outing.

“The fish haven’t been very huge with most running 2 to 3 pounds, but after a long period of meager catches, anglers are pleased to see the fish active again,” said Hill, who also had excellent luck with stripers at Lake Tillery recently. “Occasionally, someone catches 5- or 6-pound fish but not in any numbers.”

No one knows for certain why the stripers became scarce, though some attribute their disappearance to the extremely hot weather of the last two summers. others believe the hot weather forced the fish so deep or into such narrow zones that striper fishermen couldn’t locate them.

The striper fishing became so poor at Badin that the Tarheel Striper Club began scheduling their club tournaments elsewhere after several dismal outings at the lake. the club also sought input from N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission biologists to get their take on what might have happened to the striper fishery.

Edwards said several striper anglers at Badin told him they caught their fish in fairly shallow water.

Whatever took place at Badin, anglers are pleased to know that the lake is back as a striped bass producer.

The Alabama rig, a modified version of the ancient umbrella rig used mostly by striped bass anglers, has created a lot of excitement among area fishermen. the downsized Alabama rig has proven deadly on largemouth bass in clear water lakes.

Now fishermen are experimenting with the rig for other species.

Touring pro Joel Richardson of Kernersville said he’s making his own version of the rig to test it out on largemouth bass at Kerr Lake. Capt. Gus Gustafson of Lake Norman Ventures said fishermen at Norman are having success with the rig for spotted bass and white perch. Joe Aldridge of Joe’s Bait & Tackle at Albemarle said Lake Tillery fishermen are downsizing the rig to catch crappie. Edwards said he’ll be offering a version of the rig at his booth at the Central Carolina Bass & Fishing Expo in Greensboro this February.

Mann’s Bait Co. recently obtained the rights to the original Alabama rig used by pro Paul Elias of Mississippi to win the October FLW Tour tournament at Lake Guntersville, Ala. the rig costs $27.99 if purchased online.

Many anglers are making their own Alabama rigs at half that cost with materials available at hardware and discount tackle stores. several Internet entries tell how to make an Alabama rig.

Two Tar Heel fishing teams earned checks at the Jan. 14 Southern Crappie Tournament event on Stumpy Pond/Fishing Creek, S.C.

Kevin Hawkins of Ramseur and Wayne Niece of Biscoe won the tournament with 12.89 pounds and had the huge fish of the day with a 2.49-pound crappie. They received $700 for first place and $170 for huge fish.

Brian Shore of State Road and Denny Potts of Mocksville finished third with 11.06 pounds and shared $200.

The Carolina Crappie Association (carolinacrappieassociation.webnode.com) visits Badin and Tillery Lakes on Saturday. the take off is at the Alcoa Landing at Badin.

Tony Garitta is a fishing columnist for the Dispatch.

Clear Lake will be loaded with boats starting today and continuing through Saturday. American Bass (ABA) leads the parade with its Tournament of Champions beginning today. the tournament winds up Saturday and will operate out of the Konocti Vista Casino, Resort and Marina.

The TOC is expected to draw at least 150 boats and the weigh-in for both days starts at 2:30 p.m. to top it all off, the waterfowl season opens Saturday and there will be duck hunters out on the lake. of course, there are also several bass clubs tournaments scheduled as well.

The tournament anglers should find good action as the warm weather has spurred the bass into their feeding mode. that, and the abundance of bait fish, should result in some heavy weights being brought to the scales. in fact, a few fishermen have been complaining there are too many bait fish and the silverside minnows, juvenile crappie and threadfin shad are so thick that the bass are reluctant to take a lure.

The American Bass TOC is the final major bass tournament scheduled on the lake this year. There are a couple of smaller team events but they are expected to field fewer than 30 boats. most of the tournament circuits don’t start their new season until January. Konocti Vista Casino will host its Fall Bass Classic at Clear Lake on Nov. 12. the team tournament entry fee is $160 and includes big fish. the tournament is limited to 100 teams. Entry forms are available at all the local tackle shops. call 823-3252 for information

For those who just want to catch a bass or two, then jumbo minnows are the way to go. the guides have switched nearly exclusively to minnows and their clients are averaging between eight and 12 fish per day.

The good news is the catfish action is still wide open and most fishermen are having little distress catching five to 10 catfish per day. Cut mackerel or jumbo minnows have been the top bait. Bank fishermen have been doing very well off the pier at Redbud Park in Clearlake. the docks at Library Park in Lakeport are also producing catfish.

Upper Blue Lake is scheduled to be stocked with trout next week and some holdover trout remain, so the lake is worth a try this weekend. the bass fishing has been rated very good at the lake.

Duck hunters open their season Saturday and from all reports the hunting should be brilliant in the Sacramento Valley although the waterfowl refuges will be closed until Oct. 29 because of a late rice harvest. There will be a good number of duck hunters on Clear Lake. Clear Lake always draws hunters from Fort Bragg and Ukiah along with local residents.

The rules for hunting on the lake are that you must stay at least two miles offshore when hunting within the city limits of Lakeport and Clearlake. the rest of the lake is pretty much open to hunting, but, you can’t shoot a firearm within 150 yards of any building and there is no hunting within the confines of the Clear Lake State Park and Anderson Marsh.

The daily limit this year is seven ducks, of which two can be hen mallards. This year two pintails and one canvasback are also allowed as part of the daily bag limit. regardless of the species, the daily limit of all ducks combined can’t exceed seven. Hunters are reminded that in addition to their hunting license they also must have both the federal and state duck stamps.

The Zone B deer season ends Sunday and the hunting to date has been slow. Reports coming out of the Hull Mountain-Lake Pillsbury area show that hunters are seeing very few deer. It’s even worse at Snow Mountain. the warmer than normal weather has resulted in a very limited migration from the high country and the bucks still haven’t gone into rut.

The question most of the hunters are asking this year is where are the deer? the answer is that no one knows. One answer could be that because of a lack of control burning and practically no logging there is very little deer habitat being created. Because of budget cuts the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is doing very little deer research and that includes fall population counts and habitat work.

By MARC FOLCO October 07, 2011 12:00 AM

Huge bluefish averaging 10 pounds with some weighing into the teens are throughout the bay from Wareham to Westport and are gorging on some huge pods of pogies. The fall is a good time to catch a whopper. They’ll take a variety of lures but casting surface poppers into feeding schools will provide some explosive strikes and lots of action. Trolling ragmops will also catch fish when they’re not visible on the surface. And troll them quick. unlike stripers, which like a slower bait trolled at around three knots, blues take lures at five knots. Snagging and live-lining pogies will also get you some huge blues.

Striper fishing has picked up in the Canal with lots of huge fish from the center of the canal to the west end. Fishing has been best at daybreak but the action has even picked up again during a couple of afternoons. Those fish coming through will be spreading throughout the bay as the fall migration is kicking in. when bluefish are tearing into pogies on the surface, stripers will often be under them and at the edges.

The tautog bite is still steady in the bay with some huge fish off the deeper ledges and rockpiles with a few keepers coming inshore along rocky jetties and bridges. Green crabs, chopped in half and fished on the bottom on a double hook tautog rig is the top method but they’ll also take sea worms and clams. If you can get ‘em, fiddler crabs are the caviar of tautog bait. Black sea bass are also biting good, but that season is nearly over.

While the tautog season is open year round with a three-fish daily limit and 16-inch minimum size, other groundfish species have closed or are winding down for the season. Recreational scup season closed on Sept. 26, fluke closed on Sept. 30 and black sea bass closes at the end of the day on Tuesday.

There are still some false albacore around but not in the huge schools we had a couple of weeks ago. They’ve been in and out from West Island to Wareham and also off Westport, and most recently were concentrated in Wareham Harbor. most shiny jigs will take them, but they can be finicky, so try to match the size jig to the bait they’re eating. And don’t expect to hookup in every school. they are wary and boat shy so don’t try and get too close — just get close enough to reach them with a long cast. when the lure hits the water let it sink a few seconds, then use a quick retrieve and the lure will often get hit as it clears the school.

Albies have a keen sense of smell and can be attracted by chumming. one technique is to cut up small baitfish and toss a few handfuls in the water at a time, creating a chum slick and a scent trail. The fish may or may not show on the surface, so cast into your slick or float a whole baitfish into the slick. Adding some menhaden oil to the slick will increase the scent.

How to shrinkwrap your boat, including a full demonstration, will be the topic of West Marine’s free boating seminar on Oct. 15 from 10 a.m. — noon. It will be held at the Berdon Plaza location in Fairhaven. call (508) 992-8484 to reserve your seat.

Marc Folco is the outdoor writer for The Standard-Times. Contact him at

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September 02, 2011

COASTWIDE – Stiff winds and small-craft advisories are in effect through tonight, but the ocean is forecast to settle down this weekend. that could make for some very good bottomfishing. the ocean coho season north of Humbug Mountain has been extended through Saturday, Sept. 10, to give anglers another shot at catching wild or hatchery coho at sea.

Bottomfish anglers must stay within the 20-fathom line to steer clear of yelloweye rockfish, which must be released unharmed. Halibut anglers cannot fish for bottomfish while halibut fishing. the marine aggregate limit in Oregon is seven rockfish a day. Cabezon can no longer be kept by boat anglers because the quota has been met. the lingcod limit is two a day with a 22-inch minimum, and that is separate from the marine aggregate.

Tuna have come within 15 miles of some ports. Overall, the past week has been slow for tuna anglers except those running out of Port Orford, where anglers averaged nine tuna per trip.

Beaches from the mouth of the Columbia River down to Cape Meares are closed to mussel harvest, but the rest of the coast is open.

BROOKINGS – Bottomfishing picked up this week. Halibut fishing remains pretty good, but California halibut have yet to show up. Tuna fishing has stalled but it could improve with calmer seas.

CHARLESTON – Coho fishing has picked up and should be good through the week.

GOLD BEACH – Salmon fishing remains good in the bay for trollers of anchovies or cut-plug herring. Expect crowds this weekend. Some coho are starting to show in the catch but coho numbers remain light.

Surfperch fishing remains good outside of the Rogue River jetties and along Nesika Beach when the winds die down during the top of the incoming tide and the first hour of the outgoing tide.

ELK – Fishing for surfperch is waning near the mouth of the Elk River. Catches are best before the winds pick up.

WINCHESTER BAY – Sturgeon fishing is slow. Crabbing has been steady but the overall Dungeness catch has been low in the estuary.

AGATE – Water levels have dropped quickly recently, with the lake now at 54 percent full. Warm water has meant good bass and crappie fishing, with fish scattered around the lake. No gas motors are allowed. Small electric motors are legal.

APPLEGATE – the lake is dropping much faster now that inflows have waned, and the surface level is now 37 feet from full. Trout anglers are still getting fish by trolling worms with flashers or Triple Teasers off points. Smallmouth bass are biting plastic worms and small crankbaits near the dam and off points. the French Gulch and Copper boat ramps are usable. Hart-Tish Park is open. For updates on facilities, call 541-899-9220.

EMIGRANT – the lake has warmed and dropped significantly recently, and the lake is now less than two-thirds full. Trout fishing is slow, but it is best in the cooler waters in the Emigrant Arm. Catch them by casting a worm on a hook with no weights. good water conditions have helped the bass and perch bites lakewide, with perch fishing best in the willows and bass off rocky points and around Songer Wayside.

A standing public-health advisory continues about eating all but trout from the lake because of elevated mercury levels.

HOWARD PRAIRIE – the lake continues to be a smallmouth bass show, and the water temperature remains quite cool. there are still plenty of 15- to 17-inch trout for anglers fishing deep and in the early mornings and late evenings. Trollers continue to out-produce bank anglers. Success along the jetty near the resort has been spotty, as is fishing near Grizzly Campground.

HYATT – Fishing near the dam and around the Orchard has been fair for trout with chartreuse or rainbow PowerBait. Late evening has been best. Largemouth bass fishing is brilliant for those wind-drifting worms or casting and retrieving any red spinner or spoon.

DIAMOND – the lake is sporting 20-foot visibility and fewer mosquitoes since nighttime temperatures dropped below freezing this past week. Trollers and anchored anglers are doing very well for trout up to 25 inches. Trolling F-4 Flatfish or Triple Teasers is very good for trout, while glide-fishers using black or olive leeches are having some very good days in the south end, with mornings and evenings best. Fish mostly in water 18 to 20 feet now. For PowerBaiters, float your bait about 4 feet above the bottom for rainbows feeding on insects and freshwater shellfish on the weeds.

The trout limit is eight, but only one can be longer than 20 inches. one smaller rainbow with an orange tag in its dorsal fin is worth $500 to whomever catches it. Check it in at the resort if you catch it.

EXPO – Fishing remains fair for stocked rainbow trout with Panther Martin lures, PowerBait and worms under bobbers.

LOST CREEK - the lake’s water quality remains very good, and trolling for trout is good near the dam and directly across from the marina. Smallmouth bass fishing is very good in the mornings and evenings for jiggers and those casting rubber worms in the weeds.

FISH – Fishing is good with PowerBait or worms for rainbow trout near the center of the lake. Trollers are also picking up stocked chinook salmon, which are treated legally as trout. they run up to about 11 inches.

LEMOLO – A voluntary advisory against water contact is in place at Lemolo after a blue-green algae bloom there this past week. Trolling for huge brown trout has been good, and glide-fishers using woolly buggers or leeches were finding a mix of rainbows and browns.

WILLOW – Fishing is fair for legal-sized and larger rainbow trout stocked there earlier this year. Troll deep and slow, or fish PowerBait off the bottom.

ROGUE - the upper Rogue is a glide-fishermen’s steelhead zone now that the annual September rule changes have gone into effect. the middle Rogue has been a hot-spot for huge fall chinook downstream from the mouth of the Applegate River, while the lower Rogue bay continues to pump out fall chinook and a few coho amid crowded conditions.

That leaves the best bet a three-way split, with each zone offering its own cornucopia.

In the upper Rogue, it’s flies-only through October from the Hatchery Hole down to the old Gold Ray Dam site. Anglers can use up to three flies and a bubble regardless of what kind of rod or reel is used. But, no added weights or attachments are allowed — even swivels are illegal now.

Also, flows are dropping quickly, with 100 cubic feet per second shaved off each day this week from releases at Lost Creek Lake. the outflow will be down to 1,700 cfs by Thursday, so that will be the best steelhead fishing conditions in the upper Rogue so far this year. Also, water releases are averaging 56 degrees, leaving the steelhead more active.

Now is the time to swing streamers with sink-tip lines in riffles and tail-outs. Bank anglers also can use spinning rods, ugly bugs and prince nymphs. Egg patterns will start working well below spawning salmon, but there hasn’t been a lot of spawning activity yet downstream of Shady Cove. all wild steelhead must be released unharmed.

In the middle Rogue, very good fall chinook salmon fishing is happening downstream from Grants Pass, with Kwikfish wrapped with sardine filets out-working roe (too many pikeminnows get caught with roe). the float from Lathrop’s Landing to Robertson Bridge has been very popular, largely because anglers there can target fish headed up the Applegate River. Lots of 30-plus pounders are in the mix.

In the lower Rogue, anglers are packing the bay, and catches have come in one- or two-hour flurries.

In the bay, anchovies with spinner blades are working best, along with cut-plug herring. Vary your depths and trolling speeds because the fish are at different depths daily.

Very few of the huge, early-run summer steelhead have appeared in the lower Rogue. Halfpounder steelhead are making a strong showing in the regular beach-seining surveys at Huntley Park. these things will bite pretty much any fly, bait or small lure.

APPLEGATE – the river is open to trout fishing. all wild trout, including cutthroat, must be released unharmed. It is illegal to target spawning winter steelhead in the Applegate.

UMPQUA – Summer steelhead catches are slow in the lower North Umpqua, where all wild steelhead must be released unharmed. the South Umpqua is brilliant for smallmouth bass in the Elkton area. South Umpqua flows have been dropping consistently, and that has helped for bass catches on rubber worms and crayfish flies.

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i fish on my dock and i have had luck catching bass in the evening with topwater baits and fake worms. i was wondering if i should change lures and will the bass be more active? thanks

ps. there are lilly pads on each side of my dock but open water in front of it and the water depth is 3 to 5 ft and i live in minnesota

this time of the year, the bass are trying to get fat for winter. most of them are in group feeding on bait fishes out in the open water; to catch those, use a spoon/sinking rapala. most of the bass are still lurking around fish structures like where you have around your dock, lily pads. your top water lures: frogs, poppers, jitterbugs, etc; will still be productive. usually the huge-o bass are still doing the ambush thing, so try using a 1/2-1 oz spinnerbait; single blade or double, doesn't matter.
excellent luck to you!

when im fishing i will start by throwing rubber worms and lures but i try to stick with them but i always fall back to live bait every time i know i will improve my catch ratio if i put a rubber worm or lure on but its like programmed in my brain wut should i do

Don't stick with only 1 type & color worm,
Keep trying different styles & color worms, till you find something that works on that particular day & location

Don't take any live bait along.

Never fished before in the fall. always just quit around mid august. but this year gonna try it out. what are some excellent techniques and lures? depths of water? ect.

Fall can be hard because bass are in a transition period from deep summer haunts back into the shallows to feed up for winter. if its still warm in your area start with your drop offs and deepest part of points with crank baits and soft plastics or jigs. if you have already started cooling down as it has in the mountains of NC go shallow. I use a shallow square billed crank bait or Rat-L-Trap as a search bait. I will also go with a Zoom Trick worm Texas rigged in shallow water but Carolina rigged for those points and a jig works well in the shallows. also in the fall you may find schools of bass chasing bait fish and that would also be a excellent use for the Rat-L-Trap. I like Fall fishing but it can be a bummer if the fish are back in forth during this transition and you have to chase them. I have some swim baits I have been saving for the shallow fall bite and I am going to wake them right under the surface. I went this morning and caught 2 bass shallow on a shaky head worm in about 3 feet of water.

In the Fall, the general forage a Bass consumes is at it's "largest".

For this reason, larger Soft Plastic's, Cranks & Rattle Traps, and 1/2-3/4 OZ Spinnerbait's are a must.

If your in a region with snakes, toads & salamander's now is a perfect time to use larger SP imitation's.

Here are my preferred lures for Fall:

1. 1/2-3/4 OZ Rattle Trap type lures- when the water temp, (and Sun exposure), starts to drop/wane Bass start eating more to store up calories for Winter. Most "bait-fish forage" at this time is AT LEAST 6-8" long all over the country. when you reckon of a Bass in the Fall, reckon "Bear".

What does a Bear do in the Fall?

Eat like a moose until they gorge themselves!

And what is Mr. Bass's favorite food source? Bait-fish!

So any larger Crank or Rattle Trap is a excellent "quick" lure to find HUGE, active, Bass. in fact, Cranks ,in general, are excellent "Scouting lures" to find active fish…..

2. larger Soft Plastic's- 10" Worms, 8" Lizards and 6-8" Swim Bait's- a 10" worm looks like a small snake or HUGE leech; the huge lizard looks like a big Salamander & the action of a SP Swim Bait drives them nut's…….nuf said!

3. Spinnerbait's- Spinnerbait's are another baitfish imitation. make sure to try a variety of blades to see which one works best- (Double Willow-leaf blades most resemble a baitfish school…..hint hint).

Of course there are many other excellent lures………but I'd try these first.

Where will you generally FIND these hungry Bass?

Look for main lake point's and deepwater weedbeds.

Hope this helps ITZ? Excellent luck!

If you have never gone fishing in the fall then you have been missing out! Fall (i reckon) is the best time to go fishing other than spring. in the fall (especially around mid-september) the bass will start gorging themselves for the coming winter. So pretty much anything goes really. if you know what the fish are eating then throw a lure that imitates that. here a my home lake the large mouths feed heavily on the small shad, so i use small-medium sized shad colored crank baits. I usually see hoards of shad along the banks and weeds, so that's where i fish, sometimes the action is non-stop! when i fish the river for small mouths, anything will work. Yesterday me, my girl friend, and my sisters boyfriend went fishing at the river. I used a jig, she used a pins minnow (baby bass colored), and he used a heddon torpedo, all three of us were catching fish left and right. Small mouths tend to be very aggressive to. Tubes, hellgrammites, medium sized crank baits (shad colored), and jigs seem to work quite well during the fall. but like i said, anything goes during the fall, the fish feed heavily and aggressively to fatten up for the winter. So anything in your tackle box might do the trick, Excellent luck!

Fantastic advice by Fisher_King. Bass are greedy this time of year and will bite often and bite big bait. I was using large spinnerbaits the other day, retrieved just below the surface, and couldn't keep 10 inchers off my line, which was fantastic because I was just trying to get some kids their first bass. this was a large spinnerbait, but they didn't care, they went for it anyway. Excellent luck out there.

The HUGE spinner baits are KILLER for big bass in fall. Fish around submerged trees, stumps, branches, etc. with a big 1/2 OZ spinner bait. they will NAIL these things.