Fall is Coming?
But When?
by Bruce Callis Jr
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As I have gotten older, I have come to relate my birthday to good thoughts. I know I am getting older, as some aches can testify to it. But I refuse to admit I am not 13 any more. But with my birthday, visions of crisp, cool mornings and big bass fill mine and just about all anglers thoughts this time of year. But it seems that mother nature has decided that summer needs to hang on a little bit longer here. Granted, we are going to experience some cooler nights, and they are getting longer, but the day time highs aren’t going to help cool the water. The days are getting shorter and our fishing time to starting to dwindle each and every day.
As anglers, it makes things difficult to say the least. We know that with fall, baitfish will begin to move into the backs of creeks and coves of the lakes. Rivers are a whole other story, and not in my expertise. If they are yours, maybe you need to write about it so I and others can learn. It is the time of the year when bass start to put on the feed bag and get ready for what they know is coming, the winter warlock, or is it old man winter. Either way, it becomes a great time to find some big bass.
But what do we do as we await that move and how do we prepare to make the switch. For me, its a time to learn and experiment with baits. I will let the fish tell me what to do, which is what we all should be doing every time we venture out. For now, it is still a summer pattern, but some bass will still be back in the backs because they never really left. The grass is still good and green. That outside edge is still a place to bet on big bass.
I just watched a video where Seth Feider talked about the grass and finding bass there. How he would idle around a lake and mark the sweet spots of good grass he found before he ever put down the trolling motor and starting to dissect it slowly. Some great information on how to take your time and slowly pick it apart, looking for where there may be a nice school of bass. Listening to him made me really think about how fast I work an area. The next trip out, if the weather hasn’t finally started to turn, I know what I plan to work on, my grass fishing before it starts to die off.
What else am I going to try? I am not great with swimbaits, soft plastic and hard baits. They are proved bass catchers and I have caught a couple on the soft plastic ones, but the hard bodied I’m still working on. Now is a great time to work with them to see what they can do. The bass will be getting hungrier as that internal clock is saying move. The water temperature has fallen ever so slightly and they are ready, so I figure my chances are better at getting bit, and maybe it being a big girl.
I am not looking forward to winter just yet. I am not looking forward to putting on layers of clothing and hand warmers shoved into places just to be able to fish just yet. I am looking forward to not sweating my butt off and looking for shade when the wind isn’t blowing. I am looking forward to a light sweatshirt to start the morning and peeling it off when the sun comes up and warms the air slightly, making things comfortable.
A Fat John 60 worked in the shallows, a spinnerbait worked through the lily pads, working the pads with a frog and tremendous explosions as a huge bass strikes it are all things I am truly looking forward to as soon as it starts to cool. What are you looking forward to the most? Cool mornings when drinking coffee is a must to ward off the chill? Less traffic on the lake? The hunters to abandon the lake and less pressure on the bass? What are you looking forward to? Comment below on this story and let me know what you think and what you are looking forward to.
