By Scott Norton
It’s that time of year when changes are happening. You will notice your deep spots in the main lake are getting less and less productive. We’re getting those cooler nights and when bass sense this they start their journey to prepare for what is to come. The dog days of summer have let go of their grasp and now bass are thinking about schooling to feed up on shad.
Where do they go? There are some places to concentrate on to stay productive. You will start to notice big blow ups in the middle of deep water and when you do, you will know the transition has already started. In the fall transition, you will find fish spread out which makes them hard to pattern. They abandon those grassy areas for hard cover and open water. They have shad on their mind right now as they position to feed up. This will happen in waves so you will still have bass on grass if you like that pattern, you will just have fewer of them. The best places to concentrate on will be docks, lay downs, and coves. They are positioning to ambush forage and to keep out of the sun as well. If you have forward-facing sonars, you will have the advantage in the open water. If you don’t have that, then have a rig ready to grab if you see blow-ups within casting distance. Most anglers have side imaging now so this will show you a lot in the positioning of bass.
What baits should I use? I would recommend anything that looks like small fish from shad, panfish, or trout. Your power fishing lures are going to be a big part of your arsenal. They are putting on weight for the winter months, so they are also more willing bite what you offer. This is a very fun time of the year to bring in big catches. If you decide you want to bring someone new, this is the time to do it. You will also notice the lack of recreational boaters like in the mid-summer, as well.
The fish will eventually make their way into backs of creeks to corral all the shad. Start towards the main lake and work your way in to find concentrations of schooling bass. They will be in different waves, so do not settle for a particular area when you start to get bites. Move on and keep fishing to see if your bite frequencies increase or decrease. This will give you the best areas for bite rates.
Remember, this is the transition and not the fall pattern yet but that will come soon. This will not last long, but you must keep this in mind in case you forget. Bass will be on the move so they will not hold to any pattern from day to day until they settle into the fall pattern. Do not be a victim to fishing from memory because they will not be there the next time. I hope this helps and have fun out there!
Scott Norton is a Western North Carolina native. Born in Asheville, N.C., he is a long-time hunter, angler and weekend warrior.