Fall Bass Hot Spots

Fall Bass Hot Spots

Fall Bass Hot Spots Fall is a great time to fish for bass! Cooling water energizes the fish, and an abundance of baitfish can have bass feeding from top to bottom. Be sure to fish these high-percentage areas on your home lake with the lures and presentations recommend by BASS pros.

Open Water Baitfish Schools: A 3/4 ounce jigging spoon is a good lure choice for this scenario because you can cast it a long distance, even into the wind. When you spot fish breaking in open water, cast the spoon past them and retrieve it quickly by skipping it across the surface. If a bass doesn't strike the spoon on top, stop reeling and let it sink on a tight line. Often the biggest fish in the school are holding beneath the baitfish school, picking off the wounded shad.

Slow Tapering Points: Slow tapering points are among the best fall bass structures because they serve as a long "bridge" from shallow to deep water and are thus magnets for open water baitfish schools. Rip a silver or gold lipless crankbait off the end of the point, and keep a surface popper tied on in case you spot breaking fish.

Submerged Standing Timber: Submerged standing timber lining a creek or river channel is a good bet in autumn. Bass will suspend around trees and intercept passing shad. Cast a 3/4 ounce spinnerbait parallel to the treeline, count it down to the depth of baitfish visible on your graph and slow roll it back to the boat.

Last Living Vegetation: The last living vegetation can hold lunker bass in late fall. Fish a weedless frog on top of the grass or pitch a worm or jig into the cover.

Offshore Humps: Offshore humps attract bass in fall, especially early in the season while the water is still fairly warm. Fish humps with a crankbait, football jig or Texas rigged worm. Be sure to probe the sides as well as the top of structure.

Steep Channel Banks: Steep channel banks in tributaries serve as migration routes for both baitfish and bass. They're especially productive during fall reservoir drawdown - bass will vacate the shallows and exit tributary arms via their channels. Cast a smoke or chartreuse colored twist-tail grub up shallow and tight line it down the sloping bank.

Deep Points: Deep points will hold large numbers of bass stationed there to feed on wandering baitfish schools. Root a deep diving crankbait in a shad pattern around the sides and end of the point, keying on isolated stumps or big rocks - these often hold large concentrations of bass.

Outer Edges: The outer edge of a big flat is an often overlooked fall bass hot spot. Bass will often suspend in the deeper water off the drop when inactive and then move onto the flat to feed. Dredge a diving crankbait parallel to the dropoff or cast a Carolina rigged lizard onto the flat and drag it down the drop.

***Fall Bass Hot Spots September/October 2010. Bassmaster (Don Wirth pg. 80-81)