Bass Fishing in the Fall

Fall is a great time of the year to catch bass, if you're one of the many people who puts away those rods & reels during this time of the year, you're making a big mistake. Fall is the time for fishing and these fall bass fishing techniques will make you a much more successful bass angler.

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year to be out in nature, especially doing what I love to do most, fishing. You can't talk about fall fishing without mentioning the beauty of nature. There is probably no better time of year to be out enjoying nature at it's best. To make you fall fishing more enjoyable, let's go over some techniques.

• Top Water - Fall is a great time of the year for top water fishing. Zara Spook, Jitterbug, and floating Rapalas are all good choices when it comes to top water fishing this time of the year. For the best results fish top water baits in the early mornings, late afternoons in to the evenings. The best time is in glassy condition, meaning the water is as flat as possible.

• Jerkbait - Bass make their fall transition along structures and contour lines. As they're moving along these structures, fishing a jerkbait can be a very effective strategy. Look shad busting the water or near the top of the water column. You can look for the shad visually or with your electronics. The bass school when moving along contour lines and feed on the shad. The bass will break the surface when feeding on shad and throwing a jerkbait into these schooling bass is a deadly. There are a lot of great jerkbaits out there, some of my favorites are a fluke or a Berkeley Gulp shad.

• Crankbaits & Spinnerbaits - Fishing Crankbaits and Spinnerbaits along the same contour lines mentioned earlier is an effective technique in the fall. The key with Crankbaits is that they look as realistic as possible, that is as much like the bass' normal forage as possible. When it comes to bass fishing in the fall, matching the color of the forage is always best.

So get out those rods and try some of the techniques just mentioned. As the water temperatures cool and oxygen levels increase bass become very active and are susceptible to all of the techniques mentioned. But most of all, go out and enjoy nature at its best.

How the weather affects fishing

All serious fishermen knows the how much the weather impacts fishing. The weather impacts the behavior of a fish, which in turn impacts fishing. Therefore, to be a successful angler you need to pay attention to the weather and how it relates to fish.

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given time and place, with respect to variables such as temperature, moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure. The part of the weather that we, as anglers, need to pay close attention of is the barometric pressure. The barometric pressure affects fish behavior to an amazing degree.

Fish can detect barometric pressure changes through their lateral lines and as the weather changes the barometric pressure changes. As the pressure changes the fish will tend to react differently. When the barometric pressure is stable, meaning that there are no fronts moving in or out of the area, the fishing will tend to be normal. On the other hand when the barometric pressure is falling (which many times means that the weather degrading or becoming worse) fish tend to become much more active. And when fish become more active the fishing tends to be much more productive. When the pressure is falling and bad weather is on the horizon, fishing can be epic.

A lot of people makes the mistake of looking outside, checking out the great weather, you know those great days with almost no clouds and and nothing but blue skies. This is when the barometric pressure is high, although these might seem like great days to go fishing, in these situations fish tend to be in deeper water and tends to be inactive. So when the weather seems to be great, the fishing can tend to be slow. 

The bottom line is that the weather and fishing go together to a much greater degree than you might think. Investing some time researching the weather and how it affects fishing will make you be a better angler.

Dropshotting For Bluegills

I was on a fishing forum the other day and ran in to this question, "Will a dropshot rig work for bluegills?". It's strange that I saw this question because I just tried this rig a few weeks ago in Lake Hemet.

Well the answer is yes, it works great. My wife and I were fishing for bass at Lake Hemet using dropshot, I was using a plastic worm and my wife was actually using nightcrawlers. Unfortunately, I only got a couple of bass that day. My wife were getting alot of strikes but none would take and everytime she reeled in, her crawlers are cut in half.

Looking at the water, we notice a lot of shadows darting underwater. So, I decided to downsize her hook and cut a nightcrawler in half. Sure enough, first cast and she hooks a really nice sunfish...then the second cast she hooks a nice bluegill. So I downsized my setup as well and we ended up catching sunfish and bluegills the whole time we were there.

So yes, the dropshot rig works great on bluegills, you just need to downsize your tackle and bait.

A Closer Look At Fishing Rods!

Fishing beginners or even experience fishermen often don't know how to select a fishing rod to match the type of fishing they plan to do. Before deciding which is best, an angler should know about the power and the action of a fishing rod.

Difference Between Baitcast Reel & Spinning Reel!

A quality reel can greatly improve your casting distance and accuracy, whether it is baitcast reel or spinning reel,  it will make fishing a lot more fun.

Bass Fishing Tips

The best time for bass fishing is in the mornings and evenings inside three days before & after a full moon. I like to fish submerge structures and points. Bass loves points because it is easy access from shallow water to deep water.

When bass fishing, look for big flat areas around the lake and start throwing crankbaits and spinnerbaits early in the morning. Then, look for structures on the water such as submerge boulders, trees, weeds, etc.. Bass use these structures to hide in to ambush prey.

Fishing The Drop Shot Rig!

One of the most popular techniques in bass fishing right now is the Drop Shot rig and is my go to rig when the bite is slow. The advantages of the Drop Shot rig is that the bait is always suspended, the depth is easily adjusted and it is very simple to fish.

How To Fish The Spawn!

From March to the end of April, in some lakes it could last into June, big bass spawn on shallow, sandy beds. 

Catching Bass After The Spawn

After the female bass has deposited her eggs in the nest, the male will stay near the nest to protect it for about a week after spawning. During this time the male is not a feeding fish, however, he can be provoked into attacking a lure which is presented very close to the nest in a defensive effort. After spawning both the male and female become active feeders again.