Layer up, put on the wool socks, and stash a few hand warmers in your pockets. It’s time to go fishing! But where do you start? If you follow the three tips below, you will undoubtedly put more bass in the boat later into the fall.
1. Timing It Right While Late Fall Fishing
When you go fishing, you want to make the hours you spend on the water count. This couldn’t be truer for this time of the year. The beauty of fishing in the late autumn is it is better to go fishing during the middle of the day when the sun and temperature are at their highest. This ensures the water is the warmest it will be all day and gives the bass a chance to warm up. Typically, mid-morning is a good time to start fishing.
2. Go Big or Go Home In The Fall
Big baits catch big fish. You’ve probably heard this too many times in your fishing days. However, it remains true, particularly in fall when bass are preparing for winter. Fish know that even colder weather is not far off and once that happens a bass’ metabolism slows down, enabling them to eat less often. During this late fall period, bass want to make their energy count. Instead of chasing numerous smaller meals they would much prefer to chase one larger meal. Large profile baits like spinnerbaits and bulky jigs are go-to’s for this time of year.
3. Late Fall Fishing: Slow Your Roll
This goes along with “going big” when it comes to late autumn lure presentations. Because bass want to optimize their energy spent on a larger meal, they would prefer these large meals to move slowly. A big meal moving slowly equals a happy trophy largemouth. Again, baits like spinnerbaits and jigs are perfect because they can be fished super slow and maintain a large profile. Try slow-rolling a spinnerbait on the tops of existing green vegetation. The key this time of year is being able to make slight contact with fish-holding cover like weeds, rock, timber, and docks. These slower presentations allow the angler to keep the bait in the strike zone longer and increase their chances of getting bit.
