During late fall in the Southeast, the most important thing to consider is water temperature. That will dictate your approach because fish behavior changes dramatically with these changing conditions.
It doesn’t all happen at once, so you have to pay attention to how the season progresses and adjust accordingly. That starts with the first couple of cold fronts. Typically, that’s when fishing can get really good because the bass get spunky.
The temperatures get crisp with that fall air, but not really cold yet. That’s when the fish will really feed well, so spinnerbaits, lipless baits and topwaters are the deal.
I’m targeting shallow water, literally a foot deep to 5 feet deep because those fish are up there feeding. I’ll be looking for shallow points, bars and places like that.
The key is you have to find bait. If there’s no bait, it’s not very good. These fish are really wanting to feed, so they want to find shad in and around the area.
Your electronics will show you the bait, but birds will also point you to the schools. Also, watch for fish busting. That first hour of the morning can be especially important, so keep your head on a swivel.
As fall progresses, the first big cold front that drops the water temperature by six to seven degrees will shock the fish, so you have to back out a little and slow down. The fish are not aggressive during this time, so you’ll want to switch to jerkbaits and minnow baits.
Use your graph to look for these post-frontal fish, but keep in mind that they’re not going to move very far. You’ll usually find them pretty close to where they were while they were feeding around those shallow spots.
A lot of times, the fish just slide off the bank and settle in the nearest deep water. Especially on a clear, cold post-front day, those fish like to suspend.
They’re often sunning. Get out in the open water and look for fish about 10 feet down. Make long casts and use slow retrieves for these lethargic fish.
Once we’ve had a few cold fronts, then the fish will move shallow and get spunky again as they get acclimated to the changing fall temperatures. They’ll stay shallow until the water falls into the low 50s and they start moving into their winter patterns.
Before that winter transition, you can target those fish in a lot of the same areas you did before that first big cold front. Just like before, they’re up there to eat, so that same baits will work.
I’ll also mix in some ChatterBaits and squarebills. It seems that the fish respond well to the stimulation of something moving past them at a fast pace.
The key, I’ve found, is that 80% of your approach should be shad related. You can still catch them on jig, but that’s a small percentage.
You don’t want to spend too much time on a bluegill pattern or a crawfish pattern. They’re eating shad this time of year, so that’s where your focus needs to be.
