The September Transition: Targeting Largemouth in the Early Fall

No more shorts, no more fishing at the break of dawn, and no more blaming Mother Nature for making it too hot, welcome to Fall Bass Fishing! September and October are fantastic months to head out to your favorite lake or river in search of the largemouth bass. Iowa is known as a true state of the four seasons, when you think about it, not too many states in our country can say that. Therefore anglers have to make adjustments in every season to be able to target and catch their favorite species of fish. Fall is no different, and by making a few simple adjustments you too can spend a cool fall day catching bass.

Think like a bass…this is something I tell myself quite often when out bass fishing for fun or chasing down a tournament paycheck. When fall is in the air, that air starts to cool the water temperatures. This small detail is huge in a bass’ life. All cold-blooded animals are the temperature of their surroundings, so when the water starts to cool the bass must make some changes. One big change bass will make during the month of September is the depth of water it spends the majority of time in. This depth of water becomes much shallower than it has been the last three months. Anglers should take a close look at contour maps this time of year and pick out some areas where the bass have been hanging around in the deeper water during the hot months. These bass will start to migrate up towards shallow bays and coves. This is not by habit but by means of staying alive. The food source is doing the same thing this time of year. Whether it be small bluegills, crawfish, or other prey, they will be making this transition to shallow water too. The bass must follow to keep eating. Now that we have made the transition from summer and fishing deep water for most of the day, we can now really focus in on the shallow parts of lakes. Often times these places will have creek channels funneling into them, these are great paths that fish will use to follow the bait. A contour map or aerial map can show those bays that bass will go towards. Target your fishing locations by looking for these transition areas to water that provides less depth and provides the bass meals for the next couple months.

Focusing in on shallow pieces of structure and small drop-offs will allow you to fish a variety of baits. Most often in the fall I find myself trying numerous different presentations each day. Fall weather in Iowa can be quite interesting from day to day so you must give the bass many different styles of baits to look at. Generally as the water cools the bass will be more apt to chase moving baits. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, topwater baits, and crankbaits are all great choices to use when casting to large targets. All of these baits can allow you to cover a lot of water in a short amount of time. Each gives the bass a little something different, so don’t just stop with one of them, try them all. Some days in the fall however, the weather turns negative and perhaps a cold-snap occurs. This is where you might have to employ a slow technique to get the bass to bite. A Texas-rig soft plastic is a go-to bait for many bass anglers this time of year. My choice would be a Hot Rod Baits Tube. These baits look like a minnow, or game fish while moving and at rest they appear like a crawdad. It really is a bait that is the best of both worlds when you want a slow moving presentation.

No matter where you are fishing the color of your bait can make all the difference in a bad day of fishing or a great day of fishing. Fall wind and rain can muddy up lakes and rivers quickly. When this occurs you must select baits that the bass can see. Picking brighter colored crankbaits, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits will be your best choices. When selecting a slow moving bait, pick some of your darker colors with bright colored accents. These baits will show up the best and allow the bass to locate them and bite. It is vital that you try a variety of baits in the fall, while most days the faster presentations will work, but some days you will have to slow down to get those bass to bite.

One last tip on locating bass during the fall, follow the wind. Windy days can be tough to fish, however it also places bait on those windy banks and coves of lakes and rivers. The bass must eat and they will follow the bait to these windy areas. For those of you that fish rivers often, current is important for finding fish in fall. The wind acts as a current for lake anglers placing bait in those windy areas. Of course fishing from shore is easy on windy days as long as you have a smooth casting rod and reel such as a QuantumPT combo, however if you are in a boat things can be pretty tough. Anchoring, or tying up to a tree when the wind dominates your fishing day is sometimes necessary. A simple push of the button with the Minn Kota Talons will keep your boat still too. This shallow water anchoring system attaches to your boat and will keep you on your location in twelve feet of water or less. The more I use these anchors, the more I know they are worth every penny of the investment. Fishing in the wind can be a tough thing to do, but if you can follow the wind in the fall, you will find the bass in the fall.

I look forward to fall each year, the cooling weather, the turning of the leaves and yet another beautiful season in Iowa is upon us. Embrace it, and get out there and catch your fair share of bass!