Photo Credit: shltrip.com

by WNJ Correspondent Matt McCann

The air temperature drops, the leaves on the trees start changing colors, and bass prepare for the upcoming winter. Fall is a nice time of year, and the bass fishing can be excellent. The fishing at this time of year is almost like a sampling of everything you’ve seen in the other seasons, except it’s all crammed into one season.

What the bass are doing:

Early fall is usually still pretty warm in New Jersey, and it can be downright hot at times in September and even October. At these times, bass continue to act similarly to how they did in the summer, heading for deep water or hiding in cover. Eventually the water temperature drops, and the bass start moving around and feeding.
 
They then act similar to how they did in the spring pre-spawn, and can often be caught in the same areas you caught them in the spring. The only difference is that in the fall they are feeding to store energy for the winter. In the spring, they are feeding because they’ve been inactive for a while.

Fall is all about movement and transition, and bass can move around a lot in a single day as they look for food. The transition I refer to means a water temperature inversion, known as the turnover. In the summer, the sun heats the upper water column and the deeper water at the bottom of a lake is significantly cooler.

As the air temperature cools in the fall, the upper water column cools quicker, and the lower water column at the bottom is slightly warmer. This is why bass head for the deepest possible water as winter approaches, and they stay there for the duration of winter.

Topwater poppers are great early fall lures.
Photo Credit: basstackledepot.com

Lures and techniques:

As I said earlier, fall is almost like a sampling of things you’ve seen all year. You can use lures and techniques that you used in the summer, spring, and winter at different stages in the fall. On warm days in early fall, you can continue to use the same techniques you did in the summer, since bass act almost the same. Topwater lures continue to work, as well as soft plastics fished near cover.

When the water cools and the bass start moving to look for food, you can use similar techniques that you did in the spring pre-spawn. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, and lipless crankbaits work very well. These lures can cover a lot of water, which is key because bass move so much and may be anywhere in the lake. When you have a horizontally moving lure that covers a lot of area, you increase your chances of locating the fish. That’s why these lures are considered search tools.

When the temperature turnover occurs, you may find that the fishing action slows down a little. This is normal, and the fish will start biting again after they adjust to the new water temperature. In the late fall when it gets cold instead of just chilly, you can start using jigs and your winter arsenal of lures in the deepest water as bass hunker down and prepare for the upcoming winter.

Jerkbaits (top and middle) and crankbaits (bottom) cover a lot of water and help locate the fish.
Photo Credit: 30secfisherman.com

Matt McCann is a New Jersey native and specializes in freshwater and saltwater fishing in the Garden State.

Previous Stories:

• Fishing the Garden State: Seasons of Bass Part 3 - Summer
• Fishing the Garden State: Seasons of Bass Part 2 - Spring
• Fishing the Garden State: Seasons of Bass Part 1 - Winter
• Fishing the Garden State: Battle of the Fishing Superstores
• Fishing the Garden State: The Wonderful Winter Warm Up
• Fishing the Garden State: No Respect Around Here 
• Fishing the Garden State: The Annual Run
• Fishing the Garden State: Don't Take any Lip!
• Fishing the Garden State: The End of a Jersey Legend?