Last days of fall good for bass fishing

Bass fishing in deer season? Sure.

In fact, the late fall can produce some great fishing days and some big fish to boot.

The back of the creek bite is nearly over. With the cooling weather, the bass have begun to follow the baitfish toward their deeper winter locations.

The majority of the baitfish and bass still are relatively shallow. However, they will be located from about the middle of the creek working their way out to the main lake in early December. Expect to see the water temperatures to fall from the mid 60s into the low 50s, even into the high 40s. This change sets the stage for the final move to winter locations during December.

The bass will be following the baitfish out of the creeks toward the main lake. This migration will take several weeks and the bait and bass will stop along the way to feed and rest. Before I go to the lake, I study my map. I locate a creek with a defined channel. I then draw a line across the mid-point of that creek. From there I follow the creek channel, noting key structures along the route back to the main lake. Those structures are points, bluffs, channel edges, 45-degree sloping banks and small flats along the channel. These types of structures provide ambush points from which bass can ambush their prey.

Generally, the fish are not very deep, usually 1 to 8 feet. Locate structures in that depth range. Once at the lake, you can look for bass holding cover on these structures, these will usually be wood, rock or grass.

If the weather has been warm, start shallow; if cold, begin deeper. Also, as the day progresses, move shallow. The shallow-water late-afternoon bite can be great this time of year -- especially for big fish.

When fishing shallow, I rely on a handful of baits.

I start by targeting aggressive, feeding fish. For this I use a Bandit 100 series crankbait in a shad pattern. I fish it with a 7-foot Falcon Lowrider medium action composite rod. I use 15-pound Trilene XT abrasion resistant line.

For heavy cover, I use a 3/8-ounce Lil' Hustler Tandem willow leave spinnerbait -- white with gold and silver blades. I fish this with a 6-foot-8 medium heavy Falcon graphite rod. I like 17-pound XT line for spinnerbaits in heavy cover.

If the fish are not aggressive, I use a pitching/flipping approach. For this I use a 7-foot-6 heavy action Falcon Cara graphite rod. I like at least 20-pound fluorocarbon line for short line presentations. I use two key baits for this and usually have both tied on. I trade back and forth between a Jewel small profile 3/8-ounce flipping jig in Black/blue and a Southern Pro Pitching tube in white or smoke.

If the bass are deeper, my choices are even simpler. I switch to a deeper running Bandit crankbait, usually a 200 series but sometimes a 300. I use the same rod but change my line to 10-pound p-line (a mono/fluorocarbon blend -- it goes deeper).

If the bass don't want the crankbait, I switch to drop baits. I cast a 5/16 Jewel Akins jig in black/blue. I like to use a rod specifically designed for this lure, the Falcon Cara 6-foot-10 heavy action graphite rod. I use 15-pound fluorocarbon line for this presentation. I also use a Southern Pro Pitching tube to work these deeper areas. I use in the same setup for the tube as I do for the jig.

In all of the listed approaches, it is critical that your lure makes contact with the structure and cover. The deflection triggers the predatory instinct in the bass. The key to success over the next several weeks is locating the baitfish, and keeping in step with their movements during your fishing the day.

The bait will lead you to the bass. Keep your lure selection simple and focus on where the bass are and were they are going.

I suggest spending the morning looking for that buck but spend the afternoon in the boat.

David Bortner is a promotional bass fisherman who has competed in BASS Federation and Wal-Mart BFL events.