“During the fall, bass can really get in the shallow cover and really group up in large numbers,” Huckaby said. “You can catch five big ones really quick, when they are relating to shallow cover.” Huckaby notes he can catch bass in shallow water year-round, but the best time to target bass in shallow water is from late September throughout the fall.
“Anglers get conditioned to only looking shallow during the spawn,” says Lain. “During the fall, the grass is starting to die off which allows more bass to congregate around the remaining grass patches.”
Shoreline vegetation and places like docks produces good action on fisheries such as Clear Lake, Lake Mead, the California Delta, Lake Havasu and any other body of water where bass have access to deep water and channel swings with shallow water nearby. A bass can shoot up into shallow water for a quick meal and then swim back into deeper water to rest.
Many Western impoundments have some type of fall drawdown. It is important to focus on any shallow hard cover or vegetation that remains in the water, because most of the available cover tends to be high and dry in the fall.
The few remaining pieces of shallow cover that are still underwater will generally hold larger
76
concentrations of bass. When anglers develop a pattern on shallow cover during the fall, they should try to hit as many similar areas as possible
POSITIONING FOR THE CONDITIONS
Weather plays a key role in where bass position during the fall.
Woods suggests that bass start their fall migration to shallow water once the weather starts to cool off at night. Bass will start to move shallow and hold closely on the edge of any available cover that they come into contact, while transitioning from deep to shallow. This is where a bass becomes susceptible to flipping.
Calm, sunny weather are Woods’ preferred conditions for flipping to bass congregating in
shallow water. Openings in docks,
indentions and any other shallow
irregular features in shoreline
cover are ideal targets for flipping
during the fall. Places such as sea
walls and docks provide shade
and ambush zones that are likely
to hold bass.
BAITS & GEAR
Flipping a jig or soft plastic bait provides a very quiet entry
®