superior to any other part of the season, that 3 to 5 p.m. time slot, the three-, four- and five-pounders will be coming on reaction baits.
The fact of the matter, his point is that rare is an all-day fall bite. It will likely be concentrated, and knowing that can help you plan a day or trip.
Dobyns, a renowned power fisherman, finds fall to his liking as well. “Typically for us, fall is more of an October to first half of November deal. But some years we’re still throwing Super Spooks in December.” Not surprising, he says, “The big thing for me is it’s the best topwater bite of the year. The fish are aggressive on topwater—and good ones.”
But comparing the natural lakes and tidal waters to dams, he says, “The big difference for reservoirs is that they are still falling (lake levels) quite a bit right before we get any rain, so the fish suspend more. I fish more way off shore [still with topwater.]”
ROLLING (THIS WAY) ON THE RIVER
Perennial top U.S. Open finisher John Morrow chimed in on fall fishing, Colorado River style. “What lets me know it’s fall is the fish get more aggressive as the water temperature drops and the grass starts to die—pretty darn quick.”
Whether it’s at Havasu, Mohave or even Lake Mead, he says, “When that temperature drops its starts leaving just patches of grass [instead of grass beds.] What happens is fish migrate into
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those patches of grass and the baitfish move closer to the bank, in and out of the coves. You can pretty much figure [you’ll catch them] from the mouth of the bay to the back.”
Specifically he says you’ll find, “little balls of bait moving around, not necessarily being chased on top, but down deep. I’ll see those bait balls suspend 15-feet over 30 in the coves and that’s when I know fall is coming.” And with that shrinking amount of grass cover, he adds, “I can find them a lot easier.”
As for his tactical approach, Morrow says, “I usually go more from a reaction bait to a soft bait
like [with] a short Carolina. All I do is see what
size the bait is. If it’s the normal two inches, I
go with a Yamamoto grub, clear with black
flake single tail, or even drop-shot it.”
With varying conditions, he’ll adjust,
of course. “If the wind blows,” he says,
“I still use a slow roll spinnerbait or
ChatterBait.”
Interestingly, and consistent
with the changing nature of the
fisheries along the Colorado
River, Morrow says, “I usually
target smallmouth. They
school up, stay bunched
up and follow the stripers
chasing bait into the cuts
on the meter.” Then, in a
few minutes,” he says, “I’ll
see fish (smallmouth) very
close to the bottom. We’ll
be able to catch them around
those patches.”
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