Fall Fishing - Quite Possibly The Best Fishing -Ahead!

Welcome once again to Kenny's Great Outdoors! It has been a couple of weeks since my last post, because of personal reasons. I have been dealing with a rotator cuff injury, which has been extremely painful and a very slow recovery process. Will probably not be a 100% till spring. I really don't know how I managed the injury, but I really did a number on my shoulder.

We are smack dab in the middle of the "dog days of summer" A really bad group of words for the bass fisherman. Even though its a tough bite for most fisherman, the bass can be boated. Just requires a little more finesse and know how. And when October comes around the fishing gets a whole lot better.

Fall fishing is my favorite time of the year for bass fishing. Even though it gets easier, you still have to use that "thing" between your ears and again , a lot of know how.

The days start getting shorter and the temperatures are lower during the day and night , and the bass, which we are in hot pursuit for, are noticing these differences and are moving to shallow water. I guess the question is "why"? The bass" food source" is moving to shallow water! The bass have a tendency to follow for some reason or another! ; - )

Now that the temperatures and rains start falling the oxygen level of the lake increases and the bass become more active with winter approaching. This is where we get the fall pre-winter feeding frenzy, that if you get lucky or smart enough to encounter! This makes fall bass fishing one of the most exciting times to be out there! If you are lucky or smart enough to figure it out and time it right , you will never forget the experience and you will start planning for that fall adventure again and again.

What works for me is Spring strategies in reverse for fall fishing. In other words, where I fish for bass in the spring , is where I start looking in the fall. I start off heading up the big creeks and streams running into the lake and then of course locating the shad. The bass are usually relatively close to the food source.

Lure selection is relatively simple, but can vary from day to day. For me the crank bait is the first choice. It doesn't take long to figure out whether its the right choice or not. Bouncing a crankbait off of the bottom or the rocks and brush will get the attention of any bass in the area, but be sure to hang on to that favorite rig of yours as the bass are aggressive and a big bass might just yank that rod and real out of your hands. Not COOL! Or cheap to replace I might add.

I am not going to list ALL the lures, because this is the time of the year that a Bass will hit about anything you throw. While smaller lures will catch a lot of bass , bigger lures will generally catch bigger bass.

Buzz baits, top water lures, lipless crankbaits , crank baits of any running depth, spinners, jig and pigs, and one of my favorites, the rattle trap. More than once I have tied on a rattle trap and have had very good success. So if you have fished for bass at all the fall can be very rewarding and also very productive .

As I have said before , don"t be afraid to experiment with lure selection and colors, because it varies from day to day. By summers end bass have seen a numerous amount of lures and the new or unusual one might just be the ticket to a successful day on the water . So for the rest of the" dog days of summer " Keep in the back of your mind that the best is yet to come. Fall fishing is not small fishing . It is fishing at its finest and bestest! ; - ) Find that one in your dictionary! Ha!

So until next time , keep your hooks wet and boat safely, practice catch and release and if you catch too many, drop by my house and we will have a fish fry! Like the old commercial on Jello. There's always room for FISH ! See ya out there!