That same writer went on to note, however, that there are a few fishing patterns, which will help you keep catching fish during this awkward transition period. Make an effort to check out some areas like what's described in the following, and you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.
While many anglers are dead set on fishing boat docks throughout the entire year. Simply stated, these docks are low-hanging fruit that normally hold a bunch of bass. However, the bank between these docks also deserve your attention.
If you stop to think about it, boat docks get fished to death because they're easy targets. This means that the resident bass that may live around these docks have been hammered by jig, Texas rigs, and shaky heads for months, and they've become incredibly spooky and wise to offerings. This is when they'll often shift to nearby seawalls and position on really small pieces of cover.
Huge laydowns might seem appealing to the angler, but that's not always the case with the bass. If you're fishing down a bank and see a twig the size of a toothbrush hanging over the bank and potentially creating a tiny bit of shade, you'd better pick up a lightweight jig and pitch to it. More times than not, there's a solid-sized bass sitting under that little twig, ready to attack nearby prey. The bass feels protected by the little bit of shade provided by that twig and is confident enough to attack anything that happens to swim by.
So when you see a crappy-looking twig hanging over the water this time of year near the mouth of a pocket, pitch a jig to it.
Something else that often gets overlooked by bass anglers is shoal markers...those big ol' poles sticking out of shallow humps to tell boaters to stay away.
As the writer of this item learned from several decades of experience, though, these ragged-looking poles can provide some of the best bass fishing during the fall-to-winter transition. As the bass leave the creeks with full bellies of baitfish, they love to use these shoals as stopping points on their journeys back to their deep-water haunts for the winter.
This same writer happened to be on a photography mission with some anglers one day when the bites were few and far between. While sitting in the bottom of the boat, with a camera strapped to his neck, he saw a big shoal marker and a noticeable shallow spot under it. He told the anglers to go to that windblown marker and throw a jerkbait on the downwind side.
The anglers did as they were told, and within three casts, they caught three spotted bass weighing more than 3 pounds apiece.
"These places evidently look too obvious because hardly anyone ever fishes 'em," noted the writer. "The smart angler, though, never passes one by...especially this time of year. They're always worth a few casts."
Much like the aforementioned shoals, clay points also are a great option during this awkward transition phase. They don't look like much to the naked eye, and it's tough to pull up to 'em with a bunch of confidence, but once you start getting a bunch of bites, you'll quickly become a believer.
As the temperatures drop this time of year, bass are looking for just about anything that holds more heat than the rest of their surroundings. This can mean metal seawalls, riprap, floating docks with black-colored floats, and in this case, clay banks.
Flat-sided crankbaits tend to be a solid choice for this situation, followed closely by a medium-diving jerkbait. If you catch one on this type of area, make sure you inspect the belly of the bass. If it's covered in a clay or mud-type substance, or looks a little red, that tells you they're most likely positioned this way throughout most areas of the body of water. They'll hug that bottom so tight in an effort to stay warm that it'll actually temporarily dye their bellies.
So, if you're running around and can't get any bites, make an effort to stop at any clay points you might happen to find.
Remember, too, that big bass love isolated cover. When you're fishing a featureless bank, a single small, crappy-looking piece of cover, such as a single dock, laydown, log, or even a tied-up jetski floating in the water, can hold an absolute giant bass.
And finally, the tough conditions you encounter during the fall-to-winter transition sometimes can demand that you rig up a Carolina rig and drag it through the ditches at mouths of small pockets and creeks.
Bass pro Mark Menendez explained it like this, "As bass are leaving the shallows, heading toward the main body of water, they'll often stop on small stumps in the 'guts' of these small pockets, and a Carolina rig is an outstanding way to catch 'em... . So if you're struggling, keep this tactic in your back pocket, and don't be afraid to use it."
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