Bass Fishing The Late Summer Transition
When your bass fishing day in and day out the seasons seem to fly right by. It seems like just yesterday I was concentrating on early spring and summer bass patterns, now we are through the better part of summer and its time to start focusing on the late summer to fall bass fishing transition.
During the late summer to fall transition we begin to see drastic changes and with these changes the angle in which you approach bass fishing must also change. Its time to start changing tactics and presentations in order to continue catching bass.
With falling water temperatures bait fish will start to migrate and begin setting up in their fall staging areas. Many times these bait fish will stage up in creeks, mouths of creeks and main lake points. This movement will entice bass into their transition, the bass will follow suit soon after. Its a simple game of cat and mouse! The trick to catching bass during this seasonal transition is locating the schools of bait fish, when you do your almost sure to also find bass.
Bass can many times be found suspending off secondary points, from which they will begin to move in behind the bait fish and begin feeding. Crankbaits are a good choice for locating these bass. You can cover allot of water with a crankbait at very specific depths, making locating bass a much easier proposition. Spinner baits are also a good choice for locating and honing in on feeding bass.
Once Im in good water I will usually slow things down a bit and start throwing carolina rigged worms or lizards. Jigging tubes rigged with a mushroom head jig will also produce. The movements and feeding habits of bass change daily during the late summer to fall transition, so the key here is to play around with different presentations and baits. Let the bass dictate which lure and presentation you use.
Bass fishing during this period is very rewarding, in fact there is only one other season throughout the year that will produce bigger and better bass, that is the spring spawn. So take advantage of the season, go out and catch some trophy bass!
Just keep in mind that this is a major transition and the bass will feed and act differently from day to day, and hour to hour. You have to stay on top of your game, letting the bait and the bass dictate what lures and techniques you use will go a long way during the late summer to fall bass fishing transition!
