Entry 326-5

Catching Transition Bass and Dodging Fishing Pressure in the Fall with Chad Brauer

Part 5: The Lonely Fall Fisherman

Question: Spectator pressure is an element of fishing that has completely changed bass fishing. In the past, no one would go on the lake to watch someone else fish instead of fishing themselves. However, in tournaments, a top angler may have 30-50 boats following him down the lake, shutting down their big engines when he shuts his down and staying just out of casting distance while he’s fishing. How does spectator pressure affect your fishing at this time of year?

Brauer: This is one big advantage to fishing in the fall and one disadvantage for many tournament promoters. During the fall of the year, I see less and less boat traffic as fall begins to merge into winter. A lot of people who fish also hunt. Since hunting season arrives in many states in September and October, there’s a lot more activity for outdoors people to be involved in besides bass fishing. So many times, I can find lakes and parts of lakes that other fishermen won’t be fishing. If there’s a tournament during hunting season, and an outdoorsmen has the choice between getting in his boat and going to watch someone else fish or going hunting, he’ll choose hunting.

If there are tournaments, there’s less spectator pressure, so this is the reason you rarely see major tournaments being held in the fall and winter months. This reason is also why you’ll spot fewer and fewer fishermen this month and as you move into the winter months. As the temperatures get cooler, you’ll see fewer and fewer recreational boaters and anglers on the waters you fish. Sometimes, autumn can be the quietest time and the loneliest time to be on the lake. Now during the spring and summer, when not only national tournaments are being held, but hundreds and thousands of local tournaments, those fishermen are looking for bass in the same places that you are. If you’re fishing a major tournament, the only way to get rid of spectator pressure and other tournament fishermen then is to look for places that other fishermen are ignoring.

Question: In many southern states, gun season for deer and waterfowl, which are primary species that are being hunted, often doesn’t start until November. For all the reasons you’ve mentioned above, many bass clubs will be holding tournaments during October. If you’re fishing on a weekend on a lake or a river where 5, 6 or even 20-different bass clubs are having tournaments, where will you fish, and what will you use?

Brauer: I look for areas to fish that most other fishermen won’t fish. Bass fishermen have a specific type of pattern that they like to run at this time of year, based on all the information I’ve give you above. They know that bass should be actively feeding as the water cools down. They also know that the more water you cover, the more likely you are to find actively-feeding bass. Therefore, they choose parts of the lake or river where they can fish a long expanse of water, like down a bank, an underwater creek channel or some other type of terrain that allows them to keep their baits in the water for long periods of time. They won’t going fish isolated pieces of cover, like a single stump on a flat, a single stick-up on a clay bank or a single blowdown on a bank. Each of these types of cover requires the fisherman to drive to that spot, fish for 5-15 minutes, then crank-up and move to the next site, so there’s a lot of wasted time between spots.

During the fall, one of my favorite places to fish is flats in the backs of creeks where there may only be one stump or one small brush pile. You can’t pull-up to these isolated spots and catch a limit of bass. But each one of these spots may yield a 3-5 pounder. Then you can end-up with a heavier limit from fishing these overlooked hot spots than the anglers who will keep their lures in the water all day long. I’ve found that fishing isolated spots like I’ve described usually produces more big bass in the fall of the year than at any of time of year.

Question: What lure will you use to fish these isolated places?

Brauer: I like to approach an isolated piece of cover and catch all the fish that are holding there. I want to catch the most-active fish first and the most-dormant fish last. For example, if you have one blowdown on a clay bank that very-few people will stop and fish, then when I get close enough to that blowdown to make a cast, my first cast either will be with my Strike King spinner bait or a Strike King square-billed crankbait. I’m going to work the outside edges of that blow down. If you use this tactic, you can often catch the one or two active bass holding on the outer edge of that cover.

After I’ve made several casts with these two baits, I’ll move closer to that blowdown and use either a jig or a tube bait to make very-precise casts or flips to the heart of the cover where I think a bass may be holding. Many times, that’s where the biggest bass that’s holding on that cover will be positioned. If you start-out by fishing the heart of the cover, you’ll miss those 1-2 bass that may be holding on the outside edges. When I’m fishing isolated cover, I work the outside edges first and then move in to the heart of the cover. Even though isolated cover only may hold one bass, sometimes there will be two or even three bass holding on that same piece of cover.

Contents:

• Part 1: Finding and Catching Transition Bass
• Part 2: Take the Temperature in the Bass's House
• Part 3: Rain, Water Clarity and Bass
• Part 4: Bass When It's Blowin'
• Part 5: The Lonely Fall Fisherman