Fall Buckets

By this time of year I am focusing less on the shoreline and more into deep water for largemouth bass. Spawning action of smaller fish are fading into memory and as the bluegill and sunfish move into deeper water the largemouth follow.

However I still get some quality fish near the shoreline in areas where pressure is minimal or where structure lures bigger fish. Cattails are great ambush areas for big bass. Frogs, baitfish patterns or even creature presentations will tempt a few fish.

The area was shallow for the most part so I moved a little deeper. The transition between the lighter colored shallow water and the darker deep water was very defined. I ran the jig into the transition and BANG! Another solid fish.

The recruit fish are really stepping up and attacking lures. Upsizing the lure can help but you will still get the occasional dinker. You just never know where the hits will really come from. You have to knock on as many doors as you can.

Today I had three rods on the ponttoner. Typically I have three or four and transition through them periodically. It saves from having to tie and retie all the time. The jig was thrown at times, the plastics were thrown at other times and the spinnerbait was thrown in between. They all seemed to work just as well as the other (unless there was heavy structure). Accurate casting was the key when fishing close to shore. Being patient and search casting the water methodically with a variety of lures was the key to the deeper fish.

Sunlight was intense. I moved over to a section loaded with large cottonwood trees and cattails. The area seemed a bit cooler than the rest and enormous dragonflies were buzzing around. One toss of the baby bass fluke and WHAM! An enormous bass hammers the bait.

Another fantastic day. This lake has been a tough one for me to get into this year for some reason. Maybe I am getting spoiled by a few of the public places that I fish or maybe I am just getting lazy. Regardless of the excuses, it was good to finally fish this place again. All were released in great shape.

My name is Matt and I’m a fishaholic.