It’s the time of the year when fishing can be at its toughest – on just about any body of water. The summer-to-fall transition period can seem like an eternity. We start getting shorter nights with cooler temperatures. We anglers get the feel of fall in the air, and we might even put a light sweatshirt on for the morning runs, but the fish don’t know.
While there are moves towards fall conditions, the daytime highs are still in the 90s and the sun beats down keeping the water temperatures in the bath water range. The fish are kind of mixed all over in between summer and fall and kind of nowhere at the same time.
During these tough times, when the baby shad are beginning to gather and the bass haven’t committed to anything, I have found keeping an open mind tends to be the best weapon.
When I say keeping an open mind, I mean junk fishing. Have techniques you trust ready this time of the year – things that will let you target any situation. I try to rely on things I have ultimate confidence in. By having my best “go-to” techniques at the ready this time of the year I stay more focused going through long periods of time without a bite. If I’m using this time to try new things, I won’t have the confidence of knowing exactly how it feels and knowing a bite is just about to happen.
On my home lake, Neely Henry in Gadsden, Ala., I know I could see fish schooling on the pods of small shad that are in the middle of pocket mouths. I could find them on docks, grass, rocks and anything in between.
I tend to have a bladed jig with a Zoom Shimmer Shad threaded on as a trailer. This gives me the ability to cover a lot of water quickly and has a baitfish profile with an erratic action that draws strikes around cover or in open water.
I always have a 1/2-ounce Ark Randall Tharp Flipping Jig with a Zoom Chink tipped on it as a trailer. I can flip this around grass or wood, and I can even skip it around dock if I need to. This gives me a way to target a variety of heavy cover opportunities without changing the bait, and a way to draw bigger bites.
Topwater is a key this time of the year in case they come up schooling. I want a lure that I can make long casts with, so I always have an Ark Outlaw ready in case they do.
Finally, a crankbait is really good for covering water at deeper depths. I really like a squarebill in the fall. I can target riprap walls and laydowns with it. I like the Z-Alpha 1.5 from Ark in shallow water and the new CMT-10 Mini crankbait in deeper water because it has a smaller profile this time of the year when the baitfish are small.
Finally, look for areas with a lot of bait present because these will tend to keep fish around and give you opportunities to run into fish you can trigger into striking. Also, look for isolated cover along steeper banks. The steeper banks will allow the fish to move vertically as the water begins to draw down. If there is some isolated cover on those banks – or anywhere for that matter – go back and check it again later in the day. If you catch one on it in the morning, there’s a good chance another one will move in on it later.
It can be tough this time of year, but keep moving and stay confident in your presentations. You can still put some good ones in the boat.
