Confused about Fall, need some help

[Hole Pounder]

I have been getting more and more involved in bass fishing the past few years, but like alot of lesser experienced anglers, I didnt know fall was such a great time of year to fish. so i typically just went hunting. Now that i have educated myself more this year I want to experience the fall feeding frenzy that i keep reading about, but i have some questions.

Everything i read online is about matching the hatch, which this time of year is shad. So lots of white and silvers and shad patterns, go to baits should be some top water spooks, buzzbaits, poppers, and then a plethora of shad imitation baits such as spinner baits, crank baits, flukes, smaller swimbaits, jerkbaits, etc. Fish should be staging at main and secondary points and starting to follow shad into coves and creek arms.

But reading on this site, which is more regional specific, im getting a different story. I do read about an occasional topwater bite early in the AM (which with DVL's line in the morning is impossible to get to), and then pretty much everyones story of success is with bottom baits such as jigs, texas rig, carolina rig and of course the dropshot. Lately i have been hearing that the senko is getting job done and an occassional jerkbait bite. and with those soft plastics and jigs, im not hearing about smoke colors or whites or shad, but rather the typical green pumpkin abd then the go to robo worms of morning dawn and margarita mutilator.

so i guess my question to all you hot rods out there is are we just getting into the early fall transition and thats why the bottom baits are still producing? Why arent people throwing more reaction baits? Should i stick with the texas rig and DS and senko or start throwing blades and cranks and jerkbaits?

I guess im just confused. 2 weeks ago all the bass i graphed at DVL were stuck to the bottom at like 35-25' of water. Last weekend i graphed most fish suspended, some in the middle of nowhere, some adjacent to cover such as trees.

Are things a lil different here in SoCal? is it because our water temps are still around 70-72? is it because most of our lakes such as DVL and Perris dont really have feeder creeks, will that affect anything?

any advice will be greatly appreciated. Im not a tournament guy, heck i dont even own a boat, so its not like we will be competing againts each other. i just want to go out there and have a better understanding and elimiate my errors so i can put the right bait in front of more fish to increase my chances. continual renting a boat at DVL to go out and catch 2-3 fish is getting hard to justify with my accountant (girlfriend). any help please, thanks

[JeffO]

Hey man, I feel ya! It can be extremely confusing.... Since you aren't a tourney angler (neither am I) and you aren't looking to make bass fishing your career, one word of advice is not to do an excessive amount of research. You'll find conflicting advice everywhere you look - they're deep, they're shallow, they're eating frogs, they're eating shad, fish SLOW, fish for the reaction strike, etc etc etc. The truth is, it totally depends on the lake, and even still, like people, different fish have different patterns. For example, guys have been killing the bass lately DEEP at Perris, but then you read reports of guys catching plenty of bass close to shore in less than 10 ft of water the same day/week. Guys have primarily been getting bass on live shad at Castaic which made me think that's all the bass wanted, but last weekend I caught over 30 fish throwing small DS plastics in 1-10 ft of water. It was wide open.

Ok, enough ranting. The moral of the story is this: When in doubt, stick to your confidence baits and fish them hard. When I say "fish them hard", I mean KNOW that you are using something the bass will eat and continue changing your retrieve speed, depth, and colors until you start getting some activity. Once you find what they're eating, fish that method until it's no longer working. That can last only a couple hours, all day, weeks, or even months.

I hope this comment made sense to you.... I'm in the middle of a conference call trying to do 2 things at once haha

[smokehound]

I was at Tri-City yesterday, and the shad were boiling everywhere, in the shallows, around the waterfall.

This time of year, SMALL topwaters are deadly.

Try a jitterbug, or a TINY popper.

Alot of fish right now are targeting insects.

[qaze0]

Try getting this book , "in pursuit of big bass" written by Bill Murphy page 342 .

[jerryG]

Try getting this book , "in pursuit of big bass" written by Bill Murphy page 342 .

x2 Good call Henry..

In Pursuit Of Giant Bass by legendary big bass angler Bill Murphy is a must have for anyone who is serious about bass fishing in my opinion. It's an older book but the fundamental information and knowledge that Murphy covers in detail is timeless.

JerryG

[smokehound]

x2 Good call Henry..

In Pursuit Of Giant Bass by legendary big bass angler Bill Murphy is a must have for anyone who is serious about bass fishing in my opinion. It's an older book but the fundamental information and knowledge that Murphy covers in detail is timeless.

JerryGIs it possible to find this book anywhere other than online, locally?

A peer of mine has it, But I'd rather stab him in the eyes than talk to him. :LOL:

[vanillagurilla]

this time of year small bass will be up shallow and the big girls will be moving out deeper. Big baits = big fish.

[Fishbreath]

You can get Bill Murphy's book on line from lots of different vendors for under $10, but I suggest getting it directly from his widow. She is vendor carolelee0727 on Amazon. I agree that it is a must read for anyone who is still developing a big bass philosophy. Even experienced bassers can benefit. Here is a link. http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0963312006/sr=/qid=/ref=olp_tab_new?ie=UTF8&coliid=&me=&qid=&sr=&seller=&colid=&condition=new. I am definitely a disciple. It would be an exaggeration to say I knew him, but I did speak with him a few times. He was very focused on the water and would really get grumpy if you tried to talk to him there, but he was very personable at the dock or at the seminars he gave.

.............................
Old fishermen never die. They just smell that way.
The Best of Fishbreath (http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa24/Fishbreath92028/Slideshow/?albumview=slideshow)

[TimelessFSR]

Thanks for the info on the book...can't wait to check it out. Ordered it from what looks like her eBay site.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/IN-PURSUIT-GIANT-BASS-BOOK-NEW-OUT-BOX-/390004700685?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ace17760d

[Hole Pounder]

Thanks for the info guys, i will definitely get that book as well. Just found out today that im getting transferred back up to norcal, so while im sad to say goodby eto DVL, im glad to say hello to the delta and clear lake!!

[Poxy Boggards]

Many more good fishing opportunities up the Bay Area from Salmon to Sturgeon.