Falling Water Temps in the Fall
Regardless of the time of year the bass react negatively to extreme falling water temperatures; the good news is the fall fishing generally does not have extreme water temperature drops but it can cause subtle slowdowns. Generally, they water temperature falls slowly in the fall until we get to the later part of the fall fishing causing the bass to react positively to the dropping temperatures. I have seen the affects of water temperature for many years now, and I thought it might be time to help my readers understand it. This past month of September has been an example of my years of personal experience. The water temperature took a downturn around the 10th of the month of September, the bass were feeding and active and they shut off like turning off a facet. The water temperature dropped from 84 degrees to 78 and it was like fishing for ghosts. You would think this would turn them on and it will but it is just not a immediate reaction as the water temperature at the lower depths may very well be warmer than the surface causing the bass to suspend; and maybe even turn over to occur changing the oxygen structure of the lake
I have seen times when we had 90 degree water and we were catching fish on top water all day long and all of a sudden the a cold front comes through drops the water temperature a few degrees and we are struggling for a bite. It like a shock to their system and a perfectly good few days on the water becomes a struggle. The good news is when the temperature settles, they generally start feeding and moving again.
The real question is what happens and what you can do to find active fish; I believe to find them under these conditions you must first understand what happened. This is an ideal time to use search baits and look for active fish then slow down when you get bites. This also is a perfect time to go to a flash baits like spinner baits or chatter baits to cause reaction from
Dropping water temperature means activity slows fish slower and you can deal with it.
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Captain Mike Gerry