Water Temperature in the Fall
As we progress into the fall, we will see plenty of water temperature change some of it will be positive for the fall bite and some will not. Determining the effect on your bite will have a lot to do with what the temperature is, how much it drops and how quickly the temperature moves from one day to another. The thing you can count on is the early fall drop in temperature will help the bite better than the late fall drop in temperature.
The key is where your lake water temperature starts from on a daily; short drops of 5 degrees or so from high 70 or low 80-degree temperature will turn the bite on. As the temperature changes and gets closer to the mid 60’s the drops will change the bite in a negative way. One of the keys is not necessarily the water temperature down to the 8 ft. level but rather the temperature below that as it forces negative change to the bite. Once the temperature gets colder on the bottom than the top of the water is a critical time in determining the bite, this is a turning point from fall to winter and everything changes.
The thing you can easily determine as the fall changes the water temperature is whether the fish are chasing; fast moving baits like rattle baits, spinner baits, swim baits are good choices to see if the bass are affected positively or negatively by the change in water temperature. Once they stop chasing you can determine that the deeper water has gotten colder than the shallower water.
Regardless of the time of year the bass react negatively to falling water temperatures when the deep water is colder than above. I have seen the affects of water temperature for many years now, and falling temps hurt the fishing under these conditions. However, the drops from hot water to cooling temps increase the bite and make timing everything when it comes to getting on the water. On lakes like Guntersville that has big grass mats one of the keys is moving the oxygen, not only does that take falling temperatures but it takes wind and rain to break up the grass so the bass move on from the safe haven of being tucked under grass.
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Captain Mike Gerry