I like fall better, the fish are just eating!
In the spring they are looking to spawn. A cold front will shut down the bite and often push them deeper (usually the first substantial drop off). It might only be a few feet deeper, but they're notorious for the bite stopping until the water starts to warm back up. If conditions don't align with what they want the fish will just move off, absorb their eggs and not spawn that year.
Small bodies of water you loss a whole year class of fish. Larger bodies of water like Wheeler there's always plenty that find the conditions they like. Hopefully the fry spread out across the system over the next couple years, and you don't even notice.