Thread: cold fronts and fall fishing

Originally Posted by Fishers

Fall is about shad. Its always about shad actually, but fall much more so. They will be mostly shallow. If you can find a deep channel cutting thru a part of the lake that has extensive shallow (4-8 feet deep) flats, you should have as much fishing as you can handle until a winter pattern sets in.

Amen

Chris is 100 percent correct. About any time of the year it's about baitfish especially in the fall and winter. If you can figure out the shad migration on your lake in the fall, you have half the battle won. It will take some time on the water but a good place to start is in the feeder creek arms and rivers. When the water temp starts falling in the fall you normally get a big push of shad moving into the feeder creek arms along with the river channels. The crappie will follow. Probably not a better time of the year to use live bait. Some years like this year when there hasn't been a shad kill for a long time and there is millions of shad, it's a bigger challenge. Look for cover along ledges and drop offs where shad tend to travel. If you can find both, you have hit a gold mine. Shallow bays and coves are also good. Spider rigging is good in the spring and summer but unreal in the fall.