Carry a Timer

Have you ever been planning for an upcoming fishing trip, only to be bothered to the point of nausea? This time of year, late September through early October, the bass are in a transitional phase. Many anglers, including myself, have a hard time finding and catching fish. Transitional fishing is an art and here is a few basic guidelines that may just help you catch your limit.

Time Challenge
During this transitional phase bass are migrating from their summer homesteads to fall feeding areas. This movement can make fish hard to locate. One strategy that is used by many anglers is to run and gun until fish is found. Early morning, start in the back of your favorite creek or cove. Look for signs of bait fish, schooling bass or any of the tell tell signs of feeding fish. If after 30-45 minutes of fishing, an area does not produce move on the next spot. One handy way that I have found not to spend too much time fishing unproductive water is to carry a kitchen timer with me on my boat. A cheap, yet reliable timer can be picked up at your local Wally-World for just a few dollars. Set the timer for the amount of time you are willing to spend fishing one spot and when it goes off, if not catching fish, move on to the next probable spot.

Where are the fish??

This time of year fish may be found anywhere from shallow flats to main channel points. Large Mouth Bass are most certainly following schools of shad, so once found limiting out could be fast and furious. Try moving back and forth from shallow flats to deeper staging areas. Implement the "kitchen timer method" and keep searching until you have located a good school of bass. Once you are satisfied that there is fish in your area slow down and work that area very thoroughly.

This pattern of non-pattern fishing should work on any lake. The key thing to remember is to just keep searching. Good luck on your next outing and be sure to let us know how it went on our message board.