Catching Transition Bass

With the first hint of color on the leaves, and the first cold spells beginning to pour over the south, most fisherman envision hungry bass and cool mornings, however there is still the  period of Summer to Fall Transition.

Transition bass can be very difficult to locate and catch. Beginning in mid-September and going through the middle of October, the summer to fall transition period is a time when fish begin to scatter and are found in nearly every portion of the reservoir, following bait fish along their migration to the backs of tributaries. While fishing can be tough, there are still many ways to catch these scattered bass, making this one of my very favorite times of the year to fish.

Here’s a few surefire ways to catch transition bass.

The setup: 

Beginning in mid-September on up until around the end of October, watching water temperature is incredibly important in finding and catching transition bass. At times, finding cooler water makes the fishing better, as it dials in the fish on to more specific patterns, however, as water temperatures fluctuate with cooling and warming trends these fish become scattered, below are some great ways to catch these early transition period bass.

Staying Deep:

While some transition bass will begin to move shallow into the backs of creeks and coves, the majority of fish will still be hanging around offshore structure, be it a brush-pile, ledge, point, or hump, all of these places will still hold fish during the warmer part of the fall transition period. However as the month progresses and water temperatures cool off, look for these same type of areas around the mouths of major creeks and tributaries. Baits that excel in these type situations are deep diving crank baits, such as a Spro Little John DD and Baby DD in shad patterns. Jigs and Carolina Rigs also work very well. The best jig I have found for this application is the Chattahoochee Jigs 3/4 oz football head jig, fished with a zoom speed craw trailer.

If deep brush is the cover of choice, I prefer a drop shot rig as it excels in catching pressured finicky fish and fishing over deep brush piles.  For my drop shot I prefer a medium to medium light action rod with 6-8lb fluorocarbon line, weight size varies on the conditions being fished in, however a stand by that works in most situations is a 3/8oz drop shot weight. Fish either vertically using your electronics,  or making short pitches to the deep brush letting the rig drop strait down in the water column.

Covering Water:

As the month progresses and water temperatures begin to move into the high to mid 60’s one of the very best patterns to fish is to cover water. By this I mean putting the trolling motor on high and running and gunning various depths, areas, and locations across the body of water. Baits that excel in this style of fishing are, spinner baits like a Nichols Pulsator Spinner bait,

Spro Little John MD in shad patterns, and shallower running crank baits like a Spro Little John work exceptionally well in shallower water. Focus on the beginning to middle of major tributaries and creek arms. As the water cools shad begin their annual migration to the backs of pockets and creeks, however at this mid point in the transition, most are not all the way back in the backs of the creeks. By focusing on the beginning to middle of these tributaries, you can easily determine where the shad are, if they are still towards the beginning, focus more on the deep structure mentioned earlier.

Follow these surefire ways to catch fall transition bass, and get ready for the, BassGravity!

Good fishing,

Garrett ” The Boss”