As we move into the late summer and to fall fishing gets tougher and this year appears to be no different the reason is simple the bass scatter more than they do in other periods of the year. Those groups of fish you were used to chasing have broken up for the most part and now you have to look for small gatherings of scattered fish.
One key to solving this late summer mystery is targeting the right areas of the lake your fishing; high percentage areas are just a little different than many of the traditional areas you have been fishing. What was once a great area with cover and oxygen all of a sudden is not holding fish, the bass have moved and you must locate them looking for different keys to lead you to the fish. It’s a time when your mind must move from the thick summertime cover to isolated structure that changes your thought process. Deep cover starts to loose oxygen as the summer ends and all of sudden the bass along with the bait fish are moving to find oxygen changing your targets. This phenome is proven every early fall as we see the bait balls starting to get bigger in the open clear water parts of the lake.
This change tells you to locate different areas like flats or off shore road beds with subtle changes in bottom structure or scattered clumps of grass; maybe even long bars where gravel or shells get caught on the edges from current. As the bait searches for areas of oxygen the bass do the same. These subtle areas start to become the areas the bass hang in, there is more oxygen at this time of the year and clear water also becomes more oxygen plentiful moving the fish to different locations.
As we progress into this late summer time pattern speed and search baits become more proficient at finding fish; you need to waist less time so speed up and cover water. I like spinner baits and rattle baits to cover water, the clearer the water the more apt I am to use top water baits like “walking baits” and more even in the mid part of the day. Picasso Chatter baits “Shock Blade” and swim baits can also cover lots of water, searching is key to locate; attention to detail is key to catching once you located fish.
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
www.facebook.com/FishGuntersville
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
Call: 256 759 2270
Capt. Mike Gerry