Kentucky Fall Time Bass Fishing Tips

The orange tint in the tops of mature trees portend what is coming our way. Cool nights with crisp, gorgeous days signal not only some of the best days of the year in Kentucky, but also the beginning of the fall reservoir fishing season for largemouth bass. 

A mild fall with gradually cooling conditions guarantees outstanding action for bigger-than-average bass, without the number of anglers and boaters of the spring and summer seasons. There’s an old angling adage that bass stock up for winter by feeding heavily before cold conditions arrive, which reduces their metabolism.

Studies of bass feeding in fall are scarce, but their plump appearance and the way they typically attack lures suggests there’s truth to this theory, particularly in waters that freeze over in winter. But other factors play a role as well.

Even in Florida, colder conditions limit the growth of vegetation, reducing available cover for baitfish and bass, and improving feeding opportunities for predators. In northern waters, ice cover virtually vacuums plant life from water less that six feet deep. And what’s left in deeper areas generally is dark, bedraggled, and dead. 

As it starts to thin in shallow areas, baitfish are forced deeper where more cold-tolerant vegetation remains, such as coontail and northern milfoil. And that’s where bass also settle, as vast mats of vegetation dissipate, leaving smaller beds and clumps of healthy vegetation in depths from 6 to 15 feet. 

Defining Fall While vegetation is a good indicator of fall’s progression, the change is less obvious in larger impoundments with limited vegetation. Shorter days and a more distant sun bring cooler days and dropping water temperatures. Bass ace Kevin VanDam is a Michigan resident, but fishes across the country. As a touring pro with more than 25 years tenure and millions of dollars in tournament winnings, he’s learned to navigate seasonal changes across the country.

“I consider the start of the fall season as the first significant decline in water temperature from summer conditions,” he says. “In Alabama reservoirs, that might be a drop from 85°F to 75°F. Back home, it’s more like a fall from the upper 70s to the 60s within a week or two. At about this time, day length is reduced at a faster rate as well, which all aquatic life is cued into, just as much as terrestrial critters.” These declines cause a marked decline in aquatic vegetation, which is most pronounced in northern waters.

Within the boundaries of fall, it’s helpful to segment the season into early-, mid-, and late-fall periods. The final phase can also be labeled a pre-ice situation, with temperatures below about 42°F. The early phase can be considered to start with water temperature declines, as VanDam suggests, continuing as water cools to the mid-50°F range. Much of the southern bass range rarely experiences mid- and late-fall conditions. Mid-fall, then, represents the phase when water declines from about 55°F to the low 40s.

September is typically the driest month of the year and the water in many lakes becomes air-clear. The clear water combined with the lingering summer thermal stratification of the lake makes predator fish lethargic and skittish. 

This leads to tough fishing. With the cooler night temperatures of October, the top layer of water in lakes mixes and pushes more dissolved oxygen lower in the water column. As the weather continues to cool, a bigger swath of water holds good amounts of dissolved oxygen. More dissolved oxygen in the depths makes the fish active again, a fact that should help the fishing after the record heat of early October this year.

The amount of sunlight is a more important barometer of the beginning of good fall fishing than the amount of heat left in the water. Water temperatures can vary due to early, long cold snaps, Indian summers, and the like. But, the length of day never varies respective to the time of year. As fall nights lengthen and days shorten, predator fish feed.

Fooling Fall Bass 

Fall fishing can provide some of the fastest action of the year with more than a fair share of outsize fish. The best bite often is in mid-fall once cover declines, as baitfish bunch up and bass get the message that winter is on the way. I’ve found that the first frost of the season often signals the onset of this phase. Finders: It’s sometimes necessary to find fish, particularly in unfamiliar waters (including local lakes you haven’t been to since summer), and several lure styles help. 

Creeks often have riprap banks near the mouth, in the interior, or wherever bridges cross. Square-bill crankbaits excel there for quickly covering water to find fish and define location patterns. They bounce off cover and look vulnerable with their wide roll and halting cadence. They also work around stumps and trees, when retrieved with a tentative retrieve that helps them walk through cover unsnapped.

Black Bass remain close to their summer haunts until the day shortens enough to compel them into the shallows. This doesn’t happen as early as many anglers believe, but it is beginning now.

Flats become important in October and November for black bass. The section nearest the channel drop should be probed with a ¼-ounce jig in hues of brown, orange and green.

A lighter jig looks more realistic, but you will need to fish it more slowly than a heavier jig in early fall. Use a more subtle trailer, such as a strip of black or brown pork frog or a small crawfish imitation with pinchers, not flapping appendages. If you don’t get any strikes on the flat, move to the channel drop and swim the jig a few feet above it. 

A swimming retrieve often fools lethargic bass suspended over the channel drop, a common scenario in early fall. Gently sloping banks also make great places to swim a jig in early and mid-fall. 

Those comprised of mud mixed with gravel or pea gravel are best. Largemouth bass hold on these banks, often unpressured by anglers. Slowly retrieving a crawfish-colored crankbait along these banks also draws strikes. Target main lake points and the points in creek arms nearest the main lake if flats, channel drops or sloping banks prove fruitless. 

Sensory Magnification 

We know from a scientific viewpoint that bass’ metabolism declines with water temperature, especially below 50°F. They don’t require as much food (calories), so lures often must be presented precisely and slowly to draw strikes in a chilled environment. For this reason, I feel strongly that late fall is the best time to incorporate as many sensory attractors as possible. Though bass may not be in hunting mode, they bite lures, as we see ice-fishing every winter. Use bright colors to accent a softbait, such as coloring a tube’s tentacles chartreuse. Contrasting colors draw fish’s attention and may peak their curiosity if not their appetite. To further examine an object, they put it in their mouth and give you a chance to hook them. Rattlebaits are overlooked for fall fishing, but they can work well retrieved or yo-yoed over vegetation or worked along deeper drops with a lift-fall cadence. I’ve done best by downsizing to 1/4-ounce models of Rapala Rippin’ Raps, Rat-L-Traps, and the Booyah One Knocker. Rattling crankbaits work, too, adding sound attraction and vibration to the visual image of the lure.

Largemouth Bass relate to points for the entire fall. Those comprised of mud mixed with pea gravel, small boulders and shale hold more largemouths.

Crawfish nestle in the crevices in these areas as they prepare to burrow in the mud to spend winter. A 3/8-ounce crawfish-colored jig works fantastic on these points. Employ a slow pull and drop retrieve.

Cast onto the point, allow the jig to settle on the bottom, and gently pull the rod tip up. Allow the jig to slowly fall back to the bottom and repeat as the jig works deeper down the point.

Largemouths often hit the jig on the fall. If it feels like the jig landed on a sponge, the line jumps or goes unusually slack, set the hook.

In November as the water temperatures slide toward the mid-60s, largemouths move to the bank for a week or two. This scenario is a crankbait angler’s dream as the ability to quickly cover shallow water lends a great advantage.

Boat ramps are an overlooked and highly productive spot when bass nose the banks in fall. Almost all boat ramps have a gouge hole at the end of them, stemming from water propulsion from the boat motor when trailering a boat. The flat boat ramp and the gouge hole routinely draw numbers of largemouth bass at this time of year. Boat ramps are a great early spring spot to try as well.

By Thanksgiving, largemouth bass leave the shallows and suspend near steeper drops and points where they remain for the winter. Heavy jigs crawled slowly down the point draw strikes in December. Tail spinners and blade baits allowed to shimmy down the sides of points pick off largemouths in early winter as well.

The extra precautions you should take when boating in fall are pretty much the same as for boating during spring and during winter. Bring plenty of layers of clothing to keep warm if the temperature unexpectedly drops, or if you’re out on your boat longer than expected and get exposed to colder evening weather.

Wear a personal flotation device at all times, especially since falling overboard into cold autumn water can shock the body. A lifejacket or other PFD helps you remain afloat until you can be brought back onboard. Fewer boaters nearby also means less available help, so make sure you file a float plan. 

That way people on land can initiate a search if you don’t return on time.Watching college football or sitting in a tree stand draw many potential anglers away from lakes in fall. Get and enjoy the great fishing, you may have the lake practically to yourself.

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Fall bass can be a challenge, especially after the early-fall feeding splurge has passed and winter announces its approach. But the solitude of even the most popular lakes, sights of migrating birds and barren trees, and the chance to catch yet another great batch of big green fish make it my favorite season, one that creates memories to last until the following spring.

Visit KY and enjoy the KY FALL FISHING FESTIVAL and visit the OUTBOARD MUSEUM listed on Trip Advisor!