Natural Lake Fall Fishing

[TravisRush]

So, up here in Washington we fish mostly clear, natural lakes. I have recently caught fish on shallow cranks, topwater at night, and slow worms/plastics.

Where should I look for the fish? The temperature has dropped majorly and I believe the water has quite a bit too.

Forgot the mention that I cannot find the larger fish...

[BassMoJo]

Find the shad! Considering your on the oppsite coast I dont know how much help this well be but right now in my clear water impondments the fish are feeding a little better with a drop from the low 80's to the low to mid 70s. But there still in a summer pattern they find later into the morning.

Look for shallow flats w/ deep water access in the am ... when the day wheres on I like to fish main lake points and the mouths of coves this time of year because they well use these points and such as staging points. As far as baits go topwater is great this time of year, spinner, rattle, crank it, hell its fall any reaction bait. DROP SHOT ...shakey head you get the idea

P.S. the bigger fish should be staging on them main lake points.

[TravisRush]

No shad here...there are mainly bluegill, perch, trout, and baby bass that they feed on in the majority of the lakes here.

And by mouths of coves, what do you mean? Most of the coves on the lakes I fish are a good 100 yards from point to point. Also, how should I work these points? I believe the grassline is about 15-20 feet deep

[keithdog]

The lakes around here are small natural lakes and fairly clear water as well. No shad in my area lakes either. The bass feed on pretty much the same prey as yours, minus the trout. The fall pattern that works for me most days starts with surface baits in the early morning hours. Once the sun starts to break the horizon and I can see, I'll work the shallows with the surface bait, and also a spinnerbait and a t rigged soft plastic such as a beaver bait or peca craw flipped into cover such as lilly pads, weed pockets, and so on. Once the sun rises above the tree tops, the shallow bite usually starts to slow quickly and I'll start working the deeper weedbeds with a medium or deep diving crankbait, a slowly retrieved spinnerbait and the t rigged soft plastic. The bass will let you know which of the offerings they are zeroing in on.

[TravisRush]

I was planning on trying to crank the edge of the weedbeds but how do I exactly find the endge without a fishfinder? Trial and error with the crank? What will the bottom composition most likely be beyond the weed edge?

[BeaverIslander]

Today the water dropped to 68 for the first time and the fish are on the move. I've found them stacked up in deep water and caught them on football jigs and shaky worms.

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by TravisRush

I was planning on trying to crank the edge of the weedbeds but how do I exactly find the endge without a fishfinder? Trial and error with the crank? What will the bottom composition most likely be beyond the weed edge?

I don't have a depth finder either. I really need to get one as it would make life much easier! Anyways, if you can, obtain a topo map of the lake your fishing and study it. Once you have a general idea of the lakes bottom structure, you can go out and and "learn" the lake by working cranks to see where those deeper weedbeds are. Yes, without a depth finder it is a bit of trial and error. Realize you won't do this in one or two outtings. I've been learning a local lake the hard way for a couple years now. I've come a long way but have a long way to go. Asking local anglers, DNR employees, baitshop owners, bass fishing club members are just some ways to learn more about the bottom composition of the lake your fishing. Just dropping a mushroom anchor and seeing what you bring up will tell you plenty. Also, be sure to take that topo map out onto the water with you and mark down landmarks on the map to help you become familiar with the lake. Also, paying attention to the surrounding landscape can often help you figure out a lake. Things such as points coming into the lake from land. Are the points long and have a slow decline or do they appear to approach the water with a steeper, shorter decline. What you see above water often continues into the water. And try trolling with cranks to learn the bottom contour as well. By just trolling around the lake and paying attention to when you start to hit weedbeds, or stop hitting weedbeds, you'll start realizing where the deeper water is, as well as the outside edges of weedbeds. Hope this helps.

[muddy]

I fish a lot of natural waters in the East also. Summer usually means the weedy flats for me
Fall; Jig heads with Either Beaver Craw type trailers or Brush Hog type, bumping rock piles , especially in areas where the rock pile is cover on a point.

[Baron49]

Fall fishing can be tough as the fish are moving around in search of bait fish to fatten up for the long winter months ahead. On a natural lake you have to take the time to look for and find the bait. Good places to start are rocky points, edges of grassy flats next to deep water, and isolated pockets of deeper weeds. A crank bait is hard to beat for finding fish, once you have found them slow down with a jig and pig, 4" tube, or even a wacky rigged soft stick bait. The key once you find them is to fish them slow, especially if the surface water temps are getting into the mid to low fifties.

[BeaverIslander]

Fishing has been great the last few days with a slow-rolled 3/8oz, single gold Colorado, black spinnerbait. The fish are willing to chase more than I expected, even with the water @ 47 degrees. They're just coming up behind and mouthing the spinnerbait, which I feel as just a little tap and then some slack line and a swirl near the bait. Many more fish than usual are being hooked on the trailer hook, maybe 30%, which I think is a sign of their lower metabolism in the cold water. They're willing to chase to get a meal, but want to chase as very little as possible.

They are in a foot or two of water, on shoreline thats closest to deep water that has a few green coontail and milfoil clumps remaining.