One thing I’ve talked about on live classes is the contextual idea of bass migration in the fall.
We often say that bass “transition “ here or there during this time of year. Be careful with this. On many lakes this simply isn’t happening. It’s a great idea on paper but most bass simply stay close to where they spawn ALL YEAR.
Spotted bass stay close to the main lake all year.
Most creek bass will stay in close proximity to the creek ALL YEAR.
Smallmouth can be more mobile in some fisheries but they often thrive in open water near the main river or lake.
This does not mean smallmouth can’t be caught in creeks and spots won’t be caught way up a river.
What it means is the BULK OF THE BASS STAY VERY VERY CLOSE TO WHERE THEY WERE BORN. There’s not much of a transition. The bass simply become easier to catch during the fall because:
1. Feeding windows become longer
2. Baitfish are in available in predictable areas
3. More bass use predictable locations as ambush during this time (the true transition)
The transition doesn’t often look like this big migration miles and miles away. The transition is actually very subtle move. Those moves make bass a little more susceptible to being caught for most lakes.
