A few cool mornings and anglers begin thinking about the fall fishing season. We anglers sense the arrival of fall with the arrival of those first cool mornings. I walked to the mailbox this morning before daylight and for the first time I noticed something different in the air. It actually felt like fall.

Fall officially begins on Sept. 22 but the fish do not have a calendar so what signals the fish that the fall season is approaching? Falling water temperature is their gauge as to when the transition to fall begins. The water temperature has already dropped a few degrees and the fish have already taken notice.

That slight drop of a few degrees in water temperature has caused a slight but pronounced movement of the fish to shallow water. We saw an unusual summer season with heavy rain and somewhat cooler temperatures. It certainly was not a typical Georgia summer. No daytime temperatures ever approached the 100-degree mark this year.

Likewise most of the fish in the lakes never got into their normal late summer pattern. The heat and dismal weather normally associated with dog days in August never took hold and fishing remained pretty good through that period of time.

The fish bite has slowed recently with the return of dry and somewhat warmer daytime temperatures but now we have seen a hint of fall in the air with cooler nighttime temperatures. That has cooled the water a few degrees and caused a slight movement to shallow water.

That is just the beginning of things to come as the fall fishing season arrives based on water temperature and not the calendar. As water temperatures continue to drop, the fish will begin migrating back to shallow water in large numbers. The complete fall transition to shallow water will take several weeks.

The fall fishing can be fantastic as the fish gorge themselves on shad before winter arrives. During the early fall, largemouth bass and other fish species like hybrid/striped/white bass and crappie will return to the shallows to feed on shad and fatten up before winter arrives.

The drop in water temperature triggers a change in the fish’s movements and eating habits. The largemouth and other fish species have already begun a slow migration from their deeper summertime locations to the lake’s creeks and larger coves.

As the water temperature drops into the 70s and 60s, the largemouth will feed on shad that have taken up residence in large schools in the cooler oxygenated water found in the creeks and large coves.

The migration occurs over several weeks but if you concentrate on locating schools of shad, those shad will let you know where the fish will likely be on any given day. There is no other time of the year when the presence of shad is more vital to an angler’s success in catching fish than in the fall.

Incoming creeks and small streams create high levels of oxygen and this draws the shad. The backs of the creeks and large coves will provide good water that is cooler and loaded with oxygen and the shad are drawn to those locations. The largemouth, crappie, catfish and hybrid/striped/white bass will then follow those schools of shad.

Threadfin shad are the baitfish of choice on both Oconee and Sinclair and the shad are the key ingredient for successful fishing during the fall season. Find shad in shallow water during the fall and you will greatly improve your chances for finding fish. The fish are searching for shad so they can gorge themselves and fatten up before the onset of winter.

As I stated earlier, it only takes a slight drop in water temperature for the fish to realize that changes are coming. Those slight temperature changes have already begun on Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair.

When the migration to shallow water to feed on shad begins, it is time to get out the crankbaits and topwater plugs for largemouth and hybrid/striped/white bass and time also for crappie anglers to hit the water and begin trolling again with jigs and minnows.

The fall fishing season is in its initial stages and it will only get better as the water temperature begins its steady decline. Just remember that the presence of threadfin shad in the area you are fishing is the key to fall angling success on Lakes Oconee and Sinclair. Good fishing and see you next week.

 

Bobby Peoples can be reached by e-mail at brpeoples@windstream.net.