Northwest Fishing Reports

I just wanted 2 know if anyone else out there is having a hard time with the Fall Bass like BassFanatic and myself? We've tried everything imaginable,..every presentation we could think of,..going very S-L-O-W,..D-Shot various plastics,..Jigs,..T-Rig,..C-Rig,..we've tossed Spinners,..Chatters and some Cranks/Swims,..we've went deep and shallow,..we hit docks,..structure,..deep flats,..rock beds,..weedlines,..you name it,..we even went 2 a smaller body of water today in search for some Bass instead of our usual Lake Wa,..came up skunked! I've been watching the reports and I think that besides dilbert and 2000subaru on Tapps no one else has posted,..Jordan's taken a few on Lake Wa last weekend,..but that's about it,..any feedback?

BB

We OLYBOYZ still hittin it and yes its tough,and as of oct31st majority of our lakes have closed here.We have Black lake,American lake which our are closest to fish now.Just keep at and dont give up...iv been really using my finder and learning all the colors and settings and just becoming very in tune with it.Use this slow time when you go out to rearange your boat clean up your boxes learn your equipment better.Maybe practice some new knots and new uses for your baits.Fish out of the box now..Its tough out there and good luck

SPARKY101 wrote:We OLYBOYZ still hittin it and yes its tough,and as of oct31st majority of our lakes have closed here.We have Black lake,American lake which our are closest to fish now.Just keep at and dont give up...iv been really using my finder and learning all the colors and settings and just becoming very in tune with it.Use this slow time when you go out to rearange your boat clean up your boxes learn your equipment better.Maybe practice some new knots and new uses for your baits.Fish out of the box now..Its tough out there and good luck

Yeah Sparky,..we've been using methods we don't normally incorporate in our "Style" of Bassin thus "Thinking outside the box" so 2 speak,..you already know we're "Chuckers" and using more and more Plastics and Jigs is helping us 2 add more arsenal 2 our attack,.not giving up just a bit frustrated,..and rightly so,..nobody likes getting skunked,..I know we're doing/using the right tactics,..just can't get them suckers 2 bite,..! Thanks for the reply though Bro!

BB

rub the ear lobes.. breathe deep... wooooosah

RB wrote:rub the ear lobes.. breathe deep... wooooosah

LOL,..I like it,..2 funny RB,..thanks I needed that! Great movie BTW!

BB

As far as Tapps goes, we are fishing a few new places and even some of our usual haunts. This year has been a weird one for the bass out there. We couldn't ever locate the size we caught last year, and not as many fish too. What we HAVE caught were in my opinion very strong, and active fish. The smallie I caught on the 1st dook my DS on the fall, I had not even flipped the bail over. I felt the hit and set the hook, as good as an open spool can be set, then spent some time unwinding the mess of line that had come unraveled. I would have thought the fish was double the weight of what I caught. It kept wanting to run. It was the first cast in the area that we decided to fish. We were watching the fish finder and saw the depth and hard bottom we were looking for and POW! We have spent the year on the lake trying to find new spots and fish old ones. BB- They are there, just keep looking.

big storm rolling in so keep this in mind...

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys,like BB said we are struggling to hook up with some fish

SPARKY101 wrote:


big storm rolling in so keep this in mind...

Yeah this weather has been so weird lately,..I think it just needs 2 make up it's mind and stick with it,..LOL,..much like us Bassers I guess,..seems like the Bass are just as freaked as us,..! The storm should help though!

BB

If your going to be fishing LW, you'll need to go deep. I was there two weekends ago and my bites were at 40 to 45 feet. Stick with dropshots, football heads and c-rigs. Most important, be patient, not a lot of bites this time of year.

kzoo wrote:If your going to be fishing LW, you'll need to go deep. I was there two weekends ago and my bites were at 40 to 45 feet. Stick with dropshots, football heads and c-rigs. Most important, be patient, not a lot of bites this time of year.

Yeah kzoo,..we're done with Lake Wa till April or so,..believe me we threw Football heads,..Revenge Heads,..D-Shot and C-Rig in the 40'-45'and 28'depths and were very patient,..just got nadda. So if we get out anymore this year it'll be on a smaller body of water,..thanks for the info though,..I'm suprised we haven't met on Lake Wa yet!

BB

Hey KZOO were you finding them at 40-45' on the bottom?I seem to only find schools or fish suspended at 45-55' over 60-80' kinda like the lake erie tournament if ya know what i mean....

Blackmouth season is rolling around...

BB,

Late fall is often the most challenging season for anglers in Western Washington. (I am assuming you are talking about smallmouth in this particular instance) It wasn't until a few years ago (2005) that I really figured out the smallies in the fall. That year it clicked and started to make sense to me. That's not to say that the fish still don't throw me a curve ball every now and then, but I now feel I can go out and consistently catch them this time of year. Here are some things to keep in mind in the late fall:

#1 - The smallies are starting to really group up near their wintering areas, where as in the summer they will be more widely dispersed. Often is the case with smallmouth in the fall, it's not always that they're not biting, it's that you likely haven't yet found the concentrations of fish. This can be easier said than done because of #2.

#2 - You've probably heard me say it before, but some of the very best areas in the fall are extremely subtle and difficult to locate. It may be a point or cut in the break line at the end of a large deep flat, or a slight composition change from soft bottom to sand with scattered wood or even a transition area from gravel to baseball sized rock. Well defined structure can be still be very productive but don't overlook the subtle structural features as these can be gold mines and often receive far less pressure.

#3 - Another huge factor to keep in mind is that you may find an area that is absolutely loaded with fish but the bass holding on that area are not "biting" fish. For example, there may be a big gorgeous rock pile on a flat in 35 feet of water that is holding 25-30 smallmouth. Sometimes you can fish the daylights out of that rock pile with various techniques and not get a bite. Instead of giving up on those fish, you may want to expand on the area a little and try to determine if there is a "spot on the spot" nearby where they become more active and feed. The rock pile that is holding the large number of fish may be their bedroom or living room and the nearby spot where they feed may be their kitchen. This feeding spot may be 10 yards away or 50+ yards away but fall smallies in lakes prefer to be homebodies and rest near where they feed, assuming there is adequate forage in the area. I've found this to be the case in many situations. The spot where they are feeding and active may only hold 2 to 5 fish but I would much prefer to fish for a handful of active "biting" fish over 30 negative or resting fish any day of the week.

#4 - Timing tends to be more critical now than in mid/late summer. With the cooler water temperatures, the smallmouth's metabolism has slowed and they do not need to feed as often. However, they are still quite active as they are loading up on protein and packing on the weight for the winter season. If you have confidence in an area, feel you are on good fish and they are not cooperating, don't hesitate to return multiple times throughout the day. You can fish an area 2 or 3 times and come up empty, just to return a 4th time and load the boat. In addition, if you catch a fish or multiple fish off of an area, be sure to check it later in the day because the area is likely to replenish or more fish in the area could turn on.

#5 - Presentation is VERY important right now. Boat positioning and how you present your bait can mean the difference between catching nothing but a cold and catching a giant sack of smallies. With the warmer water temperatures in the summer, presentation is still critical but the strike zone is typically much larger. The fish are often willing to move a little further to strike a bait in their increased metabolic state. When late fall rolls around, the strikes can still be very aggressive but you usually need to put the lure right in their wheel house. This means using the best boat positioning to present your lure at an optimum angle to trigger the strike. This is one of the toughest principles to learn and apply. But with trial and error, plus time on the water you will be constantly improving. It's not always an exact science and I learn much more every season about this element of deep water fishing.

#6 - Last and probably the most important, MASTER YOUR ELECTRONICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully you find one or more of these tips helpful in your search of late fall/early winter bass. They are still there and the bite can be phenomenal when you find them. I've only been out a few times for smallies this fall but I've had limits between 20 and 25 lbs. all three trips, while others on the lake were struggling. I wasn't doing anything special. When I found the fish they were chowing down. Good luck!

Tag since i have read your article in the wash/fish news"top 5 secrets"and knowing that you were a contributer to this site,Man we better get some bread for this gravy we got here.Thanks tag you give a glimmer of hope to some.

Nice writing tag! This will be my first year trying smallies in the fall. And the tips/secrets you gave will be very helpful and much appreciated! I have done okay on largies throughout fall and winter here in washington but it is far and few between! It sure would be fun to add a couple smallies to my slow time of the year! I don't ever give up so rain/snow I will still be fishing!:cheers:

Great info. Tag,

Looks like we all owe you several rounds:cheers:

Good information

Tag,..thank you,..we've talked and I remember all you've said,..even wrote it down,..LOL,..I'll give you a call next time on the water,..if that's ok,..and see with your help if we can't land some Fall Bass!

BB

Unusually tough for me. Matter of fact, I have not caught a single LMB this season.

Although my broken ankle is the main culprit, I hit Steel lake for some top water LMB action and it was zero, zip, nada.

I didn't even see big mama. The lake bass wise seemed and felt wrong and different all 3 times I went before the lake closed.

Great piece, Tag. Thanks!

THERE IS A REASON WHY I CALL TAG "THE KVD OF WASHINGTON" .. Great Info bro ! who knows maybe someday i will get a chance to meet the guy