COLUMN: TACTICAL BASSIN
Points and ledges near deep water are prime stopping spots
for transitioning bass.
Resident shallow fish often use the backs of creeks and pockets
to corral baitfish.
MAPS BY TACTICAL BASSIN
take advantage of fall transition
The dog days are ending, but the action doesn’t have to stop
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Matt Allen and Tim Little
are well-known big-bass
experts who own Tactical
Bassin, a website and
social media channels
dedicated to educating
the public about bass
fishing.
T
he dog days of summer
are quickly coming
to an end, and with
the change comes the end of
summer fishing patterns.
Switching gears and effectively
patterning bass during the
summer-to-fall transition could
mean the difference between
holding up a first-place trophy
or an empty weigh bag.
As the days get shorter and
the nights get cooler, bass will
be on the move. One day you
might be on an awesome topwater
bite, and the next you
might not be able to find fish.
Overnight, the bass, along with
the summer bite, can disappear
and leave many anglers
scratching their heads.
If this has ever happened
to you, the tips below will give
you some insight on where
bass go and how you can
catch them through the tricky
transition.
Understanding Transition
The fall transition is not a
slow transition. It comes much
earlier and happens a lot
quicker than most anglers
realize. Transition movements
can happen seemingly
overnight with the falling temperatures.
To figure out and
locate a school of fish, you
need to ask yourself one question:
Where are the baitfish?
Bass movements are highly
motivated by their food source.
As the baitfish school up, so
will the bass. The offshore or
ledge fish that you have targeted
all summer will begin to
congregate into larger
schools. The shallow fish you
were flippin’ and froggin’ in
the grass will vacate their
summer vegetation in search
of new locations.
How the transition occurs
depends on the type of fishery
and the cover or structure
bass frequent.
Deeper offshore fish begin
gathering on the best structure
and ambush points. They
congregate on the corners of
ledges that are close to deep
water and long tapering
points that extend out to deep
26
FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020