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 .

ooler temperatures are creeping across the country and the fish are getting more aggressive along with it . This time of year , you don ’ t need to know the water temperature at your local lake to know that cooler nighttime temperatures trigger a feeding response in bass .

It ’ s a phenomenon that takes place in every lake across the country : Before winter sets in , bass chase baitfish . They spend the fall months feeding – and feeding heavily – in preparation for winter .

How you apply that information depends on the size of baitfish in your local fishery . Do you have smelt , small shad ( like threadfin ) or other small baitfish ? Your plan of attack should differ from the angler whose fish are corralling alewives , gizzard shad , panfish or trout . Regardless of the size of the baitfish , one universal truth remains : Bass are going to be eating them . It ’ s time to take advantage .

fish in a ( very large ) barrel

In most lakes , two different scenarios play out simultaneously this time of year . Some baitfish will move shallow and find themselves corralled into the backs of pockets , coves and creeks . They ’ ll use docks , brush , grass and other shallow cover in an attempt to evade bass . Other baitfish will remain deep , but will ultimately end up in the same predicament – pinned against bluffs , channel bends and in the back of deep coves .

The scenario I ’ m describing is one of the most amazing opportunities you ’ ll ever have as an angler .

Bass that chase these baitfish in the shallows won ’ t be hard to find . You don ’ t need the best electronics or a fast boat . You can idle along the coves and pockets in your boat or drive the lake shore in your car . It won ’ t take long to see bass exploding out of the water , pinning baitfish to the shoreline .

the tactics in play

Right now , bass are moving around baitfish in very predictable ways . Some bass will be swimming around the perimeter of the school , keeping them bunched together . The rest of the bass will be lurking below , waiting to shoot up through the school for a quick , sizeable meal .

The key to catching any of these fish is to stand out from the crowd . There may be 10,000 baitfish pinned in the back of a single cove , so how do you get the bass to notice your bait ? Our recommendation is to focus on baits that make a ruckus .

First , opt for a topwater . No matter the size of the baitfish , start with an aggressive walking bait like an Evergreen Shower Blows or a River2Sea Rover . The more commotion your offering makes and the harder the bait darts from side to side , the more likely you are to distract a bass from the thousands