I am bass fishing this fall for, well, pretty much the first time in my life.

 

I'm a big waterfowl and deer hunter. Normally when the temps dip and the leaves start to turn, I'm concentrating on the blind and gearing up for chasing mule deer.

With a new boat in the garage, and loss of permission on a ranch, I will be spending more time chasing bass this fall.

 

There are a ton of youtube videos out there with fall techniques, lures, etc.

 

Looking for some guidance from those of you in the midwest (I'm in Nebraska). So far I have been throwing and catching bass on spinner baits and square bills.

 

From what I have been researching, I should be able to boat bass until the water freezes(?)

Gets extremely tough in Nebraska in the small <400 acre lakes up there. That being said, I have caught fish all the way up to December 5th in Nebraska.
 

My advice would be to concentrate on the high percentage lakes that seems to have a bit more water clarity.

 

Spinnerbait, buzzbait, jig, ned rig and a flat side squarebill were my best producers in the fall.

I am north of you but this is what I focus on in the fall. I look for green weeds and water temps that are still 50 or warmer.

 

Once water temps drop below 50, you will notice a significant drop in activity and bites. I’m not saying you can’t catch any bass when it’s that cold, but it will be much more difficult. Their metabolism will slow down and they will become very lethargic. This is when I generally hang it up for the season and start hunting.

 

I’ve had some dynamite outings the past couple seasons when water temps were between 50-55 degrees. Just last week I destroyed them under these conditions, both largemouth and smallmouth.
 

Most of my lures are moving presentations, but retrieved at a slower rate. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and jerkbaits would be my top three selections. A buzz bait might also be worth a try if your waters have been known to produce fish on topwater. If they’re swiping at it and missing, slow down. That has helped me land more fish.

 

Overnight low air temps also play a role. Clear, calm nights drop air temps lower and when this happens, you’re better off waiting until later in the day to fish after it has warmed up. If there is a cloud deck overnight, it acts as an insulator and keeps it temps warmer at night. Then it’s worth starting right away in the morning.

the Pike are still active but the bass have not been for a while where i fish

I live in the twin cities area Minnesota and I actually caught my biggest bass yesterday speed cranking in about 12-14 ft of water (no electronics but somewhere in there) I tend to use crankbaits around that depth and when they come back up with green healthy weeds I may go back through that area with a tube, jig, blade bait….etc and see if they want a bit slower. I’ve consistently caught my biggest bass of the year here around this time. Good luck!!

Appreciate the wisdom.

 

Put eight fish in the boat yesterday, missed a few, and broke off two.

 

Atmosphere was mid 40's, but water temps were 58-60 degrees.

 

Nothing even sniffed the buzz bait, which disappointed me...one of my favorite lures to throw. Most were landed on spinnerbait, a few on a jig. Largest was on a black-n-blue fleck senko, wacky rigged on a drop shot. Right around 2-1/2 pounds.

 

Hopefully back on the water this weekend.

 

I think you should have titled your post UPPER MIDWEST.  I’m in SWMO and we are waiting for the late summer doldrums to pass so we can get into winter mode.  
 

Today we fished all over the upper White River arm of Table Rock Lake.  We did manage 20 bass with 2 keeper smallmouth, 3 keeper spots and 1 keeper meanmouth, but we had to cover a lot of places and make hundreds of casts.

On 10/23/2023 at 3:25 PM, Jig Man said:

I think you should have titled your post UPPER MIDWEST.  I’m in SWMO and we are waiting for the late summer doldrums to pass so we can get into winter mode.  
 

Today we fished all over the upper White River arm of Table Rock Lake.  We did manage 20 bass with 2 keeper smallmouth, 3 keeper spots and 1 keeper meanmouth, but we had to cover a lot of places and make hundreds of casts.

If you had 20 ,that's a good day. I had 8 or 9 up the James last Friday. They were on isolated wood and a few on the docks.

Table Rock is getting close. I'd expect they will catch them in the Toyota First week of November.