I'm confused about the talk of fish moving to the backs of coves in the fall. I know most of the comments state that it's the coves with water entering in the rear that are best but I see a conflict with the dying lily pads.

I know the lily pads dying give off co2 which is a big fish turn-off. How can these coves also be the ones everyone is talking about?

Is there a point where they are done dying and the 02 levels rise again?

And what about if the cove doesn't have water entering. The main cove we fish during ice out is the cove I would assume would be great for fall. 4 ft deep with just a trickle of water entering way in the back where a boat can't even get (1.2 ft deep) . THis trickle doesn't even exist most of the season once things dry up and water levels drop. This cove gets choked in the summer but again, deadly in early spring.

Is this where I should be? Do I need to wait till pads are done dying?

when weeds are in the process of dying they release co2 after they are dead nothing. Fish move back in and backs of coves hold shad because of wind. Its the few places shallow enough to hold warmth. Shad seek creeks for the same reason warmth a running creek is a stable temp and high oxygen.

well, water temps on main lake are about 62 deg.  Pads are long since dead,..been raining for 4 days with 3 more coming so there just might be a small trickle again, should I get in there?  I just ask because it's a time consuming venture and w/temps dropping,time is limited.

In Illinois I fish shallow until the lake freezes. I find loads of bass BIG BASS shallow. Fish the stems or anywhere there is wood stuck in with them or any change in depth. I fish a lot of rock or places where there is a drop close to the bank. Points can be killer. That picture I sent you was a bass caught in the mouth of a main cove caught 2 days before the lake froze. In the back of that main cove was a rock bank that I caught 8 more just like that one all on a jig. For 3 months before the lake froze we caught bass on a crankbait on main lake. Bass are cold blooded so don't think that its to cold to still catch them. Some days if you get some sun the fish will move super shallow other days they will drop into some deeper water or on the edge of the stems or right on the edge of a drop. You might need to slow down but you can still catch some hogs. In lakes that have a river or creek in them the main lake bass are still there but most of the active fish will be in the running water.

Any time you have to much structure or cover you need to narrow down your search because your going to fish alot of dead water. What I do is find something different in the pad feilds. Where two forms of cover meet, a depth change, or a place where the roots are thick and floating. Sometimes if you know where they where when the pads where growing green you can drop back to the depth change and find them again. Your best bet is hard cover like wood, docks, and rock for shallow fish they hold heat.

Check it out, I posted this at 9:30 this morning and ended up getting out there by 2:00. Straight to the cove and 4 of these. Pouring rain,55 degrees, 15 mph NE wind, go figure. Thanks Chris.

I tried to tell ya its time to fish.  

Nice one.  Good observation about the pads too O2/CO2 process.

Understanding this can help you in the spring time as well when the water rises and floods new vegetation.  When the water first gets into a piece of cover, we all know they can be fish magnets.  But have you noticed that as that bush or vegetations starts to die, that even though it looks like a key spot, you don't get bit there?  It's the same phenomenon.  It is using oxygen instead of producing it.  But there is hope!  As soon as thing is about dead, then it is GOOD cover again, and the fish will move back in.

Hopefully, understanding this will help you have a more efficient day tossing that spinnerbait or pitching that jig!