Fall Destinations

The weather has been mild this fall but it's starting to look as if the cold weather is coming quickly. Early fall bass fishing isn't much different than in the late summer but once the water cools, things change quickly. We've seen the water temps stay in the mid-50's to low 60's for a while now but should see temps in the low 50's to high 40's soon. To me this is the mid to late fall season and not every lake has good fishing available. These are a few of my favorite late season lakes to fish or ones I hope to soon.

Columbia: This is a small rerservior and fishes better in the cold months than the hot ones. Maybe it's the murky water or boat traffic, I'm not sure but I've caught em' here well into November. Matt Morgan had a great day here a few years back on New Years Day so as long as there's open water we should be able to catch them here. There is still lots of good green vegetation on Columbia and that is the key right now for any lake. If there's still good green weeds then the fish will be there.

Michigan Center: I have not personally been on Center real late in the year but local pro Jim VanAken says it gets good when the water is in the 40's. We're not there yet according to Jim and lots of good green weeds remain so I hope to get out there soon. He also recommends using shallow running crankbaits this time of year which is also my choice on Columbia.

St. Clair: This place is awesome in fall but very fickle as far as the weather goes. Muddy water is the enemy on LSC this time of year with all the rain and winds but if you get a few nice sunny days it is worth the trip. The south shore in Canada and along the southwest side contains most of St. Claires gravel and this is where you need to concentrate. A few years back Duane Mroczka and I fished on November 1st and clobbered em'. I've heard guys doing well into late November so I still may get out there.

Warm water discharges: Lake Erie and the Detroit River have a few of these and they can be phenominal during the colder months. I was on one such area this past March and while we still had some ice around here, the water temps on the "hot ponds" were in the 70's. I've heard this is the case right now and it seems like every largemouth in the lake makes it's way into the warm water. The one I fish is located near Monroe and I can be at the launch in a little over an hour and fishing shorlty thereafter. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs rule here and for those that don't hunt these discharge areas can greatly extend the fishing season as long as the launches stay ice free.