Fishing for Bass from Shore in November

November marks the end of the open water fishing season in many parts of the northern U.S. As water temperatures drop into the 40s and 50s, bass become less active and head for deeper water. 

While bass fishing gets tougher this time of year, you can still catch fish from shore if you adjust your techniques. 

Follow these tips to improve your chances of hooking up with fall bass from the bank:

Slow Down Your Presentation

When water temps are cold, bass metabolism and activity levels decline. They are not going to chase fast-moving lures. Slow down your retrieves and allow baits like soft stickbaits, lipless crankbaits, jerbaits, and spinnerbaits time to get in front of lethargic fish. Use occasional pauses and twitches to trigger sluggish bass into striking.

Downsize Your Offerings

Big baits tend to work better when bass are actively feeding. In November, you’ll often catch more bass on smaller presentations that require less energy to inhale. Good options include 2-3 inch curl tail grubs on 1/16 or 1/8 ounce jig heads, finesse worms rigged wacky style, underspins, and finesse presentations like the Ned Rig. Stay away from large spinnerbaits and big swimbaits unless larger baitfish are the primary forage in your local waters.

Fish Slow-Tapering Points

Look for long, gradually sloping points that extend into deeper water. Use castable sonar pods (if you own one) and/or contour maps to find areas that drop into 10+ feet of water near the bank. Bass will move shallow early and late in the day to feed up on baitfish using these steeper transition features. Position yourself for casts that run parallel to the slope.

Target Areas with Darker Bottoms

In cooling water, you want to find the warmest, and likely most productive areas. Darker bottom types like mud, darker rocks and sand soak up more solar radiation and warm faster than lighter colored bottoms. Focus your effort fishing from shorelines with these bottom compositions. The warmer water draws baitfish and therefore oredators like bass to feed on them.

Fish On Sunny, Warmer Days

Cold fronts really shut down shoreline bites in November. Target fishing on warmer, sunny days in the 50+ degree range when possible. The sun helps warm shallows drawing more baitfish and bass tend to be more active. Overcast, windy, rainy days make fishing tough. Watch the weather and try hitting the water on the best weather days.

Try Live Bait

Sometimes finicky fall bass want the real rather than artificial baits. Live bait like minnows, shiners, crawfish, and leeches can entice big bites when the fishing is slow. Hook minnows through the lips on #6 hooks and fish under a float or add a few split shots to your line slowly work them along the bottom. Pitch craws and leeches into productive areas and let them sit to draw the attention of cruising bass.

Think Simple

Now is not the time to break out complicated techniques and presentations meant for more aggressive fish. Stick to simple offerings like jigs, Texas rigs, jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits, and paddletail swimbaits and make repeated casts to productive areas. Keep moving until you locate actively feeding fish. A combination of patience and persistence will help you locate, trigger and catch more bass during the last weeks of the open water in your area.

Following these tips will help you find and catch more bass in November, even when fishing from shore. Finding the right location and using the right bait and presentation, more bass including a few big bass can still be caught during the fall to winter transitional period. Do your homework, dress for the elements, and you can extend the open water fishing season well into late fall.

Fall Bass Fishing with Underspins

As the summer heat gradually wanes and the leaves begin to change color, it's a clear sign that fall is upon us. For most anglers, the change in season brings exciting opportunities to catch bass as they feed voraciously in preparation for the colder months ahead. 

One effective technique to target these fall bass is using underspins.

What Are Underspins?

Underspins are a versatile and effective lure choice for catching bass. They consist of a jighead with a spinning blade, often attached to a soft plastic fluke or paddletail swimbait trailer. This blade creates vibration and flash, which can mimic injured baitfish, making it an irresistible target for hungry bass. When used correctly, underspins can be especially productive in the fall when bass are actively chasing baitfish.

Selecting the Right Gear:

Before you hit the water, it's essential to ensure you have the right gear. For fall bass fishing with underspins, consider the following equipment:

1. Rod and Reel: A medium to medium-heavy spinning or baitcasting rod between 6'6" and 7.25' is ideal for casting and controlling underspins. Match it with a high-quality reel with a smooth drag system.

2. Line: Use 10-15 lb monofilament or fluorocarbon line for baitcasting setups, and 6-10 lb for spinning gear. The lighter line will allow for better casting and natural bait presentation.

3. Underspin Lures: Select underspins in various sizes, typically ranging from 1/8 to 3/8 ounces. The size you choose should match the forage size in your area as well as the depth of water you're fishing. Common soft plastic trailers include swimbaits and flukes in common baitfish patterns for your local waters.

Fishing Tactics for Underspins:

Now that you have your gear ready, let's dive into the tactics for successful fall bass fishing with underspins:

1. Locate the Baitfish: Bass in the fall are often on the hunt for shad, minnows, and other baitfish. Use your fishfinder or rely on visual cues (schooling baitfish or bird activity) to locate schools of baitfish, as bass will be nearby.

2. Cast Along Cover and Structure: Bass tend to hold near cover and structures like submerged rocks, fallen trees, or drop-offs. Cast your underspin close to these areas and retrieve it slowly and steadily. When a steady retrieve isn't working, vary your retrieval speed to find what the bass prefer.

3. Experiment with Depth: Adjust your underspin's depth to match where the bass are feeding. You can fish it shallow, near the surface, or deeper depending on water temperature and the location of bass and baitfish.

4. Use a Jerk-and-Pause Retrieve: Mimic the erratic movements of injured baitfish by occasionally jerking your rod and then pausing. This action can trigger aggressive strikes.

5. Pay Attention to Water Temperature: As the water cools in the fall, bass become more active during warmer parts of the day. Try fishing during these periods for better results.

6. Be Patient: Bass may not always strike on the first cast. It often takes several presentations to trigger a bite, so be patient and persistent.

Bass often feed aggressively duting the fall as they prepare for the cold winter months. Fall bass fishing with underspins is an exciting and productive technique to add to your angling arsenal during times of increased feeding activity.

By selecting the right gear, understanding the habits of bass in the fall, and applying the correct right approach to fishing underspins, you can increase your chances of success.

Small Crankbaits Can Trigger Big Fall Bass Strikes

No bass angler questions the effectiveness of crankbaits to cover water and trigger fall bass into striking. If you look at the rods rigged on the decks of fall anglers, you're likely to find a variety of squarebill, flat-sided and sometimes even deep running crankbaits among the mix.

But there's one type/style of crankbaits many bass anglers leave out of their fall arsenal; the micro to small sized baits that offer many different advantages over traditional crankbaits especially in highly pressured situations.

Take a moment and listen as Bassmaster Elite Series pro John Crews spills the beans on his approach when fishing small crankbaits for big fall bass...

And by the way, John Crews isn't the only fan of ultra small crankbaits. 

Bass fishing OG Rick Clunn has been a propenent of micro-sized crankbaits dating back several decades including in some of his early career tournament success!

Fishing Natural Ponds Using Jerkbaits In Late Fall

After fishing Cape Cod's natural ponds for a number of years and I can attest; fishing with jerkbaits from early spring through late fall (as well as a lot of other baits) can be phenomenal.

In this video, two avid Cape bass anglers seem to have more of a pickerel than bass bite happening even though they were targeting late fall bass. Looks like they're on a Cape pond I am very fond of (Santuit Pond in Mashpee) which can be great anytime of year.

Fall Bassin' with Big Bladed Chatterbaits

When it comes to chatterbaits, I have always been a little late joining the party (like it was almost a decade after it hit the market before I fished one!). So I guess it's no surprise it took me almost a year to finally buy a couple of ZMan Big Blade Chatterbaits this past summer.

Since I often use a 3/8 oz for much of my chatterbait fishing, I purchased the smallest size available, the 1/2 oz in green pumpkin candy and black n blue candy; two staple color patterns for all my blade baits as well as jigs. Shortly after receiving the order, I rigged one up to try at one of my favorite bank fishing ponds. 

After a few casts with my new Zman Big Blade Chatterbait I noticed a couple of key features almost instantly: 1) the vibration is much more intense then other chatterbaits I use and 2) though the bait weighs 1/2 oz it rides high in the water column even on a medium speed retrieve. I quickly thought of several conditions where this bait should shine particularly through the spring and early summer.

As I was scanning YouTube today, I came across a cool video from the folks at W2F regarding an application for the big blade I hadn't considered; fishing it around receding vegetation patches in the early to mid fall. 

Throwing Buzzbaits and Flipping for Fall Bass

In this short video, Bass Pro Chad Morgenthaler discusses how to fish two of his favorite fall techniques, chunkin’ buzzbaits and flipping the brush…

In this short video, Bass Pro Chad Morgenthaler discusses how to fish two of his favorite fall techniques, chunkin’ buzzbaits and flipping the brush…