Monsters in the Mist

The brisk early morning air hit me as I stepped out of the truck; I checked my watch and was surprised it was still dark. Dense fog greeted me as I reached the edge of the river. Cool temps and later sunrises are a tell-tale sign that summer has given way to autumn. Leaves were just starting to turn but colder weather is well on the way. Most summer bass outings result in quantity over quality while searching for seemingly elusive trophy bass.

Seeing the mist roll and swirl on the waters surface is a welcome change; I zipped up my jacket and pushed the boat off the launch and into the river. The water temp was in the mid 60’s but the air temp was easily twenty degrees cooler. Visibility with the fog was too limited to fire up the jet and run in the shallow river. It would be near impossible to maneuver safely around other anglers and other low water hazards, so I deployed the trolling motor and worked my way out into the mist. The edge of an island was just coming into view. It was eerily quiet and kind of spooky.

A long cast into the mist and I could hear the blades of my aluminum buzz bait bubble the surface. The second cast was a little further and into the current seam coming off the back of the island. Blades chugging along the surface and then the lure just stopped. I heard the massive swirl and could feel the long head shakes. The bass leaped into the mist, being in just inches of water, she had nowhere to go but up. Violently, the near 20 inch bass pulled drag and fought her way to the boat. This is what I’ve been waiting for, finding ‘Monsters in the Mist’.

The fog and mist hung over the river for nearly three hours that morning. Several nice bass over four pounds fell to buzz baits, spinner baits and top water spooks that morning. As the fog burned off, the monsters vanished with the mist. With bright blue bird skies now overhead, the shallow top water bite was over.

Have no fear, spooky mornings are just the start. Bass fishing is only going to get better the further we get into the fall. Once the water temperatures drop into the low 60’s, bass will move off into the shallow flats near deep cover and actively feed on large minnows and crayfish. The combination of reduced daylight and cooler water is a trigger for bass to feed. Once in that mode, they will gorge in preparation for the long cold winter.

Trophy-sized bass that were timid, even aloof just weeks prior will become more aggressive and bold about their daytime feeding habits. Anglers need to take advantage of this biological trigger. Spinner baits, buzz baits and top water plugs are lures that trigger strikes, especially in low light conditions such as fog and heavy cloud cover. Noise and vibration characteristics of these baits will draw attention from bass that are usually out of the striking range.

Success is rarely accidental, so pay close attention to what is working. Experiment with lures, retrieval speed and pause time. Eliminate unproductive water and focus on areas where minnows and other forage flourish. Big bass will cruise shallow flats, often in lower water than anglers expect. Some of my best fall smallmouth came in areas where I could barely deploy the trolling motor.

Twenty years ago I watched as an older, seasoned angler caught bass off the back of my boat. Like clockwork, he watched as the clouds rolled in and out of the morning sun. When large clouds blocked the sun for minutes at a time, he would throw top water. When the sun broke through he would go back to tubes and cranks. I learned a lot that day about targeting autumn bass.

When seeking bass in the shallows, there are a many types of water to target. These early autumn locations may only produce early morning and late afternoon unless cloud cover is significant.

Wide open flats and areas with soft shallow current are common on the Susquehanna. Beyond buzz baits, top water baits like the Rebel Pop-R and Heddon Spook are among my favorite for flat smooth water. Spinner baits can also be worked just under the surface, rolling the blades with a subsurface wake.

Gravel chutes are often found at the edge of grass beds and exposed gravel islands. They create a lot of nervous shallow water, where buzz baits are very effective. They effectively cover a lot of water through various vegetation and water depths. Spinner baits and soft minnow baits such as the Houdini Shad are also quite effective.

Push water or tail-outs also produce shallow water that create dynamics unlike other shallow water locations. The tail-out is the very bottom portion of a long pool. As the river bottom goes from deep to shallow it creates swift water on the surface but still water below the lift. Bass lay on the bottom picking off minnows before they are swept over. Because these areas are usually very shallow rocky areas, they create snag issues for most lures, but present excellent opportunities for top water presentations.

The transition between summer and fall can be an interesting time of the year to target smallmouth bass. The mist that accompanies the chill of that first 40 degree morning and the eerie feel of fog blanketing the water is spooky for good reason; there are monsters in the mist. •