Thread: Help...... with Fall Pattern

something else to try is a slip bobber, if you have the fish marked at certain depth , put the jig at depth you want, along with a light jig I have found as the water cools I can sometimes leave it set still and they will hammer it, or fish it how ever they want it. I will jig it with the bobber or swim it very slow. I recently was casting from bank catching them 10-12' of water as evening approached the moved shallower and took the bait on bobber in 6' of water with the bobber.

Sparky, im betting the majority of the fish are going to be close to the bottom, out of the current around a point or backside downcurrent side of a hump. Im gonna say with this high pressure the bite will be very light and your minnows should be tiny. If you can find a really protected area, out of the wind with deep water next to a steep rise to a muddy flat they might move up into shallow water at some point but im still gonna bank on them being deep a foot or two off the bottom in a deep hole. At least thats where the majority of the fish are on my rivers on the eastern shore. Even though the water is warmer now than usuall for this time of year and the fish are not in full winter mode they are still reacting to the short days and low light levels like its winter. If you can get out mid next week, on a warm day after the pressure falls you might get a chance at a good shallow bite.

If I were you i would get up against one of the docks or piers, drop a soft plastic (tube, shadpole etc) on a 1/16 jig head to the bottom in 10 - 15 feet of water. Reel up one or two revolutions, give 2 or 3 sharp jerks about a foot high letting it settle each time. On the last jerk hold it completely still and wait for a tap. If the bite is really light after the last jerk slowly lift the rod tip and if you feel resistance set the hook. I'm getting excited just thinking about it, lol.

Great information, thank you!

While we're talking about weight, I'd like to tell of one trip that weight made all the difference. Fishing the same spot I had on a previous trip I started with the same jig, already tied on the rod. In this case it was a 1/8. Not even a bump. And I had hammered them just a couple of days ago. So I tried the same body on a 1/16. now I got a fish now and then. Pleased with that I tried a 1/32. Now I was busy, but still didn't get a fish on close to every cast like I had before. I dug around in the jig head box and came up with a 1/64 or 1/80. Same body. This was the magic they had been looking for. Lots of these fish were small but when it's a fish on almost every cast I didn't care. Pitch, let it glide down to where they were, line would show a tic, and lift the rod and retrieve a fish. I'm kinda thick sometimes but from then on anytime I see fish that won't take my offering I try down sizing and frequently find what I'm looking for. Body size can also make it happen. I have some Panfish assassin's that are super, especially under a float. As you do this you'll find lots of little things to put into your bag of tricks that make the day from time to time. You'll also learn when it's time to move on or go home. Have fun with it......Skeet.

X2! On what Skeet said above. Me and my cousin were fishing side by side same soft plastic bait on a 1/16, his on a 1/8. After about my 6 th fish and him 0 he switched to a 1/16 and got in the game!! LOL

Sounds like my 2oz bucktails aren't going to make the cut!! Time to buy some tackle, I don't have anything smaller than 1/16oz....sorry to hijack the thread fishn4men

I'm pretty good on a vise tying lures, so I'll be okay with making some hair jigs. Would anyone recommend plastics? I have tons of 2" grubs and tubes, but it sounds like I need something smaller, and something with a tail or stinger.