Bass Fishing on Leech Lake – Fall Tactics
September 15, 2016
Fall marks the transition from summer to winter, and with it fishing tactics must also transition. The tried and true angler’s tactics of summer will become less and less effective as the water cools and the vegetation along the shores begins to die off. Bass move from shallow to slightly deeper water in vegetated areas, their biting patterns change, and their aggressiveness can shift widely depending on the time of day to a much greater extent than it did in the summer months, and so can their diets. So that jig that worked wonders in the summer might not give you the same stellar results this fall. Leech Lake is no different. In other posts we have shared some of the top fall fishing spots on Leech Lake, here we will go through some of the basic tactical changes you will need to make.
Best time of day for fall Bass fishing
You don’t need to wake up as early in the fall the best fall fishing on Leech Lake tends to come between 11AM and 6PM as the water warms, fish get more active and the pre-winter feeding frenzy begins. This means anglers can wake up late, enjoy a late breakfast of bacon and eggs in a lakeside Leech Lake cabin and hit the water, when the fish are most active.
Bass and the wind
With changing colors and cooling water, fall also brings with it a sometimes strong northern or westerly wind on Leech Lake. While not directly affecting your larger fish, it does effect the habits of baitfish which can indirectly effect the larger predators, especially bass. Find the direction of the wind and focus your efforts on the far shore. For instance, say you’re fishing Boy Bay and there is a strong westerly wind, you would want to cast with the wind on the eastern side of the bay to increase your chances of getting a hit.
Fall Bass Lures
Because Bass will be following the schools of baitfish, in many cases they will be concentrated in one area which means you need to find their concentration point before you can really start targeting them. Since Leech Lake is so large, it’s best to start the day with a shallow crankbait and cover a wide area within one of the bays until you hit a concentration, if you are not seeing a lot of activity with the crankbait, think about switching to a jerk bait and re-covering an area to force a bite and nail down a likely concentration to focus on. Once you have found a concentration, you can try sticking with the crank or jerk bait that drove the first hit, but if you are in a heavily vegetated area, think about shifting to a jig or a smaller, no snag spoon that will allow you to get into the weeds successfully.
Fall Bass fishing on Leech Lake offers some great opportunities for snagging some trophy fish, but it may take some time. Fall Bass fishing is all about locating baitfish concentrations, so stick to the bays and make sure you cover a wide area, unless you get lucky you are going to need to spend some time locating a concentration, but once you do the time spent finding it without a bite will be well worth it. On Leech Lake the concentrations can be quite large, so you can focus on one area and get hit after hit. It’s all about covering a wide area and identifying the concentration. We hope you get the chance to join us on Leech Lake this fall for some amazing Bass fishing, and don’t forget to check out our weekly fishing report. With a great fall lodging discounts, combined with even better fishing Leech Lake is the place to be for anglers. See you on the water!