This year, what I consider the Fall pattern got a real late start. Usually, the deep bite is great off and on for the entire month of October. This year, it just started getting good. With all the rain we've been having, SRA has had the gates running almost the entire season. According to their site, the gates are still running. But they've slowed down considerably. I've had some of my best night fishing trips while the gates are running. But it definitely seems to hurt the day bite. I don't have a scientific explanation for it. But my guess is that the current affects the plankton, and since the shad feed on them, they aren't in the same ambush points that they would be otherwise. But the shad are everywhere right now. In fact, most of the places I visit are overloaded with baitfish and that makes the fishing tough. It's always easier to catch bass when they are feeding on bait that's in short supply.
The lake is in the best shape I've ever seen it in. The water level is full and there is abundant grass almost everywhere you go. It's so plentiful that it's not easy to run a frog over the grass in a huge portion of the lake. All that grass makes for a bit tougher fishing, but there's so much baitfish that the fish are getting fat. We've caught some of the fattest fish I've seen in the fall. The water temps are in the upper 60s and the fishing should be awesome until it drops down to the 50s.
It's hard to decide whether to fish deep or shallow right now. I'm fishing mostly deep because it's not as much work and it's easier to load the boat when you time it right. Also, the shallows look so awesome, it's a bit overwhelming. There's way too much good water to fish it all and there's only so much time in a day - and they're getting shorter.
My best baits have been spoons and Carolina rigs in about 25 foot. The typical community holes aren't producing as good as usual this year. I'm catching most of my fish on similar spots that don't get as much action. So, I'm spending a lot of time graphing areas that I may not fish very often. In fact, our best spot this week was a spot I've only fished a couple of times. We've been finding schooling bass about everywhere we've gone. Keep a rattle trap handy and if you can get it in the school fast enough, they will usually bite.
We went out for a few hours after dark last night and we had our best night in a long time - way better than the day fishing. The night fishing can be super in the fall, but I prefer to fish days unless it stays warm overnight. I can be available to fish at night if the weather permits. Let me know if you're interested in a full day trip where we get a late start and fish a couple of hours after dark.

There's lots of reasons you should go on a guide trip during the Fall:
It's the best time for numbers. There's more action in Fall than any other season.
It's the best time of the year to learn how to use a graph and to fish deep. I can get by without a graph most of the year. But in the Fall, I constantly monitor my graph to find schooling fish. When I find em, we usually catch em.
It's the best time to take kids. Because of all the action, kids have more fun during the Fall. I don't charge for a 3rd person if a dad wants to bring 2 small children.
It's the best time to keep fish to eat. Not only do we catch lots of small bass (which are legal to eat), we catch lots of yellow bass (barfish) which I believe are as good as crappie. I will clean them with no additional charge.
It's the best time to learn how to use a baitcaster. Most of the fish I locate are schooling near the bottom in deep water. So, we use heavy lures to get to the bottom. Since heavy lures are easier to throw and you don't have to hit a particular target, Fall fishing makes the best time for learning the baitcaster.

If you're interested, you can see my available dates and book online at http://fishingguidenow.com/bookonline.cfm?guideID=2
Try to schedule a date before Thanksgiving. That's about the time the water temp cools down and the Fall bite slows down significantly.

See our most recent pictures at http://www.bassfishing.org/pictures/recent.htm

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Good fishing and good luck. You can't catch them if you don't go.