Really, really shallow bite

Had a really good day yesterday and we caught most of our fish in inches of water. I had to pull the trolling motor up out of the water and push against trees a few times to get unstuck. I was a bit surprised considering it was so cold yesterday. Several of our bigger fish, up to 4lbs, were barely in enough water to cover their backs. Is that typical for this time of year? Have I been fishing too deep in the fall of previous years?

Great time of year to be fishing super shallow. Water temps haven't gotten so cold they want to head out. After these cool fronts bass love to get in skinny water and sun themselves on those bright days.

shhhhhh.... all the fish are in 20ft of water on every lake!

Fish don't mind the cold water as much as we like to think. I catch them pretty shallow until it gets down below 55. Of course there are always deep fish and always "shallow" fish

They get in a foot of water in spring in low 60's water temp. Same thing in fall.

Glad you got you some of that. I have seen the Black Birds pecking them on the back. You would have to throw the jig up on the bank and ease it off into the water. Absolutely fun.

Haven't you been reading on here, They are on beds this time of year

We did catch quite a few by throwing our spinnerbaits up on the bank and they would get hit as soon as they entered the water. Swimbaits too.

Power pole season

The fishing is great right now. 2-5' I'm getting most action.

Caught one yesterday that had a tick on it.

Maybe the same for lower NY. At least they might be in water 6' or less if I'm lucky. Water temp probably won't be above 50 with all the cold temps day and night between 20 and 34 degrees.

What was the water temp where you caught shallow bass? If I remember correctly - when I lived off base in Wichita Falls, I did pretty good in late Nov. fishing from the bank back in the early 70's in two local lakes. Of course one of them let the water out to fix the dam and the pool below was like shooting fish in a barrel. LOL (Man were those alligator gar HUGE!)

It’s the best when you’re dusting fish off to put them in the livewell