how to fish when its 55 to 65, like how it is now, fall time , will fish still be shallow

sorry when its cold

From my experience, yes...all year long your gonna have some fish that stay shallow year around, but catching them is a different story.

If you are a better shallow water fisherman then there are definatly still fish to be caught in less than 3ft of water.

Now the fish are pretty active. Since Texas is a large state the fish in the north react differently than those in the south. Pretty simple really as in Amarillo the temps probably average 25 degrees different than they do in the valley.

In the metroplex fish are going to stay active till the temps get down to 55 or below. Fronts start affecting fishing more but right now they are feeding and gaining weight.

Monday I caught two overs at Joe Pool by fishing a small spinnerbait in the backs of creeks. One in the very back.

What are you doing differently to catch fish below 55 degrees?

fish are typically pretty easy to catch with reaction baits right now because they are feeding for the winter.

There is always fish shallow, deep, and mid depth, but during the fall and spring a few more will tend to be shallow and active.

Thats why most anglers target the fish this time of year in the 3-8ft range in coves and creeks.

and really it doesnt matter quite so much the outside temp, its the water temp.

The deeper fish will be less affected by air temperature because it takes a longer time to affect water that is deeper vs shallow surface temperatures.

the general rule of thumb though is that more bass are feeding in the backs of coves and creeks in shallow water to fatten up for the winter. They are back there because the shad move toward the backs this time of year. When the water temp gets closer to about 50-55 degrees, then they start slowing down and their body starts getting on cold water patterns.

I, personally have been doing very well in shallower water 4-10 ft, and still catching good fish on main lake rocky banks and main lake points, secondary points.

Fish shad immitators (crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, senkos, spinnerbaits, topwaters early and late, and on cloudy days, jigs work well, etc...)

How big were the overs?

CW, fishing is more iffy during the colder months but I'll generally fish a jig more. I like shallow most of the time so I'll find something close to deep water. Fishing targets visible and hidden are always a confidence booster for shallow water fishermen but especially during the cold months. Once I get my bait in the target area I'll slow it way down. With a jig I'll see what works but usually its either lifting and dropping a jig next to cover or letting it sit there and shaking it. Another little thing is I usually don't try and jerk on the bait or make it move quick. Everything alive is cold and moving slow so doing that with the bait makes it more natural.

I have had days when the fish bit good and if you fish enough during the winter you will have days that you can get 20 bites but normally I adjust and accept the lower number of bites as a winter thing.




Dan, the two fish were about 5 lbs and 6 1/2 to 7 lbs for the second one. I did not weigh them and I only had my 15 inch board in the boat but the big fish was just under 25 inches and the smaller was just over 21. The small spinnerbait I used was a white 1/4 ounce tandem blade.
I went out after lunch and fished till 6:30 with most of the fish coming in the early afternoon.