October tactics for catching Georgia fall largemouths
October is an outstanding month to fish for bass in Georgia. The air has a crisp coolness not felt since early last spring, the leaves are turning beautiful colors, the water is nice and clear and it is a joy to be outdoors. But best of all Georgia largemouth are on a feeding rampage and you can catch them in lots of different ways.
Cooling water in Georgia lakes in October makes bass become more active for several reasons. It stimulates both male and female bass to feed up and store fat reserves for the coming cold months. Female bass have the added need to feed because of developing eggs that must be mature as soon as the water warms next spring. And the food bass eat is more active in cooler water.
As the water cools on big lakes the shad begin to migrate into the creeks and more shallow arms of the lake, drawing bass with them. Bream become more active, feeding up for winter and the bass take advantage of this activity. And one of their most favorite foods, crayfish, are at the peak of their numbers and are also feeding and getting ready for winter.
Any bait you like to throw will catch bass in the fall. Since bass are so active, a fast moving bait that covers a lot of water will help you find them and catch them. Once you locate schools of bass you can change baits and keep catching them in different ways. And the bass will fight hard in the cooler water no matter what they hit.
Crankbaits are an excellent bait in October. Since the shad and other baitfish are active you can fish them fast and use them as a search bait. A variety of colors work well in different situations this time of year.
Shad colored crankbaits are excellent around open water structure like points, humps and drops. Crawfish colors are good on clay banks and around rocks. And bream colored crankbaits work well around brush, blowdowns and weeds where bream hide.
Spinnerbaits are a good choice to cover water and catch quality fish, and bass hooked on spinnerbaits tend to stay buttoned up better then they do on crankbaits. Use white spinnerbaits with silver blades in clear water or white and chartreuse skirted baits with gold and silver combinations blades if the water has some stain to it.
Fish spinnerbaits around shallow cover like blowdowns, brush and grass in the water, but don’t hesitate to throw them on rocky or clay banks, too. Start by running them just under the surface for the most active bass but also slow roll them down deeper if the bass are not coming to the top to hit.
Topwater baits are the most fun baits to fish and bass eat them readily this time of year. Buzzbaits are great and bass will often explode on one run across shallow cover. White buzzbaits with silver blades in 3/8ths to 1/2 ounce sizes are excellent since bass are feeding on bigger baitfish and like a big meal.
Poppers can be fished slowly and will draw bass from many feet away, and bass will often come completely out of the water when they hit them. But be ready for a gentle bite when the bait just disappears without a ripple. That might be the biggest bass of the day. Try silver bottom baits and remember that bass see the bait from the bottom when choosing one.
Fish all topwater over any cover you can find, but don’t hesitate to throw them over open water, too. Bass will often come up from several feet down to hit topwater on points and off drops. Bass often suspend this time of year in open water and will come up for a topwater bait, so throw them anywhere you see baitfish activity in open water, too.
If you want to concentrate on big bass, a jig and pig is hard to beat. Bass love crayfish and this bait imitates that slow moving feast. Brown colors in clear water and black with blue or chartreuse in stained water are the usual choices, and they should be fished slowly around all kinds of cover.
Crayfish like to burrow into clay banks to survive the winter, so concentrate on those areas with a jig and pig. They also like rocks, so riprap and rocky banks are another good place to fish them. Crawl your jig and pig along the bottom then make it hop, imitating a crayfish feeding along then jumping away when frightened.
Structure and cover to concentrate on this time of year includes rocky and clay points, rock and clay banks, wood cover like brushpiles, stumps and blowdowns and any kind of grass from hydrilla to water willow. Fish them all until you find what the bass are holding on that day and you can usually duplicate it on other areas of the lake.
The following lakes all offer great bass fishing in October. Pick one near you and give it a try.
High Falls
Located just off I-75 between Macon and Atlanta north of Forsyth, High Falls is a 660 acre lake in a state park. There are two boat ramps, one at the dam and another in Buck Creek, but motors are limited to 10 horsepower or less. You can put in a bass boat with a bigger motor as long as you don’t crank it, using only your trolling motor.
State creel limits of 10 bass per day a minimum of 12 inches long apply at High Falls. You are not allowed to fish at night, you can fish from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
High Falls is known locally for its big bass, and it has a good population of bass in different year classes. Drop by Berry’s Sporting Goods in Griffin on your way to the lake and admire the 11 pound, 4 ounce bass hanging on the wall for an example of why it has that reputation. Jim caught it at High Falls a few years ago and you can probably pick up some current tips for bass fishing there.
Since High Falls is one of the oldest lakes in Georgia, most of the channels have been silted in over the years. It is ringed by docks and many of them have brush piles. Backs of creeks like Buck Creek, Watkins Bottom and Brushy Creek are filled with stumps, many with bushes growing on them. There are also numerous blowdowns along the bank.
You can fish points at the mouths of the major creeks and wood cover on most areas of the lake. Rocks are hard to find but there are a few, especially in the river above the area where Buck Creek enters. Plan on fishing slowly and working all cover carefully since the motor limit will probably keep you from running all over the lake, anyway.
Juliette
Juliette is about 15 miles east of I-75 and Forsyth, Georgia. This Georgia Power lake was built for cooling the steam plant there and its 3600 acres are surrounded by a wildlife management area, so the only development is the power plant and two parks with boat ramps.
Motors are limited to 25 horsepower and you can use a bass boat with a bigger motor if you don’t crank it, but you will be very limited on a lake this size. You can keep 10 bass a day at Juliette and there is no minimum size. There are no restrictions on times you can fish Juliette and a campground allows you to stay and fish at night if you like.
Juliette produces excellent numbers of big bass but can be difficult to fish. A monthly tournament there usually has several six pound plus bass weighed in, and it often takes five weighing over 15 pounds to win. The lake is not very fertile and that is why there are no size limits on bass.
The water at Juliette is extremely clear and water weeds grow from the shallows to 20 feet deep or more in some areas of the lake. Water for Juliette is pumped in from the Ocmulgee River and there is very little inflow from runoff, hence the clear water and low fertility. Standing trees were left all over the lake when it was filled. The lower lake is covered with trees under the water and the upper lake is almost solid trees above the water.
The grass and trees are the key to Juliette. Locate some of the numerous humps and channels with trees or grass on them and you can catch bass on crankbaits. Use big baits and make long casts in the clear water. Spinnerbaits also work well when fished over the tops of the grass from shallow to deep. Topwater baits are also excellent over and around the grass.
Tobesofkee
Tobesofkee is one of our most urban lakes. Located just west of Macon, it’s 1750 acres of water get very crowded on nice days. There are two parks with ramps run by Bibb County and it is expensive to launch in them, with a cost of about $9 per trip. There are no motor restrictions and you will encounter many ski boats and skidoos.
State creel limits of 10 bass at least 12 inches long apply at Tobesofkee. Night fishing is often good since most of the pleasure boats are off the water after dark. The many lighted boat docks offer bass attractions after dark as well as during the day.
There are good numbers of keeper bass in Tobesofkee and four pound bass are fairly common. A night tournament during the summer, switching to a morning weekend tournament after the weather cools, often produces five bass weighing 15 to 20 pounds for the winner.
In addition to the docks, the lower lake has several bridges with riprap to fish. Long points have rocks on some and brush on others. The upper lake is less developed and you can fish points and drops on it, as well as a few docks and some grassbeds.
Goat Rock
Goat Rock is a river with dams at both ends. Located just north of Columbus, this old lake on the Chattahoochee River has 940 acres of water to fish. There is one small ramp near the dam on the Georgia side of the lake and another public ramp on the upper end on the Alabama side but access is not good. You can launch a bass boat there and there are no motor restrictions.
State creel limits and length limits of 10 bass a minimum of 12 inches long each day apply, and you can use either a Georgia or Alabama fishing license. You can fish at night but this lake can be dangerous with unmarked shallows, so be very careful. Since it is not developed, there will be no lights on docks to help you see.
The population of largemouth is good at Goat Rock and some big fish are caught there each year. You can fish the rocky shoreline of the old river channel and the humps and stump fields in it. There are a good many blowdowns along the steep banks to fish. A couple of small creeks enter and the mouths of them can be good in the fall.
Current plays a big part in the activity of bass at Goat Rock. Bartlett’s Ferry dam is located on the upstream end of the lake, and any time power is being generated there is a good current all through the lake. This makes the largemouth move to cover that breaks the current and they feed there, so use a crankbait or spinnerbait moving with the current past ambush points to catch them.
Banks Lake
Banks Lake is part of a National Wildlife Refuge located just west of Lakeland, about 20 miles north of Valdosta. This lake is actually a Carolina Bay, a natural depression found in south Georgia, with a dam to make it bigger and deeper. There are about 1000 acres of open water to fish but it is surrounded by 1500 acres of marsh and another 1500 acres of cypress swamp.
State creel and size limits apply and there is a free public boat ramp. Although no motor restrictions apply on Banks Lake, its average depth of 5 feet and numerous stumps and logs means you must be very careful in a big boat. The Refuge folks recommend idle speed only.
During the summer Banks Lake is hard to fish because of all the weeds in the water, but by October they are starting to die back and you can find open water to fish. The whole lake looks “fishy” and its waters are full of big largemouth. This is a good place to catch a personal record largemouth.
Fish spinnerbaits over the grass and drop a jig and pig into holes in it. You can find some deeper holes in the open water, up to 15 feet deep, and the bass often hold in the grass around them. Also try pitching a jig and pig to the base of cypress trees. A good tactic is to let it hit the tree trunk and drop straight down into the root ball. You will need heavy tackle for fishing Banks Lake.
Ponds on Fort Stewart
Fort Stewart Army Base near Richmond Hill just west of I-95 has about 20 ponds on it that are open to public fishing. They total about 500 acres although not all are open all the time. You can use a boat in all of them but not all ponds have boat ramps.
The creel and length limits vary for different ponds and can change. Generally there is a 15 inch limit on largemouth but some ponds, like #26, Big Metz, is managed for trophy largemouth and has a 24 inch minimum length. A bass that size will weigh between 8 and 10 pounds! You must check in and get a daily permit to fish, so check current regulations when you go.
Fort Stewart is known for its big largemouth. Since 1992, six of the top 30 largemouth taken in Georgia came from Fort Stewart. All ponds have them and your chance of catching a wall hanger are good. Some ponds are managed for trophy largemouth so concentrate on them if that is your goal.
The ponds at Fort Stewart vary a lot but all of them are full of grass. Fish spinnerbaits and topwater plugs over and around this grass. Pitch a jig and pig into holes in the grass, especially near the deeper water in the pond, for big bass. Use heavy tackle, when a lunker goes into the grass you need heavy rods and strong line to get them out.
All of these waters offer great October fishing in Georgia. All you have to do is decide where to head this month to take advantage of the good fishing.