The minute a drawdown begins, it usually means increased current in the system. Impoundments that don’t have much current during the dog days of summer, when they’re at full pool, begin to get a little flow, and this is what sparks the fall transition. This brings new life to main lake points, humps, shoals, roadbeds and any other features that pinch down or stick out into the main lake.
These are the kinds of places bass will school on baitfish being “pulled” through these areas. Even the slightest touch of current can kick this chain reaction into high gear and get the schooling bite going.
After checking a few main lake features for feeding activity, I’ll then check places that have vast shallow flats, either on the main lake or in the backs of major tributaries. When water is at full pool, bass have a lot of cover options up shallow. But as that water falls, their shallow cover begins to dry up, literally, and they are forced to move out to more isolated pieces of cover or subtle channel edges.
This is particularly true on flats where just a 10-inch drop in water can impact a large area. In short, less water congregates the fish on fewer targets making them much more predictable.
In grass lakes like Guntersville or those in Texas, the grass will be left matted up with dropping water, revealing small ditches, depressions and seams within the flats. These inconspicuous places are absolute money in grass lakes. Which reminds me, one of the big bonuses of fishing lakes while they are being drawn down is finding any of these subtle features and marking them for future reference. A small ditch, slight depression, discreet gravel bar, big stump, large rock, brush top – these are all things that can pay huge dividends when the water returns in the spring as well.
In part 2 I will break down some of the specific tactics I use in fall drawdowns.
