Cool evenings and warm days are signs that fall is on the way. However the kids may have visions of dressing up for Halloween and you of raking leaves. But save the raking for later because the big Largemouth Bass are on the move and are ready to eat. Once the water begins to cool and the lake turns over, those cool nights really start things happening. The fall turnover as it is commonly known and late algae bloom are good things if you can put the pattern to use. There are certain parts of the lake that the shallow fish move out to and the real deep fish move up to.
These areas are much defined and can hold an abundance of life from Walleye to Smallmouth and of course Largemouth and most of all baitfish. The Largemouth are generally the first to show up once the water temperature gets the mid to low 60's The Smallmouth will show up latter. Generally when the water temperature reaches around the mid 50's and after they have feed heavily in the shallows. When you find these area they will have the healthiest weed in the lake, generally this area will have green weed all year long, even through the winter months. The trick is how to locate them.
Location
As in Real estate this Pattern is the same location, location, location. These areas can be no bigger than your 40 yards or so. In order to keep it simple, one of the keys is to find several areas than you know the Bass will use to spawn. Unlike the Smallmouth who will travel great distances to spawn the Largemouth is not as impressed with travel. Once located the search begins, find the area that fills the gap between Spawning sections and the deeper water or that middle third depth. This may be an extended weed flat or wood flat. The important point to remember is that there must be some type of cover on these flats or at the very least cover near the breakline. Weed flats with sand and wood mixed in are truly the best. The weed obviously provides cover and food and the presence of sand and wood for some reason just hold bigger fish.
The weed type is also a very important factor to take into consideration. Coontail weed is always good but Cabbage weed, I find really is the most productive. Fresh looking green weed is what you need. Remember dieing weed uses oxygen and green weed produces it. If the weed is starting to die these fish will move out to better weed. Remember these fish are here potentially for the balance of the fall and winter so it must be strong enough to endure the next few months. When you pull some of this weed up from the lake bottom you will notice how strong the stocks will be, they are thicker in diameter than the weed you will find in shallow. This weed takes most of the summer to grow compared to the shallow weed, which may grow faster. You will notice this when you notice weedbeds growing fast then dropping to the bottom after a few weeks. This is due to the fact that the stocks did not get a chance to grow strong enough to support the canopy part of the plant.
Now your almost there, the best part of all of this is to locate small clumps of this weed or secondary weedline out from the main lake weedlines. These may be created my changes in bottom content or depth changes. These clumps are not to be confused with weed humps. The bottom depth does not change just the presence of weed is apparent.
Narrowing it down
When we talk about finding deep fish, deep is a relative statement. Fishing deep in Lake Scugog may be considered shallow in Balsam Lake. When it comes to figuring out where to look I use a simple formula. Take the average of the deepest part of the lake and the shallowest being zero and use the middle third of that number. This formula may have to be modified a bit for say Lake Simcoe but works just fine for smaller inland lakes.
After you have a depth number in mind look for adjacent structure in and around those depths. Look for things like shoals, rock humps, or extended points. Other key areas would be where the old lakebed or river channel swings in close to that pre-determined depth. When it comes to the idea of fishing outside of spawning bays, any place where the key depth and weed extends out from these bays is a great place to locate big Largemouth. The theory is the sharpest narrowest contact point to the deeper water is what these fish will use to access the feeding or holding areas. This is like an elevator, either moving up or down the structure they all get out there!
Remember, there still must be something to hold them at that depth. Largemouth like structure, they 
need that weed, wood, or rock to hold or stage them for a while. It's kind of like flat fishing, in away. Where the fish make contact to the flat either from the shallow side or the deep side either is always better than the middle of the flat. Fish will always be catchable on the flat. But where? They must be located.
Once you find these areas fish the slow, and there is rock plies or sunken trees or lay down wood it can really pay off big dividends. For the most part you will be fishing areas that will see virtually no fishing pressure at all, and if it is deep enough any changes in weather will not affect there willingness to feed. Now remember these areas will for the most part hold quality fish, however the trick is to find the ones that are holding the true giants. This can only be done by sifting through all of the fish holding areas you find and finding the big boys.
Baits
Now that your there it's time to fish. When I'm in water more than 12 feet or more I really like to fish right on top of these fish. I prefer to fish flipping jigs for a few reasons. I like my odds of getting a solid hook set and if the fish are right in the weed it's easier to pull them directly up and out of the top of the weed than through the weed from a distance. With a quality flipping Jig it should have a large 5/0 or 6/0 hook and as sharp as you can possibly get it. Regarding colors I stick to the basics, black/blue and sometimes if I'm really deep and depending on light penetration brown and certain variations . Large Deep diving Crank baits or heavy ¾ or 1oz spinner baits are great search baits for deep-water weed fish in water that may be as deep as 15-25 feet. I really don't believe that imitating a certain forage weather it be crawfish or bait fish is as important as where you but your bait and how close to the real thing it is. You could use Carolina Rigs but then again personally I don't like the hook up percentage, as well I don't like big fish being to far away from the boat. I also believe in big baits this time of year, these are big fish for the most part so the use of ¾ to 1oz jigs and spinner baits is not only for a better presentation in deep water but for the larger profile . Remember as well, these fish are on the hunt for food and are fattening up for the winter.
Rods/Reels
The rod action needs to be heavy, or at the very minimum medium heavy especially when throwing flipping jig. You have to drive a heavy gauge wire hook into a fish that could as much as 40 feet out, once you consider depth of the water and casting 10 feet from the boat Secondly to turn the fish towards the boat and get them moving in the direction of the boat. For other baits such as Spinner baits and Crank baits a rod that is a little more forgiving is probably a better choice.
For the reel side of things, no matter the brand a 6:2:1 or 6:3:1 I find is the requirement. That fast line pick up is what I need to get the fish coming fast to the boat. For Crank baits you may have a requirement for a slower reel in order to help you to control slower retrieves. But for me the faster I get the fish coming to the boat the better the chance I have to land them.
Line
When it comes to line this is simple. For me it's only braided line, No stretch, great sensitivity and tremendous toughness. it's one of the few things I can really count on. The thin diameter gives me the strength that I need and allows the bait to sink at a fast rate. Where as 25 mono has a slower rate of decent as well as the stretch that for a jig presentation I don't care for although best suited for other applications for this one its not one I prefer.
Attitude
This type of fishing is not for the faint of heart. There is a tremendous amount of time on the water and homework that needs to be done. However the rewards can be most outstanding. For the most part you will be fishing for Bass that no one else even knows are there, and that makes it even more fun. You must concentrate on every cast and always be ready , as you will soon find out when you find them they will come as fast as you can cast.
It doesn't matter if it's a lake of any size, a river or a pond, no matter what body of water you fish it is all the same. Fish move in and out of cover for many different reasons, water, oxygen levels which water temperatures or living and die weed may drive. What ever it is, they do what it takes to survive. In some bodies of water they can spawn, and make it through all four seasons in a relatively small area, or they may move from one end of the system to the other. However, your ability to have a comprehensive understanding of what your target species requires for survival will have a direct effect on how successful of an angler you will be.
Peace
Dan
"The world we create is a product of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing out thinking" - Albert Einstein.
For those of you who follow it the Toronto Sportsman Show is once again upon us. I'm sure it will once again live up to exspectations of those shows gone by. I will be down there Wednesday-Sunday speaking and the seminar area within the Fish TV area. Please come on down and say hi and lets talk some fishing. The schedule is below. I hope to finish my article from fishing the Big "O" as promissed. I have attached a picture of one of the fish I caught. I hope to see you down there.
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