Fall fishing forecast
Cooler weather puts piscatorial giants in mood to chomp
By MATT WILLIAMS Outdoors Writer

Outdoors photo/Matt Williams MANY TROTLINERS consider Fall a prime time hook-up with giant flatheads and blues.

You can always tell when hunting season rolls around in Texas. Just pay a visit to a boat ramp at a popular public reservoir on any given Saturday or Sunday morning. Odds are good there will be plenty of open spaces to park.

Most fishermen are hunters, and many anglers swap their bass boats and flatbottom rigs for deer stands and duck blinds shortly after summer gives way to fall.

Marty Sowell fits the bill. Sowell is one of the most hardcore bass anglers I know. Interestingly, he rarely wets a hook when whitetail deer are legal game.

Sowell is aware of the consequences. Trading his fishing rod for his deer rifle is sure to mean missing out on some of best angling opportunities of the year.

It is not just a freshwater deal, either. Waters along the Texas Coast come alive during the autumn cool down, as well. Especially for those who enjoy chasing flounder, oversize reds and specks.

Here's a regional forecast for those who choose fish their way through the gamut of hunting seasons on the horizon:

NACOGDOCHES

Location: On Loco Bayou, 10 miles west of Nacogdoches off FM 225

Surface area: 2,212 acres Maximum depth: 40 feet

Impounded: 1976

The Fishing: The water level at Lake Nacogdoches held at normal pool or slightly above most of the summer, but odds are it will drop at least a foot before the passage of the Fall Equinox.

Low water in fall is a good thing for a bass guy. It confines the fish to a smaller area, which likewise makes them easier to find at a time of year when their appetites for shad, perch and other goodies are banking on insatiable.

New comers to the popular East Texas lake should be aware of the 14-21 inch slot limit on largemouth bass. Anglers are allowed to retain five fish per day, 14 inches or less, but only one per day that measures 21 inches or longer.

Crappie anglers should look for roving groups of papermouths to begin grouping up around deep brush from the midlake area south to the dam. Main lake points are good places to look. There also will be some fish holding along the edges of the main creek channel, more than likely at suspended depths.

SAM RAYBURN Location: On the Angelina River; dam is located in Jasper County approximately 15 miles north of Jasper.

Surface area: 114,500 acres Maximum depth: 80 feet

Impounded: 1965

The Fishing: Fall's cooling weather trends mean more moderate water temperatures on Sam Rayburn, and bass should be in an aggressive mood because of it.

Several patterns should be in the works. Here are a few worth trying:

Topwaters - As always, anglers can look forward to some outstanding topwater fishing to occur as bass build fat reserves for the coming winter. The Pop-R, Yellow Magic and Zara Spook are long time fall favorites. Buzz baits also can be productive when the conditions are right.

Look for solid concentrations of bass to be relating to creek channel breaks in water ranging 3-6 feet. You can refine the search by keying on creek bends or flats with scattered "clumps" of hydrilla.

Spinnerbaits: If the bass won't rise on a topwater, a spinnerbait could be the ticket. Veteran 'Rayburn guide Tommy Martin of Hemphill likes to "wake" his blades during the fall. That means burning the lure at a retrieve rate fast enough that it bulges surface. It can be deadly in areas with scattered pods of grass.

Crankbaits: A shallow diving plug painted like a shad is the order of the day. Martin likes a B2 by Bagley. He works the bait slowly along creek breaks or over points. Key spots are grass edges and points where the vegetation is submerged a few feet beneath the surface.

TOLEDO BEND

Location: On the Sabine River in Shelby, Sabine and Newton counties, straddling the Texas-Louisiana state line. The dam is in Newton County approximately 24 miles northeast of Jasper.

Surface area: 181,600 acres Maximum depth: 110 feet

Impounded: 1967

The Fishing: T-Bend was dangerously low at this time last year. Thanks to the above average rainfall amounts collected this summer, the lake should be at pool level or slightly below this fall.

The abnormal rainfall won't help the catfish bite on stump hooks. However, trotlining for fat cats, especially heavyweight flatheads, should be outstanding as usual.

Charlie Shively at Bill's Landing suggests placing sets along old sloughs bordering the Sabine River and major creek channels.

Bass fishing? Look for the shad. Check out creeks using spinnerbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and Texas rig plastics. Schooling activity also could be a factor.

LIVINGSTON

Location: On the Trinity River in Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties. Dam is in Polk and San Jacinto counties, west of Livingston and 50 miles north of Houston.

Surface area: 90,000 acres Maximum depth: 77 feet

Impounded: 1969

The Fishing: The water level at Lake Livingston going into early fall was close to normal and the water was relatively clear. If historic patterns hold true, bass will be in the mood to chase once water temperatures begin to cool.

Former Livingston fishing guide Randy Dearman of Onalaska said lures that simulate shad tend to work especially well during fall.

"Spinnerbaits are hard to beat on this lake," Dearman said. "You can cover a lot of water quickly and efficiently with a blade."

Dearman's favorite is a white or chartreuse/white 1/2 ounce Pro Model with a Colorado/willoweaf blade combination. He works the bait in relation to creek channel breaks. Any available wood cover such as stumps, logs or brush gets special attention.

Crankbaits also can be deadly. Dearman suggests using shad pattern baits, because that is the bass' preferred food source during fall. Lures that dive 3-6 feet are ideal.

CONROE

Location: West Fork of San Jacinto River in Montgomery and Walker Counties

Surface area: 20,118 acres

Impounded: 1973

The Fishing: Lake Conroe has proven itself as a lake for all seasons, but Fall is one of the best times to visit, according to fishing guide Butch Terpe.

Terpe says anglers can expect to find bass hanging tight to wood cover lining major creeks throughout the month. They will be in an aggressive mood, too. Winter is coming. And Micropterus salmoides knows it.

Terpe suggests probing around stumps and underwater brush piles with an assortment of lures ranging from crankbaits to spinnerbaits to soft plastics. Topwaters also will productive at times, especially in the event that the bass are schooling.

Crappie will be running in gangs this month, as well. The guide usually has the best luck soaking live shiners around man made brush piles in 15-20 feet of water.

Keep in mind, crappie are prone to suspend in the water column at varied depths, depending on sunlight and other factors. Experiment at different depths before writing off a spot as unproductive.