Mark Miller of Mobile uses Texas-rigged worms to coax bass from the clear fall waters of Big Creek Lake. Photo by Stephen E. Davis

With the passing of the fall equinox in September, our nights are now longer than our days. This gradual shift in light is a welcome change of season for anglers across the state. Initially, the result is relief from summer heat, but as fall progresses and water temperatures moderate, bass also become increasingly active.

Anglers in the southern part of the state are last to experience fall fishing. Often, summer patterns prevail until late October or even into November depending on the number and strength of cold fronts.

Typically on manmade reservoirs, late summer patterns focus on main channel dropoffs. Then as water temperatures decline, they move to creek points, and finally the shallows. This well-known progression of patterns is due to shad seeking plankton blooms occurring in warmer water. Plankton reach optimum growth in water temperatures ranging from 68 to 72 degrees.

This set of late-summer to fall patterns works for Claiborne Lake and partially on Coffeeville, but they are not effective on Big Creek, Gantt or Point A. Anglers on these lakes do not have the luxury or certainty of a shad migration due to smaller populations. The smaller watersheds lack the fertility of the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers flowing into Claiborne and Coffeeville, respectively. Claiborne Lake is the last reservoir in a chain of impoundments on the Alabama River. The lock and dam, which is located about 15 miles northwest of Monroeville, controls water flows and allows navigation on the 5,930-acre lake. The dam, though, did little to change the look of the Alabama, as it failed to flood the river's steep banks.

Since each of these five waters is unique, here is a look at how savvy anglers pattern fish on each of these lakes as the light fades into late October.

CLAIBORNE LAKE
"In a lot of ways," said Tom Kelly of Mexia, "Claiborne is an untapped fishery -- and we like it that way. It doesn't get the fishing pressure like Millers Ferry above us, nor the Delta below."

Kelly, a five-time Angler of the Year for the Monroe County Bass Anglers and a winning competitor on the state level at BASS Federation tournaments, reports that fishing in October on Claiborne starts out slow on a summer river pattern.

"It's either feast or famine," he said. "If you can find a pattern that works, you can duplicate that pattern elsewhere on the river and fishing is good. My primary pattern is to flip to wood structure, mostly blowdowns, in flowing water on the main river. Wood is a premium cover that time of the year for largemouth and spotted bass. And the farther north you go on the Claiborne pool, the more flowing water becomes a factor.

"My secondary patterns are casting spinnerbaits to the wood in the early morning and casting crankbaits to bluff walls and ledges later in the day."

Kelly describes an ideal bluff wall as one that has stair-step ledges dropping from 6 to 20 feet. It is also littered with chunk rock and is adjacent to the main river channel.

"When the weather cools," Kelly explained, "fishing greatly improves as the bass follow shad into major creeks, like Bear, Isaac and Sliver creeks. During this migration, any type of wood structure or secondary point is going to hold fish because they offer concealment to bass waiting to ambush passing shad."

Kelly targets aggressive bass by offering them an opportunity to ambush shad-imitating baits in the form of spinnerbaits and crankbaits. If the fishing slows, he switches to a soft-plastic jerkbait.

On a good day of fall fishing, anglers may catch between 20 and 35 bass and it may take a 3-pound average to win a tournament here.