Docks To Rocks To Steep Drops

So you lost your fall fish. Where'd they go? Or better yet, why didn't you follow them? The migration of fall bass – their movement from docks to rocks to steep drops – is well documented, but theory is always easier than execution.

That's because there are subtleties to even the most iron-clad patterns. It's those subtleties that separate the pro "finders" from amateur "searchers."

Bass Cat and Mercury pro Mark Tucker, who fishes the Bassmaster Elite Series, knows the fall dock-rock pattern well. He's an Ozarks boy, which is where he learned it. But he's found it works all over, especially on lakes with relatively infertile water and a hard bottom.

In essence, he follows the logical progression that occurs in fall. It's a fantastic way for you to put more fish in your boat, even when "your fish" move. Here are the details.

About the Fall

Fall happens at different times, depending on the geographic clime, but it happens about the same no matter where you fish. And the most important factor is night. Once the nighttime temperatures begin dipping into the 40s, that's when water temperatures suddenly plummet.

Tucker, of course, likes to fish docks during the warmer parts of fall. But once the water turns frigid, he's gone and on the rocks.

"The fish will stay on those docks if the sun's out big and bright, but what happens is, with daylight getting shorter and the water temperature plummeting, the fish move away from the docks," he said. "They get on banks that are a little steeper, or on chunk rock and big boulders."

Tucker thinks that's because of algae. The green stuff grows on the rocks, and the rocks also hold heat. When water temperatures fall, the shad move to the rocks to feed in the slightly warmer water. He noted the bait and bass will also move to brush adjacent to the docks.

At this point, the water temperature's from about 54 to 64 degrees. The fish will hang on the rocks and steep banks for about a month, depending on weather, and when the water dips lower (into the low-50s and upper-40s), the fish start making their moves back out the main lake.

Sounds pretty simple, but a lot of subtleties occur with this common pattern.

Shad and Color

As noted, when the water temperature's in the low- to mid-60s, Tucker's still looking for docks.

"The first thing I want to key on in that water temperature is the backs of creeks," he said. "You want to try to find the creeks that have the shad, because not all of them will. And I don't want to just look for shad. I want to look for shad that are 3 to 5 inches long.

"I also want to look for a little bit murkier water," he added. "I don't want to go into clear-water creeks. So I'll usually go up the river a little, away from the dam. The power generation makes the upper water murkier, because it stirs up the bottom.

"I like to have about 6 inches of visibility. I prefer that, because I feel like I can catch some bigger fish in that color water. Not only that, if a front comes through followed by high, blue skies, I think you get more bites in the murkier water. It's hard to catch clear-water fish in post-front conditions."

Another key consideration: "When the water temperature's in that low- to mid-60s range, I want to fish the flatter sides of the creeks, hopefully with more pea gravel. I also look for docks with Styrofoam on them. The EPA has regulated that now, and in many places, all Styrofoam will have to be off the lake in a year or two.

"If go into a pea-gravel pocket, there may only be two boat docks with Styrofoam, but those are the ones I target. I don't know why fish prefer them over black plastic. Maybe more algae grows on Styrofoam."

Attack Plan

To pick apart a creek when fish are still on docks, or on a mix of brush and docks, Tucker likes to flip a 1/4- to 5/16-ounce jig.

He also like to crank an Ed Chambers E-I or E-II, "but a Balsa B will work just as well." He also like a Bandit 100.

"You need something with good wiggle," be noted. "I don't want to be fishing too deep – from 1 to 10 feet – so those are good baits for that range.

"I'll also swim a big Zoom Brush Hog, with a 1/4-ounce tungsten weight and a 4/0 or 5/0 hook. I swim it up off the bottom. Sometimes when they get off the jig, you can swim that Brush Hog. For whatever reason, sometimes they just want a bigger, bulkier bait."

The First Change

Pretty soon – maybe within weeks – the water temperature drops below the 62- to 68-degree range. "When that happens, you may catch one off a dock, then you just don't catch any more," Tucker said. "They've moved, and you just have to fish the backs of the creeks where you had dock-fish and find where they're at.

"Eventually, they get off those docks and get on creek-channel banks that are a little steeper. They're not so much bare banks, but steeper banks with rocks – bluffy-type stuff in the last half of the creek, with chunk rock. To search for them, go all the way to the back of the creek, turn around, and start looking for the deepest water close to the back end.

"You want to find a place where the channel goes up against the bluff bank."

He noted the fish will stay on those steeper banks and rocks until the water temperature dips below about 52, and a jig is the best way to catch them. "Just take a jig, pitch it up on the bluff banks, then work it down and off ledges. That's a killer technique."

He'll also wake and shake a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce spinnerbait on those banks, especially if there's any wood. "I throw a spinnerbait all the way through October and into November," he said. "I want to wake it and shake it on top of brush, or even a single stick."

The Final Move

The steeper-bank and rock bite holds, then eventually ends. According to Tucker, that generally happens when the water hits 52 degrees or colder.

"At that point, you can still catch a few on a spinnerbait or jig, but it's starting to get slow," he said. "Once the water gets to be about 52, and then we get a couple of frosty nights, it quickly goes to 48 or 49. The fish start moving out of the back ends of the creeks, toward the main lake, where they get on the first bit of deep water in the creek.

"When the water hits 48 to 52, that's when they start getting on that much steeper stuff closer to the main lake."

Notable

> Tucker noted that phases of the pattern can be extended by moving to different parts of the lake, where water temperatures are different. Still, he prefers favorable water color ("murkier") over favorable water temperatures.

> The E-I and E-II crankbaits he likes are custom jobs from Zoom Bait Co. owner Ed Chambers. "You can get them online," Tucker noted. "He's really spent some time with the technology of crankbaits, and they really run well. And they're a little more durable than the B2s."