If I could only fish one season out of the whole year for smallmouth bass, that time period would definitely have to be in the fall. When the days start to get shorter, the leaves are starting to turn color, and the temperatures start to fall, avid bronzeback anglers know that all smallies especially the bigger fish are starting to feed more heavily before the winter slowdown period. Most smallmouth bass spend the dog days of summer in relatively deep water.
Biologists claim that their preferred water temperature is in the sixties.
When the water temperatures in fall drop to the sixty or even into the high 50-degree range, many smallies make the migration from deep water to the shallows to feed with a vengeance. The fall period also finds the smallmouth bass in different locations than the springtime period when they are also in relatively shallow water. In the spring they are usually found on slow tapering points near shallow spawning flats. During the fall season, fast dropping points near relatively deep water are usually great places to find bigger fish. Some avid bronzeback anglers like to use special patterns for big fish.