 |
IL Fishing |
 |
Articles |
Fishing |
Free |
Events |
Photo |
Fishing |
Prizes |
Weather |
Forums |
Fishing |
Tournament |
DNR News |
Site Map |
Home Page |
 |
Hosted By
 |
Fall Bass Fishing
by Kevin Patton Just about the time that water skiers leave the lakes and many anglers are turning their attentions to hunting, I get excited about fall bass fishing. Illinois is home to several quality bass fisheries that extend the fishing season if you are willing to travel to one of the power plant lakes scattered across the state. My favorite for bass is Newton Lake, located about 30 miles southeast of Effingham. The lake is 1,800 acres of stumps, downed trees, offshore ridges, numerous coves, and tons of threadfin shad for forage. Newton has one advantage over some Illinois power plant lakes in that it is relatively sheltered and contains areas in which anglers can get out of howling winds. The lake is limited to 25 h.p. motors and closes to all boaters during the two shotgun deer seasons. The cold arm (east arm) of the lake is closed to boaters at the start of waterfowl season, which this year is Nov. 5.
Tony Lynn and I headed to Newton on the morning of Oct. 19. The last two weeks of October is a favorite time of ours for fishing Newton, as well as the first two weeks of April. We arrived at the ramp on a sunny, warm fall day. However, 25+ mph winds meant that we would be limited to fishing secondary points and coves since main lake areas were a froth of rollers and whitecaps. The backs of coves are key areas during the fall, as bass follow shad there when the water cools. Surface water temperatures the first day varied from 61 degrees up the cold arm to 68 degrees up the hot arm. We were unable to find a significant number of shallow shad or feeding bass in coves. With only a few small fish to our credit, we revised our game plan and hoped the wind would die down for day two.
Winds decreased the second day, but were still 15-20 mph. We headed up the hot arm where the lake narrows and there are several pockets with rip rap in the back of them. Again, the area wasn't loaded up with shad, but bass were still there and feeding. We caught 16 to 18-inch fish on spinnerbaits near rocky banks and one 17-inch bass on a blue/chrome Rattletrap, in addition to 15 smaller bass. You can't assume that bass are not present just because schools of shad are not visible. Day three was a repeat of the previous day in that we started in the rip rap areas up the hot arm and boated a 17 1/2 and 18-inch bass on a spinnerbait. Fishing slowed considerably as we failed to find the right areas for most of the day. The power plant was not running and shad were not near the bank in good numbers.
We idled back into the third cove north of the main ramp, looking for some shallow shad and hopefully bass feeding on them. After a few casts we caught sight of some bass busting shad in the tiniest of cuts along a straight bank. We quickly hooked up with two small fish. The scenario reminded us that sometimes the area that bass use to feed can be very small- a tiny cut in a small pocket in a big cove. At mid-afternoon, the day was salvaged when we found some shad and feeding bass in the second large cove north of the main ramp. There we caught several small bass on pearl swimbaits, as well as 16 1/2 and 17-inch fish. We just followed the shad around the cove with the trolling motor, casting to the biggest concentrations and where they moved close to the bank.
Several times during the trip, we slowed down with Texas and Carolina-rigged plastics with little success. It seemed many bass were suspended under offshore schools of shad. The trip wasn't a huge success either size-wise or numbers-wise. The good days that we have experienced at Newton have increased our expectations. However, 20-25 fish per day with a handful of 16 to 18-inch fish would be considered a good day on most other lakes this time of year. If the weather cooperates, I may take another stab at having one of those days that only a lake like Newton can provide. I've mentioned before that Newton Lake offers not only the chance for numbers of bass or even a trophy fish, but any trip to Newton Lake can be a unique experience. To see more reasons why many fishermen find this a favorite place, click on Wildlife and Scenery Newton Lake Information |
