November is a month when some really big fish can be can be caught in any of the warm weather fisheries. The bigger bass have now moved back to the shallow water and into the thickest, ickiest, nastiest grass and or cover on the lake. If you have the patience to work slowly and methodically, you can put some trophy fish in the boat.

A widely-held belief that comes into play this time of year is that the big bass start to prepare for the spawn in November. By feeding and filling their bellies now before becoming dormant through the cold winter, they are preparing for next years spawn.

The catching part is this: the bigger fish move to the water that is less than a foot where finding bait fish is easy. Until cold weather sets in, they feed several hours of the day until they are just stuffed. This is the only time of year outside of the spawn that the fish move this shallow, and it's all about them preparing early for the spawn, feeding and bulking up before the winter cold.

This is your opportunity. Find those areas, work your traditional hollow-belly frog or rat slowly over this icky area, and find these big, voraciously feeding females. When you do you get a monster blow-up, if you’re skilled enough you can land a trophy bass. The downside is this: you will be fishing probably for just a few bites. Although your numbers may be down, the trade-off is a high chance of connecting with a trophy fish. You can catch a 25-plus pound stringer in this period and reap some big tournament rewards.

As is always the case, a number of ways can be used to get this big bite hitting these shallow areas. Not only will the rat produce, but so will flukes, swim baits, buzz baits and other baits of similar pattern. You just need to pick your favorite, bring patience, work slowly, and stay alert; your trophy bite could be the next blow-up.

Captain Mike Gerry
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
Web: http://www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
(256) 759-2270

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