The Joy of Fly Fishing in New Brunswick

Some of my sport fishing friends here in New Brunswick and I really enjoy fishing for smallmouth bass all season long, but the fall season is without a doubt the best time of year as this is the time of the year smallmouth start on that final feeding frenzy to fatten up for the lean winter months.

I will say that spring is my second most favourite time of the year but it’s largely due to the fact I’ve experienced quite enough winter by then.

What Makes Fall Such Good Fishing?

As fall approaches the water temperature in rivers and lakes begin to drop which causes the weed beds to die off slowly which in turn decreases the level of oxygen in the water.

The lower levels of oxygen in the water sends the bass looking for more oxygen rich water which usually means they will be stacked up around healthy weed beds. This makes it much easier to locate them if you focus on finding the remaining healthy patches of weeds.

Testing The Waters

The last time I was out Bass fishing in the fall there were four of us. I wanted to test the waters as they say so I didn’t tell my buddies that I was only going to fish green weeds.

At the end of the day we compared notes and I had hooked and landed 4 times as many fish as two of my buddies. The third guy did the same thing as I did and only fished spots that still had healthy weed beds.

Mmmm That Looks Tasty

It’s at this time Smallies tend to be less discriminating than they can be at other times of the year due to the fact winter is fast approaching and now is the time to put on some fat for the winter months. Smallies are inclined to chase almost any baits at this point in the season. I have observed them go way out of their way to reach a lure in the Fall.

I truly do take pleasure in casting in the lily pads for Smallmouth bass at any time but particularly throughout the Fall once patches of weeds which are producing oxygen begin the process of to die off. For the duration of those fall weeks I really watch the healthier weeds still making oxygen.

Smallmouth bass are cold blooded therefore as the temperature of the lake water lowers the Smallmouth will slow down as well so it’s necessary to slow your baits as well. You will find that you hook up with a lot more Smallmouth’s.

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