Where do they go? coldfront

[hammer33]

Was finally starting to put a pattern together for the hill. Early AM marking bait in 18-26' of water, picking up a few fish in those depths. As the morning went on, they seemed to shift out to 26-33'. Cold front came in and now I can't find bait or fish in any sort of pattern.
In Central Florida fishing salt water, if you had a good cold front, the fish would go deep until the sun warmed the shallows, then they would move up into the warmer water.
Do freshwater fish do the same thing here? Surface Water temp only dropped from 74.3' to 72.4.

 

[Bullfrog]

I'd be looking for birds

 

[WTM]

it may be different from where you fish but on ky lake bait starts transitioning back to the shallower bays and creeks in the fall. they follow the plankton and gamefish follow the bait. theyll be scattered until it drops to around 60 deg then theyll start to school up. its tough fishing until about november.

the thing about planton is they like to live in low light and cooler water. thats why youll see bait shallower before light and they go deeper as it gets more light. the same for the fall transition. the bait always follow the plankton.

 

[hammer33]

I'd be looking for birds

Funny you mention that. 2 cormorants were out in 65 feet. Trolled over and marked a small bait pod in about 20' of water.

 

[hammer33]

it may be different from where you fish but on ky lake bait starts transitioning back to the shallower bays and creeks in the fall. they follow the plankton and gamefish follow the bait. theyll be scattered until it drops to around 60 deg then theyll start to school up. its tough fishing until about november.

the thing about planton is they like to live in low light and cooler water. thats why youll see bait shallower before light and they go deeper as it gets more light. the same for the fall transition. the bait always follow the plankton.

Thanks for the tip. Shallow is the one place I haven't been looking. Most of the bass boats are pounding the banks but Im not seeing any of them catching fish. Ill run up some of the creeks and see if anything is going on next trip out.

 

[MickThompson]

Thanks for the tip. Shallow is the one place I haven't been looking. Most of the bass boats are pounding the banks but Im not seeing any of them catching fish. Ill run up some of the creeks and see if anything is going on next trip out.

Don't put too much stock in what you don't see others catching. Last winter I was fishing in the same area as a guy I go to church with. I caught a pretty good pile but never saw them swing one in. They pretty well went fish for fish with me though.

 

[WTM]

Thanks for the tip. Shallow is the one place I haven't been looking. Most of the bass boats are pounding the banks but Im not seeing any of them catching fish. Ill run up some of the creeks and see if anything is going on next trip out.

i would scan the points and follow the creek channel contours coming off the main lake. here theyll end up just off the creek/old river channels going up into the flats going into winter. those types of transitions are usually productive this time of year especially if you can find some wood, brushpiles, etc.

that said i dont know where you fish and those deep highland lakes may be entirely different scenario in the fall.

 

[hammer33]

i would scan the points and follow the creek channel contours coming off the main lake. here theyll end up just off the creek/old river channels going up into the flats going into winter. those types of transitions are usually productive this time of year especially if you can find some wood, brushpiles, etc.

that said i dont know where you fish and those deep highland lakes may be entirely different scenario in the fall.

Center Hill lake mostly. Im good at fishing water less than 8 feet deep. I have no deep water game though. Thats why Im learning to troll. Cover water and find fish, try to figure out what they are doing.
Before the cold front, I was marking bait and fish along the drop offs to the deeper channels. After the cold front, it was just a scattered random bait pod and single fish here and there. Some were suspended out in the wide open deep lake with no structure nearby. I suspect that the first day or three after a cold front aren't great for fishing regardless of where they are in the lake.

 

[MCO8891]

I don't fish highland lakes but I would definitely go "shallow". Whatever you consider shallow on center hill and probably go a little more shallow. On the TN river, I will catch fish on topwater throughout November. Smallmouth and Largemouth. Fished a tournament the day after Thanksgiving several years ago on KY lake. Caught a 6 pounder on topwater first thing in the morning and the water temps were 53. A jerkbait maybe the best bait to throw in November. Once the water temps dip below 55 then I will start fishing more winter patterns. Granted TN river is a current driven and fish stay shallower than most people think. Center Hill is a bit different but I would still fairly shallow until those temps get below 55.