Lake Kaweah Fishing in September/October

Hooked Up

The Bass Are Schoolin’!

Ahh…September and the Lake Kaweah bass are schoolin’. You can spot these schools by looking for tell-tale signs. The action of the storks, seagulls, and an occasional pelican on top of the water usually means the bass are pushing shad up from the bottom. With shad in the middle, it’s like a Kaweah Lake rodeo.

Interestingly, there’s a three fold reason for schoolin’ bass: the water is down to its lowest level, the shad are feeling their oats and jumping all over the place, and the bass are foraging for shad and literally coming out of the water to get them. With these three occurrences, it’s the closest thing to paradise an “experienced” bass fishermen will experience.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet a number of really good “local” bass fishermen over the past year and have not only found them to be open and interesting, but approachable and on some occasions, even philosophical. “Come September and October, the bass start to school, and they’re just like a bunch of piranhas.” These are the poetic words of Terry Hamlin. “If you find a school, you’re almost guaranteed fish, but don’t think you’ll catch them without knowing what you’re doing. Bass fishing is never easy.” That’s the sage advice of Scott Thompson, president of the Visalia Bass Club.

When you see a school of bass, there is no mistaking them. Bass and shad are fast and silvery and come in bunches, whereas carp, the other Kaweah Lake jumper, are a dingy, yellowish brown, sometimes bright orange, but never as exciting!

Ask Scott Thompson about his usual strategy for this time of year and his favorite lure and he will reply without hesitation, “The TD Minnow Rip-bait; it is THE lure to use when you find the fish. Just toss it near the action, let it sit, and then twitch it.” The color you want to use is silver. If the bite stops, some of the old timers will tell you to switch to football jigs and start kicking up the bottom.

This is also a good time to start thinking about drop-shoting, using a three inch leech or a four inch plastic worm.

September/October are months for the serious bass fisherman. The odds are in your favor, but you still need to know what you’re doing. If you’re an experienced bass fisherman and you don’t catch bass during this time of year, it’s not beca