Water's hot and the pressure's dropping - fire up the frogs and punch the grass before a front rolls through.

Fall pattern at 85 degrees and climbing. Water's still warmer than comfortable for bass, so they're hunting in the thickest cover and feeding hard at first light and last light when the sun isn't beating down. The pressure's dropping ahead of weather coming in, which fires them up. Expect them dug into Kissimmee grass, pads, and submerged vegetation where baitfish hang. When the sun gets high, they'll stay buried in the heaviest canopy or slide deeper along grass edges. If it clouds over and gets breezy, the shallow bite can stay on longer and the bite gets more spread out, which is good for you. Clear skies mean they bail deep and tight.

The day's game plan

Where to fish

• Kissimmee Grass Flats — 2-5 ft · Dense Kissimmee grass, isolated pads, submerged vegetation, open pockets
  Core largemouth habitat on the lake. Bass hide in grass to ambush baitfish, especially at first light and last light. Holds fish all day but best morning and evening.
• Lily Pad Fields — 3-6 ft · Matted and isolated pads, pad stems, hard grass underneath pads
  Bass use pad stems as cover and hunt the open pockets between mats. Pads provide shade and attract baitfish. Good for flipping and topwater.
• Canal Mouths and Edges — 4-8 ft · Current breaks, hard bottom, grass edges along canal banks, depth transitions into canals
  Moving water and deeper water access draw bass, especially in fall when they start staging. Canals funnel baitfish and give bass escape routes. Less clear water than open lake when wind blows.
• Grass-Pad Transitions — 3-7 ft · Edge where grass meets deeper open water, where dense and sparse pads meet, weed line changes
  Bass position at transitions between heavy cover and deeper water. Gives them both ambush cover and escape route. Morning and late afternoon focus.

What to throw

• Topwater Frog — 3 to 4 in · white or natural shad · n/a (Early morning and evening, when bass are feeding shallow)
  Walk it slow over matted vegetation and around pad pockets, pause in open water, let it sit.
• Swim Jig with Craw Trailer — 5/8 in head plus 3 to 4 in trailer · natural crawdad, Okeechobee craw, or white · 5/8 oz (Morning through midday as bass transition from heavy cover to nearby edges)
  Hop it along grass edges and punch pockets, keep light contact with vegetation, work the weed line.
• Texas-Rigged Worm — 7 in · Junebug, red bug, or green pumpkin · 3/8 to 1/2 oz (Midday when bass are tight to deep cover and feeding is passive)
  Drag it tight along deep grass edges, work it slow and methodical, stay on the weed line not in the open.
• Flipping Jig with Creature Trailer — jig 1/4 to 1/2 in depending on cover, trailer 3 to 4 in · black-and-blue, Junebug, or crawdad pattern · 3/8 oz for light cover, 1/2 oz for heavy mats, 1 oz for dense punch (Late afternoon into evening as bite turns back on and bass move shallow)
  Flip it into pockets and around pad stems, work vertically with short drags, keep tension on the line.
• Small Blade Spinnerbait or Swimbait — 3/8 oz for blade, 4 in for swimsuit · white and silver, gold, or natural shad · 3/8 oz (Dusk and low-light periods when bass hunt edges)
  Cast and retrieve steady along depth transitions and channel edges, light vibration, keep it moving slow.

How to work it

• Working the Grass Edge — Morning through late afternoon, especially when sun is high and bass pull off the mats · Kissimmee grass flats, lily pad complexes, and any vegetated area with a hard bottom or depth break
  Identify where open water meets grass, cast parallel to the edge and retrieve along the transition, vary your depth from 3 to 6 feet depending on time of day.
• Flipping Heavy Cover — Late afternoon into evening and any time bass are buried in thick cover · Thickest Kissimmee grass, matted pads, interior grass pockets, and shade under vegetation
  Short cast into pockets and around vegetation, let the bait drop to the bottom, work vertically with short hops, set the hook at any twitch or weight change.
• Topwater Walking — Early morning and evening when bass are feeding shallow and sunlight is low · Shallow Kissimmee grass, lily pad fields, open pockets and mat edges
  Cast over mats and pockets, walk the frog side-to-side with steady pauses, let it sit for a second or two between walks, strike at the explosion.

Pro tips

• Pressure dropping means bass are feeding more aggressive and willing to chase lures a bit farther, so don't be afraid to throw reaction baits like swim jigs and blades early. Once the front hits, switch to slow presentations on the thickest cover.
• Fall is shad-migration season. Watch for schooling activity or birds working baitfish, then position on the grass edge or channel edge near that action. Bass stack up where forage concentrates.
• Match your punch weight to cover thickness. Light 3/8 ounce rigging sneaks into sparse or lighter mats. Heavy 1 ounce punches through dense canopy. Adjust on the water, don't lock into one weight all day.

If conditions change

If the front rolls through and pressure rises, the bite shuts down hard. Switch to smaller presentations like drop shots or 4-inch finesse worms and fish them tight on the densest cover you can find. Slow everything down. If the wind shifts north or west and the water clears, the shallow grass bite will tighten up but the deeper canal edges and Rim Canal area will fire. If the lake muddies from rain or wind churn, stick with dark colors like Junebug and black-and-blue, upsize your blade, and keep retrieves steady and slower. When clouds build and wind picks up before the front, the topwater bite can stretch into midday, so work frogs longer than you normally would.