It’s October at last, and thank goodness. That was one long, hot miserable summer and this is this last you will read about it from me.

Cooler mornings and nights will lower water temperatures on the area lakes and rivers. The fish will now leave the summer holes and relocate in much shallower water.

This is a major transition month. Patterns will change, the fish will be way more active, much easier to locate and catch. The bass in the land locked oxbow lakes like Concordia, St. John and Bruin have been very difficult to catch all summer.

That will change now. When surface water temps drop the baitfish move shallow and game fish follow the bait. It’s top water time for largemouth bass. Break out the surface lures and get ready for some fast and furious action.

With surface water temps already in the low 80s I expect to see the upper 70s by today. That’s almost perfect. Seventy-two degrees or lower is what I consider perfect for bass and white perch.

Actually, the colder the water is the better the fishing will be. There are so many pluses to fall fishing. Less boat traffic, cooler air temps and more active fish are just a few reasons this time of year gets me excited.

The only negative thing I see this week is a slight rise coming down the Mississippi that will make fishing the Old River bend lakes a bit difficult, maybe.

The stage at Natchez today is 24.5 feet. By Wednesday of this coming week we’ll see a level of about 25 feet followed by a falling river level. That’s actually good news.

As long as the river level stays above 20 feet, there will be cover in the water to fish around on the Old Rivers. If the river drops below 14 feet the Old Rivers will land lock from any influence by the river and the fishing will not be near as good.

My 10-year-old daughter Caylen and I fished Deer Park for a few short hours last Saturday during the D.A.R.E. youth fishing tournament. We had a blast but it was over by the time we got started at 6:30 a.m. and had to quit at 11:30 a.m. to make the weigh-in.

She is used to a day of fishing but it was hot that day so were ready to load up. Even though Caylen did not place she did managed to catch four bass, a gar, a catfish, a gasper gou and a white bass — a mixed bag for sure.

Of course, the day was not without incident. Any day fishing with me is not without incident. She hooked me not once but twice with a crank bait, but that’s OK. I’m quiet use to digging hooks out my hide. She hooked up with what she called ‘Fishzilla.’

This thing burnt 20 yards of line off her reel before straightening out her hooks. We will never know what that was but she is ready to go back and try to land it. Good things will happen in the fishing world this month. It is time to go fishing.

Eddie Roberts writes a weekly fishing column for The Democrat. He can be reached at fishingwitheddie@bellsouth.net.