The high pressure system that has been sitting over us the past week or so is moving on, and it is about time.

A bright blue sky and high barometric pressure is not good for fishing.

Of course the best time to go fishing is whenever you can, but the fish are not very active when the air pressure is high.

The early bite for bass and sac-a-lait is good on most of our lakes and Old Rivers. Once the sun gets overhead the fish activity slows way down.

I did notice another fair bite kicks off around noon when the winds pick up.

This weekend the winds shifted from the northwest to the southeast so get ready for a change in fish activity.

The shift in wind direction is a sure sign the high pressure system is about to blow out of here.

We still have very little chance of rain in the forecast. We sure need some rain. This is the driest year we have had in a long time.

The landlocked lakes remain extremely low.

On the other hand, across the levee, the Old Rivers are in great shape.

The Mississippi River level dictates the fish activity on the live oxbow lakes more so than the weather. The river stage at Natchez Friday was 21.5 feet.

Monday we will see a level of 21 feet and Tuesday 20.7 feet.

For the first time in many years we have yet to see a river level below 20 feet. That is a good thing.

The higher water level will keep a lot of fish holding cover in the water. Combine that with falling water temperatures and a shad spawn that should kick off by mid-month and the fishing will be great on the Old Rivers at Vidalia and Deer Park.

Last weekend I noticed thousands of shad in Black River Lake. Some were shallow and some were hanging over deep water, and all were near the surface.

I followed one school for more than an hour picking off a nice bass now and then and missing more than I was catching.

Most of those bass hit Bomber Fat Free Shad crank bait in a shad pattern.

I did catch a few bass in real shallow water on a Mr. Hooty spinnerbait, and a couple on surface lures.

Over on Horseshoe Lake I had better luck with a light Elk River jig and small Zoom trailer.

The fall season is like that. I had a dozen rods laid out rigged with as many lures and caught fish on most every one.

You have to mix it up this time of year.

The surface bite is great early, but it won’t last long if there is no cloud cover. If it is overcast you can hang with the top water lures all day.

Fall is here, and this is a great time to enjoy some fantastic fishing on our area waters.

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