November will spur some major fish feeding activity in the water world.

Water temperature of the area lakes has slowly dropped. That is a good thing. As the water cools down the game fish become more predictable, easier to locate and catch.

This weekend on Lake Bruin, the coolest water I found was 63 degrees. The week kicked off on the cool side but ended up with daytime highs in the 80s. Water temperature ranged from 63 to 68 degrees.

Fluctuating water temperatures will continue until we get a few major cold fronts. The temperature of the area lakes usually bottoms out in the mid to upper 50s by late January, but we could have a cold winter ahead of us.

Currently the white perch and bass fishing is just starting to kick off. While some will head to the woods to hunt, others will head to the lakes to fish.

I heard more, and better, reports this week than I have all summer. White perch reports were hard to come by all summer but not anymore. The perch tend to bunch up and hold tighter to cover in colder waters.

The Old Rivers at Deer Park and Vidalia are not producing the numbers, but the size is huge. Lake Bruin is producing the numbers but not the size. That will change as the water cools down.

I keep watching the Mississippi River stage for a major rise and it looks like it is coming. Normally by late November the river will rise and reconnect the live oxbow lakes with the river. But this has not been a normal year.

The river fell fast during early summer leaving the live oxbow lakes landlocked for months. Actually that is a good thing for the perch anglers.

The water clarity and level of the live oxbow lakes will be stable as long as the river level remains below approximately 15 feet.

The Mississippi River stage at Natchez today is 10.8. The normal late November rise may come early this year if the forecast is correct. Today I see at least a 9-foot rise coming downriver over the next five days. If the prediction is correct, fall fishing on the live oxbow lakes will be short lived.

A rise that fast will muddy the waters and spread the fish out. That’s what’s good about this area. When the Mississippi River rises and shuts the fishing down on the live oxbows, we just stay on the protected side of the levee and fish the dead oxbows — the lakes that are cut off from the river by the levee.

I recall one fishing trip when we fished three lakes in one day and caught a lot of fish on all three lakes.

Another place that offers some great white perch and bass fishing that used to be virtually unknown by all but the locals is the Saline/Larto Complex located about 20 miles south of Jonesville.

This complex consists of two fair size lakes and one smaller lake known as Shad Lake. The lakes are connected by a maze of man-made canals and natural bayous. Saline/Larto reminds me of the Atchafalaya Basin but on a much smaller scale.

It is not unusual to see 40 to 50 boats on fall and winter weekends drift fishing the waters of Larto Lake catching big slab white perch.

The complex is home to some huge largemouth bass as well. Most anglers in this area fish Larto Lake and Shad Lake and don’t have a clue what Saline has to offer.

It may be the 17-mile boat ride from Larto to Saline that keeps people from going there. Regardless, Saline offers larger bass but fewer numbers. It is not uncommon for Saline Lake, Open Bayou, Muddy Bayou and Saline Bayou to produce bass in the 7- to 9-pound range.

That side of the complex is near Deville, La., so most from that area fish the waters of Saline while people from here fish Larto. If you fish Larto and not Saline, you are missing out on some great bass fishing.

The second stop of the Top Rod Series bass tournaments will be on Saline/Larto Dec. 8. Contact me for more information on the events.