How to Fly Fish for Bass on the Tallapoosa River This Fall

Guide Rowell Guevara with a Tallapoosa River Spotted Bass

If you ask guide Rowell Guevara what fall looks like on the Tallapoosa River, he’ll probably grin before answering. It’s his favorite time of year to fish, and for good reason. Even though drought conditions have the water running low and clear, the bite has been steady and the red-eye bass are feeding like they know what’s coming.

“We’re kind of going through a drought right now, so the water has been extremely low,” Guevara said. “But we’re in that time of season where the fish are starting to gorge up a little bit. The other day, we caught a nice Tallapoosa red-eye that had a big fat belly—and a big old crawfish sticking out of its mouth. They’re hungry.”

Low, clear water might sound like a challenge, but Guevara says it’s also a perfect opportunity to dial in your presentation. He’s been downsizing his flies to size sixes and eights and sticking with natural colors like pine, rust, and black—tones that imitate the crayfish and baitfish these spotted and red-eye bass are chasing this time of year. When the clouds roll in, he’ll still throw topwater, but most of his fish lately have come subsurface.

Crawfish Flies That Don’t Look Like Crawfish

For most bass anglers, the thought of fishing a crawfish pattern brings to mind heavy, clunky flies that drag the bottom. Guevara’s advice? Stop worrying about realism and start thinking about behavior.

“There are a lot of flies out there that do a really great job of imitating what we recognize as a crawfish,” he said. “But one of my favorites—the Slump Buster—doesn’t look like a crawfish at all. The fish think it’s a fleeing crawfish when it’s shooting away.”

That motion, he explained, is what triggers the strike. Crawfish in a defensive stance—claws up and still—don’t get eaten nearly as fast as ones in full retreat. Guevara likes to drop the fly into likely pockets and strip it back in short, erratic bursts about six inches at a time, mixing in pauses to let it fall. “It’s irresistible to them,” he said.

Crawfish in a defensive stance—claws up and still—don’t get eaten nearly as fast as ones in full retreat.

The key is to suggest life without giving fish too good a look. “Since the water’s so clear, you don’t want them studying it too long,” he added. “Just enough to get their attention.”

Fishing Through the Seasons

The Tallapoosa may be running low now, but the action will stay hot well into winter. Guevara said his fall fishing usually stays strong through December, with the mix shifting from numbers to size as temperatures drop. “Lately we’ve been catching about forty fish a trip, with a handful of really good ones,” he said. “Once we get later into fall, you might catch fewer, but they’re bigger—red-eyes over ten inches and spots sixteen inches or more.”

He prefers to fish a four-weight rod, which adds extra fun to every hookup. “When you hook a seventeen-inch spot on a four-weight, that’s excitement,” he said. “It’s a great time to fish as long as the wind’s not blowing too hard.”

Don’t Forget the Sunfish

While most anglers focus on red-eyes and spotted bass, Guevara has a soft spot for the Tallapoosa’s sunfish, which fight like they’re twice their size. “They’ve got a little zigzag fight to them that’s different from bass,” he said. “And they’re plenty hungry right now—eating flies that barely fit in their mouths.”

Nick Williams, who joined Guevara for a day on the river, was surprised by how many panfish came up to eat a size six bug. “Down here, that’s big enough to keep the bream off,” Williams said. “But up there, they’d hit it like they were starving.”

Why Fall Might Be the Best Time to Fish

Ask ten anglers what their favorite fishing season is and you’ll probably get ten answers—but Guevara makes a strong case for autumn. “Everyone talks about how our busy season is late April through June,” he said. “But I think fall is better. The weather’s more stable, the fish are hungry, and there’s hardly anyone else on the river.”

Williams agrees. “All the reasons we get excited about spring—mild weather, hungry fish, pretty water—apply to fall too,” he said. “The only difference is there are fewer people around. Fall might actually be superior to spring.”

Guevara laughed and nodded. “Almost every trip I’ve had in the fall, if we saw anybody, it was maybe one other boat, way downstream. It’s peaceful, man. I encourage everyone to get out and give it a try.”

Book a Trip with East Alabama Fly Fishing

If you’re ready to experience the Tallapoosa in its prime, you can find Guevara online at East Alabama Fly Fishing or reach out to him on social media at @roel_ontheriver. Whether you’re chasing red-eyes, spots, or just a quiet day on clear water, fall in east Alabama might be the best-kept secret in southern fly fishing.