I don't know about fall spawns. I have heard this story a few times so perhaps it is true. I've heard of this happening at Lake Chabot from more than one person and I've heard of it on the delta, but I've never seen it with my own eyes.

When I fished El Salto, I asked several people when they thought the bass spawned. The most common answer was November, because the water was coolest then. I guess the rest of the year the water is up in the high 70's or 80's.

Bass are funny critters, and they reproduce like crazy when they can, so if a few got their wires crossed and spawned in the fall, it wouldn't surprise me.