There are two times during the year that are awesome for bass fishing, spring and fall. During the spring, bass are moving up into the shallows to spawn and make more little bass. So, it’s a great time to catch that fish of a lifetime as the big females are full of eggs. In the fall, the bass are going through a feeding frenzy and fattening up for the winter which also makes for exciting fishing.
Of these two times of the year, fall is probably my favorite. If you want to catch fish in the fall, tie on any lure you want as long as it looks like a shad.
Shad colored spinnerbaits or crankbaits are deadly during the fall. Bass will slowly migrate out of their deep summer haunts and will move up shallow and into the back of the creeks.
They will literally go into ambush mode and destroy a school of baitfish. If whatever you’re throwing looks like shad, they will eat it! Here are few tips on what to throw if you’re not sure what you need to tie on.
I love to catch them on a shad pattern spinnerbait this time of year. You can throw either a white or any type of shad color and catch fish. Your hook up ratio with a spinnerbait seems to be really good. But a good shad colored crankbait like a Bandit 100 or 200 series in a pearl color with a black back or a white splatter back will also put fish in the boat.
It’s also a great time to throw a buzz bait or any kind of topwater bait. Bass love a walking style bait like Heddon Zara Spook in either chrome or white.
But there’s also another bait that is pretty much a guarantee for catching fish in the fall, a rattling shad bait like a Bill Lewis Rattle Trap or a SPRO Aruku Shad. Both baits truly mimic the bait fish bass are gorging themselves on this time of year.
Fall can also be an excellent time to go out on the lake and find new places you might want to fish next season. And if the lake is low, it’s really great to try to locate and mark those hard spots bass love to get on in the winter and early spring.
Too many anglers miss out on some of the best bass fishing of year as they park their bass boats and load up four-wheelers and head to the woods. Many start to focus on getting deer stands cleaned out or building and dressing their duck blinds.
So, take advantage of uncrowded boat ramps that the fall brings. Head out to your favorite lake and enjoy some of the best bass fishing of the year. You never know, you just might catch your personal best.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com