Fall Fishing Yields Hungry Bass
By Chris Jenkins

I hope your hooks are sharp, because this month has big bass written all over it. A change is in the air, my friend. Statistically, the average daytime temperature goes from 85 degrees in September to 70 degrees in October. More dramatically, the temperature goes from 74 degrees to 55 degrees at night. Bass know winter is rapidly approaching and this causes a need to feed. Food is plentiful and bass take advantage of it. Much like spring, fall is a prime time to catch a lunker. Keep in mind, the bait has had all year to grow, so don’t be scared to throw large lures. Remember, “Big bait equals big fish”.

Morning and evening produce explosive strikes on the surface. Try a Spit’n Image, super spook, or noisy prop baits to imitate wounded baitfish. More so than in other months, the large mouth follow the forage, so make sure your Bomber crankbaits are tuned for battle, and you can cover multiple depths. Crayfish and shad are your key color patterns this time of the year. Also, Bagley makes a small fry bream that would fool Mother Nature.

Bass are opportunistic feeders and I’ve caught many a fish with a tail sticking out of its throat. So, cover points thoroughly by making numerous casts from different angles. It’s not unlikely to pull several fish off of a single point. Small packs of bass suspend offshore ready to charge an unsuspecting school of baitfish.

Generally, if you find the bait, you’ll find the bass. If you don’t have electronics, another good search bait (besides a crankbait) is a spinner bait. I have had great success doubling up the skirts on a Stanley Platinum, or Icon series. A three inch double or single tail grub trailer is a real instigator when it comes to invoking a heavy strike with these types of baits. Three and four blade baits become a major player when bass are concentrating on bait fish also.

Speaking of heavy, the information I provide geared towards big bass only pertains to bodies of water that hold large fish. If you are fishing a lake in the middle of a relatively new housing development for example, I don’t recommend using behemoth baits. In this situation, I would downsize my lures, target active bass, and just have fun.

Now on the other side of the coin, if there is a potential to tie into a bruiser, now is the time to put on the gloves. I’m confident that giant bass are loners, and you will need to hunt for these fish in a different way. In Florida, it’s not uncommon to catch large bass in skinny (shallow) water. However, I, personally, have never caught a double-digit fish in less than 6 feet of water in Virginia.

Big bass feel comfortable close to a deep water escape route. I like to target contour changes, and cover that border these “safe zones”. Lure choice is kept simple - big! Crayfish are loaded with protein, and bass can’t resist the likes of a large craw. Therefore, an all-time big bass lure, like a jig, is a favorite of mine. I like to use up to a half-ounce Stanley jig, with a black and blue skirt, and an extra orange and yellow skirt for bulk. The better half of a brush hog or an Uncle Josh big daddy pork frog serves well as a trailer. The fall season is also a great time to swim a white and blue jig. If using a jig is not your forte, use a Gambler Swim blade, Bacon rind, or any big creature bait to penetrate brush piles or deep lay downs. Try dragging a 10-inch Berkley power worm across a beaver hut, or one of their six inch white saltwater twister tail grubs to hop down steep points for shoulder-dislocating strikes.

By the end of this month, and through October, reaction baits will be your best bet. If you are after a trophy, it will be a great time to throw an Optimum swimbait. The six, and eight inch Original, and Titan series are perfect for enticing a greedy sow this time of year. I throw them on a seven foot, medium heavy power St. Croix rod, and fifty pound Berkley Spider wire line. A stiff rod and braided line are crucial for a solid hook set when using these baits.

For any information pertaining to this article, or if you just want to talk fishing, you can e-mail me. Take a picture, and let them swim away to fight another day!