By Michelle Armstrong
Ahhhhh, Fall is finally here. Well by the calendar at least. I’ve lived in the South my entire life so far. I know how the weather can be. I’ve fished for about thirty of those years and I also know that Southern Bass are smart. Alot smarter than us sometimes. They are in preparation mode. Unlike us, where we wait till the first sign of warm weather to jump on a treadmill trying to get that beach body, only to end up wearing a long sleeve rash guard and a bathing suit skirt. (Happened to a friend). Nope, they know that even though the temperatures are still making us sweat and keeping their water temperatures on the warm side that Fall means colder weather is coming. So for the average Bass family that means one thing. Preparing their bodies for what’s to come… and fast. They want to bulk up as much as possible in preparation for the colder Southern months. And to do that, they become aggressive. They lay in wait waiting to ambush all prey that happen by. They venture from the deeper hiding places that have been keeping them cool on the long summer days searching for baitfish, that have also become more active.
Our baitfish of choice in Southern lakes are typically shad, blueback herring, and sometimes bluegill and perch. I’ve had most of my success mimicking the first two. I love finesse fishing, but this is the time to fish like the Bass are reacting, aggressively. By doing so, it’s time to put on some noise, action, and or vibration in to play. Three go to baits that are in my early fall arsenal are crankbaits, jerkbaits, and a spook.
My morning routine finds me with a Heddon Swayback Spook in my hand. Rigged on a Johnny Morris Titanium 8 7’4 medium heavy rod with braided line I can hurl this bait a country mile. It allows me to cover water fast yet effectively over schooling baitfish. Using braid also allows me to fish among heavy cover with the confidence that I can retrieve my bait if it gets tangled in a brush pile top or branch from a blow down.
Second on the list is a Megabass Ito Vision 110 jerkbait rigged with 10/12lb test on a 7′ Cashion’s Jerkbait rod. Again, covering lots of water and with a flick of your rod tip you can make this bait act as aggressive or stealthy as one needs. It dives anywhere from 4′-6′ and when you pause the retrieve it produces a slow float mimicking a compromised baitfish making it an ideal snack. This bait has proved effective in multiple scenarios. Alongside points, in front of rip rap, along bluff walls and don’t forget alongside floating docks. You can produce multiple Bass in any or all of these situations on a jerkbait.
And finally, when covering a little deeper water, I choose a Norman’s Little N rigged on my 7′ Bass Pro Shops Crankin Stick. Still effectively covering water, but a little deeper. The Little N runs about 9′-12′ deep. I can focus on points and alongside deeper docks. By adjusting where your rod tip is pointing, ie. One o clock, two o clock, four o clock six o clock, etc. You can control how deep your crankbait will run. Depending on the depth of the baitfish, you can adjust accordingly.
With all three of these baits I like to keep my color choice as natural as possible. Usually leaning toward mostly white colors or sexy shad being my favorite “go to” color.
Armed with these three baits fishermen at all levels can produce a great fall fishing day for themselves. Now go catch fish.