The dog days of summer are over and the morning air is considerably more “Crisp”. The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer and this can only mean one thing, old man winter is on his way.
I’m no fish biologist but from years of fishing experience I do know that when it gets colder not only is the forage scarce, crayfish bury themselves in the mud to take a winter nap and baitfish die off in large numbers the colder water temperature causes the bass’s metabolism slows down considerably, they become lethargic so your presentation needs to slow down considerable as well as be more precise. As a general rule for the most part, reaction baits are no longer used during winter so use them now. However like I have said in the past, nothing is written in stone. I have more than once experienced fast action reaction bites during the cold winter so be sure to keep an open eye and mind, even in the coldest days of winter.
Now back to the subject at hand, the fall frenzy. Its during this time of the year that the bass become aware that winter is on its way and its time to put the feed bag on because their food source’s will soon become very limited. I don’t know about the rest of the country but I know in my neck of the woods the action has increased considerably, especially for the bigger bass, as they prepare for the upcoming cooler months. It has once again become that time of the year when fun fishing, reaction baits, excel.
Some of my favorite baits are of course top water, jerk baits and Spinner baits. Top water and jerk baits of course are fished in the good old snap, snap, pause technique. Vary the amount of snaps and the length time of the pause until you start getting bites. When you figure out their pattern, duplicate it. Something of note, don’t forget to throw soft jerk baits, Sluggos, and Flukes in addition to the hard jerk baits.
Spinner baits can also be fished a variety of ways but my favorite technique would have to be to reel them in at a medium speed then stop reeling it, let it die, next to a possible ambush point, a bush, point, whatever. This looks like a bait fish swimming along and dieing thereby triggering the, weakest must die, instinct in bass.
Deep diving crawfish pattern crank baits are another excellent choice this time of the year. Toss them close to shore so when you start reeling their bouncing off the bottom, like a crawfish rooting into the bottom. Toss them out across a point so they come in contact with structure as you reel them in. One of the best tips I can give you is to try and contact the bottom with your crank bait. Yes, you will get hung up more often doing this but at the same time it will increase your bite to cast ratio, just be sure to carry a good lure retriever with you to get back your lures.
And dont forget about underspins. These can be absolutely lethal, especially when the bass are keying in on the small shad along weedlines. Teamed up with small swimbaits, the combination of the 2 can get them in the boat when nothing else will.
If possible, be sure to get out and do some fishing during the late fall, it can be a blast!
Thanks for visiting my site. Be sure to tell all of your fishing buddies and come back soon!
Until Next Time, Good Luck and Tight Lines To Ya!
