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Fall Transition
Delight or Dilemma?
The months of September and October begin the reversal of Mother Nature’s seasonal trend as the long, hot summer gives way to cooler nights and shorter days. This annual time period can be very perplexing to bass anglers as the fish tend to spread out and can be found almost anywhere in the water column. Schools of bass that have been hanging on humps or drop offs all summer long suddenly disappear and make for some really tough fishing for those of us who stubbornly refuse to change our fishing locations and methods.
As water temperature’s start to descend and the length of daily sunlight shorten, the bass are triggered into a feeding frenzy to accommodate the cold winter in which they feed less often.
This annual event can be capitalized on if angler’s follow some guidelines. One rule is that anglers should realize is when the bass have left their summer haunts, where have they gone? The answer is fairly simple-where are the shad? For some reason fall bass seem to prefer shad over all other food sources. Probably their abundance and as an easy meal, it makes shad their favorite target. Shad will start moving to the backs of the creeks until the water really cools off and this migration in also probably triggered by plankton grow, the favorite food of shad. So a good rule to remember in September and October is “follow the shad”.
A second rule to follow is to be mobile. Different arms of the lake will cool off in different stages as water inflows, rainfall or power production can be factors in water temperatures and shad movement. If shad are not present in the upper reaches of the lake, try another arm to see if they are active there.
Thirdly, be prepared for change, with the migration of shad coupled with bass also moving, a “hot” spot may go cold in just a matter of hours depending on the amount of shad and the bass following them. They may not move far, but be prepared to do some looking.
A fourth and almost redundant rule is to keep your trolling motor on high and cover a lot of water. It may sound easy, but imagine the fish following a school of shad on a flat, they can cover a lot of ground in a hurry and so must you.
If you follow these guidelines and use the selection of appropriate lures it will help in locating and catching transition bass. While the arsenal of most anglers would stock a small bait shop there needs to be a little focus on a few lures that are known producers in September and October.
Lipless Crankbait-Rat-L-Trap
Many bass tournaments have been won over the years on shad colored lipless crankbaits. Why? because they can be worked in shallow water at high speed and trigger strikes when all else fails. There popularity is well known where lakes have grass beds, but the Midwest is virtually barren of grass, however; do not under estimate the effectiveness lipless crankbait have in our Midwestern waters.
The lipless crankbait shines when you need to cover a lot of barren looking flats. A common situation in this time period is to see many schools of shad circling on a big mud flat with an occasional explosion that the bass are making on their frequents attacks. A long cast and a high speed retrieve can often result in a strike, however; every day is different and one may have to use the stop and go retrieve or an even slower yo yo retrieve to trigger strikes.
The lipless crankbaits are very good about careening off of laydowns or rocks and this violent movement can often trigger uninterested bass into biting. Colors used should imitate shad, but in off colored water chartreuse is a good choice. A soft action rod, such as BPS Crankin’ Stick, coupled with 17 pound Trilene monofilament on a high speed, 7:1 ration reel makes a really good outfit to fish lipless crankbaits. Rat-L-Trap uses a new Set Lok hooks and this really has helped fish stay hooked up.
TopWater-Spitfire
Topwater baits, such as the SpitFire or popper style baits, can also be very productive this time of year, plus they can produce some really big bass. One key element for fishing the popper style baits, is to vary your retrieve until you discover what the bass want. Many anglers use just one retrieve and they are missing out on a lot of strikes. On calm glassy water, pause after the lure lands and do not move it until all the rings are several feet away from the bait.
This is really difficult for a lot of us, but the reward can be great if you can wait. If the fish do not want the bait sitting still then the “two jerks then pause” cadence may be necessary. Keep changing the cadence and the amount of noise/water displacement that each jerk creates. Some days it may take a steady jerk-jerk-jerk to trigger strikes. With each strike make sure to keep movement with your rod tip until you “feel” the weight of the fish. It is very easy to jerk a topwater away from a bass during violent strikes.
This waiting will also help hook sets on those big fish that just suck it under without much visual commotion. A little stiffer rod for working poppers is necessary and a 6:3 ratio reel will work just fine. Do not use fluorocarbon line since it will sink and disrupt the action of the topwater bait. Another old rule of thumb that applies is to use dark lures on dark days and light colored lures on bright days. Chrome with black or blue backs have long been a standard, but the bone color is also very productive.
Crankbaits-TC Cranks
Balsa lures have probably caught more fall bass than any other lure on the market. Their floatation coupled with the “hunting action” and target deflection makes them very efficient as a tool to catch transition bass. While they are productive on flats or through standing timber, they are spectacular when burned along and by laydowns. A big log or stump isolated out on a big mud flat is a prime target for squarebilled crankbaits, it is a given that there will be bass there, it is just getting them to strike.
Sometimes this may mean repeated casts or changing the angle of retrieve, but it is worth it when that five pounder finally blasts that crankbait. The most common retrieve is to burn it as fast as possible and one only has to adjust that retrieve to account for the actual impact of lure and log to make the bass react to the lure as well as avoiding a hang up that would usually have a negative impact on the bite. If you do get hung, just get it out as quickly as possible or break off and come back later.
A lot of anglers use heavy 20 pound Trilene mono so they can pull out most baits that do get hung up. The heavy line does not hurt the lures action as long as you use a split ring or snap on the lure. A good quality, medium weight graphite rod works well, some bites, however; are detected by just the lack of movement of the lure when it is in the mouth of the fish. Hooksets are usually made by continued reeling as the fish grabs the lure, if the hookset is made too early the fish can pull off on the way to the boat. A 6:3 ratio reel is good, but the new 7:1 ratio reels take a lot of the work out of “burning” the lure. Remember, you can not reel faster than a bass can swim.
Worm-Forgotten Weapon
The fourth tool to be used in locating and catching September and October bass is a 6 or 7 inch worm. Many anglers put away their worms after September 1st, but they are making a big mistake when they do. Almost all of our lakes are seeing increased fishing pressure and any good fall fishing area will have anglers fishing it every day.
This lends to the sleek, silent presentation that the worm displays as it drops down alongside a laydown or stump. Many times discouraged anglers talk of seeing big bass busting shad, but despite throwing every color crankbait, spinnerbait or topwater they could not draw one strike. This is a prime situation to flip in a small worm right in the center of that school of shad that just got hammered by Mr. Bass. The worm in many cases never makes it to the bottom and if it does a strong jerk off the bottom will get the job done. A lot of anglers fish these schools of shad and nothing else, they simply move from one school to another and catch a lot of bass doing so.
A six or seven inch worm in red shad or blue fleck works really well in almost any water clarity. A straight tail worm is favored or one with a small curl at the end, if the water is really dirty a larger curly tail should be used. Seventeen pound fluorocarbon line and a light Tru Tungsten weight, either 3/16 or 1/4 ounce works well. The 3/0 Mustad Ultra Lock Worm hooks are a good choice for sure hookups. A seven foot heavy action rod gives good power as well as being able to flip the bait into dense cover when it is found.
The four types of lures and techniques will not guarantee you a limit every time, but it does give you somewhere to start. As was mentioned, there are many other techniques and lures that will work just as well, but if you start with these four lures and apply different techniques then you can always adjust to what the bass want.
What the bass want is the answer to fall transition delight or dilemma anyway.
www.bassproshops.com
www.Rat-L-Trap.com
www.Mustad.no
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www.berkely.com
www.tccranks.com
