Fall Fishing for Smallmouth Bass
The nights are cooling off, mornings are glistening with frost, water temps are rapidly dropping, leaves are turning, and smallies are ferociously feeding bulking up for the long winter that is fast approaching. Bottom line, the seasons are changing and so are the patterns for these tiger striped bass.
Of the seasons, fall is one of my absolute favorite times to fish for bass, most vacationers have gone home, and a lot of locals are investing their time towards hunting, so you are rewarded with a serene day on the lake with very little boat traffic. You are also not melting in the sun and have a very good chance at catching a smallie with some serious shoulders. Baits that cover water and do so quickly are going to be the ticket for keeping those lines tight. Some of my go-to smallie baits and techniques for this time of the year are:
Topwater
In my experience, your time for the topwater bite at this time of year is pretty limited. I have not had much luck with topwater midday, it's either an early morning or late-night bite. Not to say that it won't or can't happen, but your chances are much higher during those time frames. Baits like the zara spook, stutter step, KVD sexy dawg, KVD splash, booyah prank, and the whopper plopper will, without a doubt, leave your arms feeling like rubber. If watching the shadow of a bronzeback come up from the depths to annihilate your lure doesn't get your adrenaline going, I don't know what would. I have missed many hook sets because my excitement has gotten the best of me and I tried to lay the wood to him just a second too early. Be patient and do your best to avoid the temptation of setting the hook until you can feel him swimming away with the bait.
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Jerkbaits
The Rapala husky jerk, original floating, shadow rap's and the storm thunderstick's have all served me well. Think of the baitfish in your local waters and try to mimic those colors and patterns. During your retrieve, give them a couple of really hard jerks and then pause for up to 30 seconds. A lot of times that’s when they will hit it so try not to get distracted and make sure you're holding on tight, they will absolutely smash it. Soft jerkbaits are also another good option like the Strike King caffeine shad or zoom fluke, smokey shad or pearl white can't be beat. You can either rig it with a standard jig head or texas rig it with a 4/0 EWG hook and a 3/8 - 1/2-ounce Strike King tungsten bullet weight to get you down to your desired depth.
Crankbaits
Are always a blast to throw and are great for covering ground and locating fish quickly. Try the new KVD square bill deep diver which dives from "9-Beyond" or their pro-series which dives to eight feet. If you're still having trouble getting down to where they are, throw a lipless crank like a Rapala rippin rap, rattlin rap, KVD red eyed shad or a rat-l-trap and let it hit bottom before starting your retrieve and "yo-yo" it back to the boat. Remember, if you're not bumping into cover or bouncing it off the bottom you're not doing it correctly. Think of how a baitfish swims, or any fish for that matter. Pretty uncommon for them to just be swimming out in open water. Run them into anything you can and pause for a second when you do, that's when the dinner bell rings. Line diameter is also going to play a huge role here. The thinner the better, less resistance. I usually use 10-pound power pro which has the same diameter as 2-pound mono and then a 4 to 6 foot, 10-pound fluorocarbon leader. Also, on a long cast fluorocarbon line will get you 18 inches deeper than monofilament of the same size, so keep that in mind.
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Spinnerbaits
Usually, 3/8 to 1 ounce take the cake, the Strike King burner or the booyah blade is what I am throwing the majority of the time. Don't be afraid to beef it up by putting a trailer on it like a paddle tail swimbait or even a creature bait. These mimic their food of choice perfectly and the blades cause quite a commotion in the water luring them in to investigate from quite a distance.
Chatterbaits
Chatterbaits are considered the cousin of a spinnerbait but in all reality, they are a hybrid of a spinnerbait, a crankbait, and a jig. Chatterbaits are great for covering expansive flats, weedlines, rocky points, and enticing bass lurking in the shade underneath docks. They have a shuddering blade that gives off such a strong vibration many bass just can’t resist. I’ll be honest, when these first came out I thought they were just the current trend. Of course, like most fishermen, I still had to try one, though did not have much luck at first. It wasn’t until I realized you can throw them into pretty heavy grass with a good chance of not getting hung up and get results. I was also just slow rolling it but realized a simple pause in your cadence or pop of your rod tip will more often than not elicit a reaction strike, especially where a bass might be using cover as an ambush point.
Swimbaits
One of the best things about swimbaits is that you have the ability to cover a wide range of the water column. Baits like the Storm 360 GT searchbait, Strike King rage swimmer, Keitech's, Live Target baitball, Berkley powerbait ripple shads and even some of the jointed swimbaits from Savage Gear will end your day in exhaustion from putting so many fish in the boat. I find baits in the 4 to 6-inch range and in more natural colors seem to work well in the fall.
Finesse
Yes, finesse. I know I am, and you probably are as well, sick and tired of throwing a drop shot or a wacky rigged Senko because you have been doing it all summer long to get those deep-dwelling bass, but do not be afraid to have one tied on this fall. These are a great option to throw when you have been picking an area off with any one of these searchbaits and the bite all of a sudden stops. One of the first style baits I will throw is going to be a football jig with a creature bait. The reason for that is the larger profile. Like I mentioned earlier, bass are trying to fatten up for the winter. The bigger the meal they can get with the least amount of exertion, is their goal.
There aren't many things in this world that beat being on the water with all of the beautiful fall colors as your backdrop. Fall is a great time to have big number days. So, if you are having trouble trying not to get discouraged, test out some of these baits and tactics and they will without a doubt give you something to tug on. Most of the fish are going to be in the 15 to 40-foot range. If it's a nice sunny day, make sure you spend some time hitting the shallows. Bass will come up to soak in the sun and feed. If you have any other questions about what to use or where to go, come into your local North 40 Outfitters before your next adventure and talk to one of our fishing experts.
By Chris Thompson