5 Best Baits for Early Fall Bass

When it comes to fishing the transition time from late summer to early fall, bass-fishing pro Casey Scanlon says there are five baits that will almost always be tied onto a rod-and-reel rig lying on the front deck of his bass boat.

Those baits – many in the various color patterns of shad that black bass will feed heavily on during the fall months – will include the following:

1. Finesse Worm: "I'll almost always have a Luck E Strike Conman finesse worm tied on," said Scanlon, who qualified for the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup Championship event in his first year of FLW Tour competition. "I'll fish it shallow or deep on a Texas-rig, on a Carolina Rig or on a Shaky Head setup."

2. Squarebill Crankbait: "Another bait I'll always have tied on is a Luck E Strike Series 3-squarebill crankbait," said Scanlon, a one-time winner in BASS Open competition. "I like to fish it around shallow visible cover or fish it through the schools of shad (I find). It's a great search bait for covering water."

3. Flipping Jig: "My go-to size for a Trophy Bass Company Pro Jig is the ½-ounce model but I'll also use the ¾-ounce in deep water," said the Lenexa, Kan., pro. "I'll fish the jig both shallow and deep, sometimes swimming it, or fishing it on the bottom around cover."

From flipping style to the swimming version, jigs are an early fall mainstay for FLW Tour pro Casey Scanlon. (Lynn Burkhead photo)

4. Topwater: "There are many kinds of topwater out there that will work, but I personally prefer a buzzbait or a walking style bait during the early fall," said Scanlon, who once fished the Major League Fishing Select circuit. "The buzzbait around shallow cover and the walking bait around shad schools or over deeper vertical cover will work at this time of year."

5. Swim Jig: "For this, I'll use a Trophy Bass Company swim jig in the 3/8-ounce model," said Scanlon. "I'll fish it around shallow cover or grass. My favorite target for the swim jig in the early fall is around floating boat docks. Just swim it around the docks no matter what depth the dock is in and the fish will usually be close to the foam or the floats."