Aggressively fishing a square-bill crankbait on shallow flats around wood or rock is a perfect way to reach lots of feisty fall bass. (Courtesy of Northland Fishing Tackle)
October 28, 2024
By Ken Duke
Bass fishing is one of few outdoor pursuits that, in some places anyway, can be enjoyed year-round. However, depending on the season, the fishing can be alternately thrilling and maddening.
During springtime, bass move shallow in preparation for the spawn and can provide fast-and-furious action … until a cold front shuts everything down. Summer can be strong, but lakes are often crowded, and crawling a worm or fishing slow and deep may be the key to getting bites. Winter is hit-or-miss. Sometimes, you can load the boat, but finding fish and making them bite can be a challenge.
And then there’s fall, when all the stars align. Baitfish move shallow with bass in hot pursuit, and the pleasure boaters, water skiers, PWCs and other distractions are mostly gone. In other words, bass fishing now is fast and fun.
Tandem willow-leaf blades work very well on spinnerbaits in the fall, providing lots of flash and little lift. Thus, they must be fished fast to stay up in the water column. (Courtesy of Z-Man Fishing) ONE-TWO PUNCH One of the great joys of fall bass fishing is the simple pleasure of chunking and winding, covering water and knowing that you’re doing exactly what will appeal to great numbers of bass. And most lures for fishing fast in the fall are almost certainly already in your tackle collection.
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For starters, you’ll need a 1/2-ounce tandem willow-leaf spinnerbait with silver blades and a baitfish color. Let’s not overcomplicate this. If the primary baitfish on your home water is shad, go with white or silver; if the water offers less than 18 inches of visibility, add some chartreuse into the mix. If the primary baitfish is perch, go with a skirt featuring some green and orange, and maybe a little white to simulate the belly of the forage.
You have questions? I have answers!
If I’m fishing really shallow, why use a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait? Why not a 1/4- or 3/8-ounce?
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Great question, and if your water is dingy—meaning less than 18 inches of visibility—you can get away with a lighter spinnerbait. But if the water’s clearer than that, the extra weight allows you to make longer casts, putting the bait farther from the boat so bass don’t know you’re there. This often leads to extra bites. Of course, in dirty water, you won’t need such long casts, and a lighter bait facilitates a slightly slower retrieve.
Why tandem willow-leaf blades when most spinnerbaits have a Colorado lead blade and a willow-leaf trailing blade? Do I really need to be that specific?
Maybe not, but the standard one-of-each blade configuration is a compromise—it works just fine when tandem willows would be too much of one thing and tandem Colorados would be too much of another. That’s why we see one of each on so many baits.
Double willows offer more flash than Colorado or Indiana blades, and they give the bait less lift. You must crank a double-willow spinnerbait faster than the others to keep it up in the water column, and that’s exactly where you want it and how fast you want it at this time of year. Keep it humming.
Keep your rod tip fairly low—pointed at the bait in the water—and crank it so fast that it just barely stays beneath the surface. Give it the look of a fleeing baitfish, all flash and movement. Snap your wrists every few turns of the reel handle so that the blades stutter. These are the things that will get you bit in the fall. Slow and steady may win the race, but when it comes to generating fall strikes, there’s a need for speed.
The other key bait on most bass waters now is the square-bill crankbait—fat-bodied, pudgy, in colors that imitate your native baitfish or crawfish. A broad, shallow bill is critical, but even more important is a bait that you can hustle through the water without it “blowing out.” If you burn it and it rolls over or pops to the surface, try another model. You need something that can handle a fast retrieve.
You’ll also want a bait with some heft, just as with the spinnerbait. Choose a square-bill that weighs a 1/2 ounce or more. It will enable longer casts, better represent the late-of-the-year forage and—believe it or not—navigate through wood cover better than a smaller lure.
White is a great spinnerbait color in any water where shad are a staple. A touch of chartreuse is helpful when stained water is present. (Courtesy of Z-Man Fishing) GEARING UP Just as you likely have the right baits for fabulous, fast fall fishing, you probably already have the right rod, reel and line, too. Almost every avid bass angler has a 7-foot to 7-foot-6-inch, medium-heavy casting rod, a smooth-casting reel with a 7:1 gear ratio and some 12- to 17-pound fluorocarbon line. If not, how have you survived in the bass-chasing world?
The 7-foot to 7-foot-6-inch, medium-heavy rod permits lengthy casts and has enough backbone to serve two key purposes. First, you must be able to set the hook when a bass strikes at the extreme end of your cast. Second, throwing big spinnerbaits and square-bills on lighter gear can be exhausting. Muscle up, but don’t overpower with anything heavier than medium-heavy.
Although we’re talking about fishing fast, these techniques don’t call for a reel with an 8, 9 or even 10:1 gear ratio. Yes, you could go faster than 7:1 or 7.5:1 and still be extremely successful, but fast reels make it too easy to overpower most squarebills and cause them to roll and spin, whereas a 7:1 baitcaster likely won’t.
Many anglers believe it’s easier to slow down an extremely fast reel than it is to speed up a mid-range reel. If that’s you, consider an 8:1 or maybe even a 9:1 gear ratio, but certainly no faster. The fastest reels are rarely good choices for moving baits. They’re most effective for worming or other techniques when you want to pick up line quickly to make another presentation, not when you’re using high speeds in your actual retrieve.
The line, of course, is a critical component. Fluorocarbon is less visible than monofilament or braid, and that can be important in the fall when water levels are often low and the water is extra clear. Choose your line size based on the amount of cover you find in the backs of creeks and pockets. If there’s lots of wood and vegetation, start with 15- or even 17-pound test. If the cover is sparse, try 12- or 14-pound line. Fifteen-pound test is a good mid-range option. You won’t be far off the mark either way, and you’ll maintain good casting distance.
Pick a square-bill that runs well at speed and mimics prevalent forage. (Courtesy of Rapala) FALLING FLAT There’s no better place to search for aggressive fall bass than on a flat in the back of a pocket or creek. Some days you’ll find them in the backs of creeks where there’s a little current. Other days, they prefer cuts or coves with no incoming water.
Some wood, rock or vegetative cover is usually important with this pattern. Not only can it provide a little shade for an ambush-feeding bass, but it often concentrates fish.
Typically, a spinnerbait works better around vegetation, while the squarebill usually excels around rock. Either should navigate the wood just fine. Experiment, but try to keep either bait in contact with the cover, which often triggers strikes.
And remember that long casts are critical here. We’re targeting fish that others miss—bass that are often in ankle-deep, gin-clear water that no angler using forward-facing sonar can find because they’re just too shallow.
A few casts to explore the flat and any available cover on it should do the trick. Look for shade and keep your trolling motor on high until you get into fish. They won’t be in every pocket, but when you find them in the skinny water, they’ll reveal themselves either by slamming your lure or scurrying away.
If they’re hammering your baits, it’s a glorious day. And if they’re fleeing, make longer casts or work your baits faster. Never forget fall’s need for speed.
TRUSTED TACKLE Rods and reels made to power fast fall fishing efforts There are many great rods and reels on the market today, and you can find something that will serve you well on this pattern at virtually any price point. Here are some great choices that should give you years of outstanding performance.
RODS The 7-foot-6-inch, medium-heavy Reese Fishing Next 1 Fire ($139; reesefishing.com ), designed by legendary tournament pro Skeet Reese, is everything you could want for fast fall fishing, and it’s priced to sell. The 7-foot-4-inch, medium-heavy Dobyns Kaden ($189.99; dobynsrods.com ) is one of the most versatile rods on the market. Meanwhile, the 7-foot, medium-heavy St. Croix Avid Series casting rod ($240; stcroixrods.com ) will handle any spinnerbait or squarebill in your tackle arsenal.
REELS The Daiwa Tatula SV TW103HS ($209.99; daiwa.us ) has a proven design and features that make long-distance casting easy, and at 7.1:1, it’s geared right. If you want something a little bit faster, you won’t go wrong with Ark Fishing’s Gravity 7 G7-108 ($239.99; arkrods.com ), which cranks at 8.1:1. It’s rock solid. The KastKing Mg12 Elite ($249.99; kastking.com ) comes in a model that features a 7.5:1 gear ratio. It’s sleek, stylish and casts a mile.
This article was featured in the October 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe .