Fall is in a full swing and it’s one of the best times of year to get out on the water. In a weird way, it’s almost like spring which is probably the most heavily favored season for bass anglers. Think about, what is so attractive about spring bass fishing? Bass move shallow and are aggressive. Well that is the exact same for fall. It seems as if the lakes start to come to life again after the long treacherous summer of hot days and slow fishing.
My 3 Baits for Fall Bass Fishing
The biggest thing that makes fall bass fishing fantastic is that the bait fish start to move shallow. With congregated and shallow schooling bait, the bass take full advantage. This will be when water temperatures are consistently below 65 degrees. The locations are also obvious as you are picking the shallow (<10 foot) parts of your body of water and mainly targeting creeks.
It seems to be a time of year when bait selection can get extremely complicated. The big focus is shad style baits. Unfortunately that can range from topwaters to soft swimbaits to Umbrella Rigs, so on and so forth. I try to simplify things and keep 3 staples in my boat during the fall.
The first bait I am going to start with and one that will stay at the ready for the entire day of fall bass fishing, is a topwater walking bait. I enjoy a super spook junior with a feathered rear treble. I think it’s the perfect size this time of year. Just a bit bigger than most bait fish and the walking action can’t be beat. It’s an oldie but goodie for sure. If you’re in an area with lots of bait and especially and area where fish are busting on bait, you need to be throwing this. It will create some of the most fun days of fishing you’ve had all year.
My second fall bait choice goes a bit against the grain. We were just talking about how bass really key in on shad this time of year in most parts of the country, however, I am going to switch things up and throw a football jig. That’s right, we’re actually going to be fishing a crawfish imitator right on the bottom. I’ve found that a lot of the bigger fish will tend to be lazy and hang out on the bottom below the bait balls. They’ll allow the smaller and more aggressive fish to chew apart a school of bait and just wait for leftovers to sink to the bottom at their convenience. It goes with the idea that the biggest fish in the lake are usually the ones that expend the least amount of energy and consume the most calories. The idea with the jig is to put a protein rich meal right in their face that they cannot pass up. This has proven to work multiple times for me throughout the past few years where my biggest fish of the day will come on a jig.
The third bait we’re going with during the fall is a medium diving jerk bait. As epic as fall bass fishing can be, there will certainly be tough days where the fish are super finicky. It’s a time of year where water clarity improves with dropping temperatures and you have a lot of bass that are extremely weary of bait presentation especially if it’s a calm sunny day. This is the perfect time to break out a suspending jerkbait usually that dive 6-10 foot. I like to go with a jerk bait, that again, just like the spook, is a little bigger than the surrounding baitfish, as well as bit different in color to really let it stand out. The action (or lack there of) of a suspending jerk bait can draw fish and entice a strike unlike any other bait.
So those are my 3 bait choices for fall bass fishing. They have been tried and true to me for the years I have been fishing and I would highly recommend you have some of these in the boat with you if you plan on fishing this fall. As always, stay safe out there and tight lines!
- Greg Blanchard
About Greg Blanchard: Greg has taken the YouTube kayak fishing community by storm over the past few years. His approach to kayak fishing technique is unique and powerful. Greg fishes from a Native Watercraft Titan Propel 10.5 as his primary craft. You can subscribe to Greg’s YouTube Channel by clicking the button below.