Fall Smallie Tatics and Temps

[jjz]

I am going to fish Big Turtle by Marcell Oct 13- 17 I am guessing water will be low 50s to 40ish. Hopefully the fish will be in wintering areas. If they are I know jigs and minnows or tubes will get fish, but I am looking for other things to try or what people think is the best method to catch some bronze.

Thanks for any imput.

[TonkaBass]

Homestly I'm not a huge fan of live bait. Catching them using artificials, for me, offers a way bigger sense of accomplishment. They are suckers for a lot of baits. Suspending Jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, flukes, grubs, and finesse jigs to name just a few.

[EBass]

Ditto what TonkaBass said

[jjz]

I would rather not use jigs and minnows too. But, tatics mentioned have caught tons on bronze for me shallow (less than 20 fow). I have never had much luck on that stuff deeper. I am just curious what works for other guys in that 25 to 35 fow range. I plan on trying tubes, drop shot or leadhead with plastic but have two novice bass anglers that need something simple and productive to keep their interest in the likely chilly temps. Basically I dont want to have spend their day figuring out works and finding fish. I am just looking for what works for most guys, most of the time, this time of year thing so I can cancel out nonproductive spots. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. Also I do know a fair amount about one of better smallie lakes in central MN (little birch, todd co, I grew up fishin smallies on that lake) and can offer some dated but still probably usefull pointers on that lake.

[TonkaBass]

jjz, In my experience with fall smallies, it more of a searching game to try and find good numbers of big fish. Very seldom do I ever search in depths of 20 feet of more, because it just isn't necessary. I spend the majority of my time in the 6'-15' depths. Smallies will really put the feed bag on this time of year and often that means a minnow diet. Baby perch are a common prey. If I were you I would try and get out on a nice day. Tie on a search bait and just start casting it across open large flats, inside turns, and main lake points. Most times the fish wont be shy and will show you right where they are. Make sure you have some polarized glasses because a lot of the fish you can catch during this time, you will see. Another thing is dont give up too early. Just because you may have had a slow day from 7am to 10am, doesn't mean that you wont run into the motherload from 11am on! The schools can be really tight. I have seen what was probably close to 100 large fish in a spot no bigger than a pickup. Good luck and I'm sure you will get into them with some persistence!

[jjz]

Thanks for the pointers. You just described how I fish smallies perfectly. My dad and uncle are not your cast and cruise type of fishermen, more the anchor up and toss bobber types. I will just leave them behind until I get a feel for the lake. Looks like it should be a interesting lake to fish and from what I hear it is a great smallie fishery.

[RK]

Hiya -

Good info here so far. Just a couple thoughts to add...

I have no qualms about using bait for bass (so what if you can't use them in a tournament - I'm not fishing a tournament so who cares...) and there will come a time later when it's a real option, but this time of year, it's not necessary unless conditions are really terrible, and it's not a very efficient way of getting at them anyhow.

As TonkaBass said, this time of year it really is a flats deal (found them this weekend in 4-7" on a sand and sandgrass flat) so something you can cast a long ways and covers water while you search for cruisers is a lot more efficient than live bait. Tonka's right too about them being fish eaters this time of year. The ones I caught this weekend were barfing perch all over the place. I tend to fish stuff that moves horizontally like grubs, small swimbaits, or just swim a jigworm. Jerkbaits also work. Depending on the lake, spinnerbaits or buzzbaits can be good to.

Later on in the season, smallies do school up in wintering areas which can sometimes be pretty deep. Have to be careful fishing for them if they're deeper than about 35 feet because barotrauma can kill them. But if you can find them in the 20-35 foot range you can really get into them. If you're looking deep, tubes can work, but personally, my favorites for real cold water are jigging spoons and blade baits like a Silver Buddy or Reef Runner Cicada. Something about blade baits they just like in cold water...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[jjz]

Thanks for the deep info.

Just curious about the temp when you start seeing the winter area transition. When I fished Smallies alot I never had a temp gauge and since I moved to Breezy and have a temp gauge, but I havent found a lake close enough to my house that has smallie fishing even close to what Little Birch did/does. Now I most fish walleyes. Anyway one tatic that worked awesome for me in fall for smallies that might be worth a try for you guys, a heavy 1 to 3/4 ounce spinnerbait with one big #5 or so willow pulled along the bottom through weeds. Fish always killed it just after it would pull free of weeds, casts like a bullet, fishes fast and produced big fish. Just a super tatic for big smallies around weedy breaks, which Little Birch has lots of.