Fall tactics

[mrklean]

As the water temps slowly start to drop what are your guys favorite fall tactics for bass?

[timjones]

When I saw the topic I thought you were giving some tactics and thought great. Guess not. I'm interested in the same info.

[thatoneguy]

Topwater topwater topwater.  Frogs and buzzbaits for largies, spooks, poppers, buzzbaits for smallies. Watch for schools of baitfish, and watch for bass busting their food on the surface.  You can work a jerkbait and clean em up good once you locate them as well.

Jigs, spinners, cranks etc will all produce fish in the fall, but for me there's no more entertaining way to catch em - and catch big ones - than topwater in the fall.

[Bobby Bass]

Topwater topwater topwater.  Frogs and buzzbaits for largies, spooks, poppers, buzzbaits for smallies. Watch for schools of baitfish, and watch for bass busting their food on the surface.  You can work a jerkbait and clean em up good once you locate them as well.

Jigs, spinners, cranks etc will all produce fish in the fall, but for me there's no more entertaining way to catch em - and catch big ones - than topwater in the fall.

I am a big fan of topwater this time of year also but when the wind is blowing like it was this afternoon then I like to throw 3/8 spinerbaits with double skirts and big plastic trailers. The crawfish trailers in blue work really well and I like either blue/chartreuse or green/black skirts. Weeds are starting to die down up my ways and you slow roll these big bulky spinnerbaits over the top. This afternoon we boated 29 bass and northerns using this tactic in 15-20 mile an hour winds.

[RuddyDuck]

Lipless and Squarebill cranks work good when the weeds start to thin out a bit. Hit the remaining green weeds with them.

[mrklean]

Saturday while muskie fishing the baitfish were all over the surface every once in awhile I would see a bass blast the surface have to bring my lighter weight stuff next tim

[bassfshin24]

All good responses above. Fish start moving a lot shallower looking to fatten themselves up before winter. I mainly throw a lot of reaction baits in the fall. My top producers year in and year out are lipless crank, squarebill, spinnerbait, chatterbait, jerkbait, and some sort of topwater. I've also done well on swim jigs. I try to target that last remaining healthy weeds in the lake. Also shallow rocks are really good as well. And one of my favorite things to do in the fall is hit docks with a jig. Usually my biggest fish of the year comes in the fall and usually is on a jig caught off a dock. You certainly got my excited talking about this already. Can't wait for those cool 40 degree mornings :-)

[bemidjibasser]

I would go with big baits, like musky sized baits. You might not catch a lot of fish, but they will be nice ones!

[RuddyDuck]

I think Fall took a break! Suppose to cool down a bit this weekend though.

[bassfshin24]

I was out on a smaller Metro lake on Wednesday morning and it sure seemed like the fish are starting to get into a fall patter. Probably caught 20 bass and 10 pike in 3 hours. Not sure the big girls have come out of the depths yet but did get a couple around 3lbs. Most of my fish were caught in less than 6ft of water. They were absolutely destroying a KVD 1.5 in bluegill color and a Strike King swim jig in bluegill color as well. I did get a couple fish on a jig as well. Things should only get better from here on out. 

[Stick in Mud]

The bite on my local lakes slowed down as the higher temps stuck around through the weekend and into early this week, but before that, the topwater bite was absolutely on fire, especially on cloudy days.  I'm very happy to feel that chilly north wind this morning and to see a little cloud cover.  Might be a good day to skip out of work a little early.  Thankfully my performance review is always in the summer, so my frequent afternoon absences in the fall are forgotten by the time the next review period rolls around. Or at least I hope they are.

A few more cold nights, and the pads will really start to thin out.  Maybe enough to slide a buzzbait through.  Then it's game on.  It's my absolute favorite time of year...fewer recreational boats, fewer anglers, and big bass that are looking for topwaters.  Does it get any better?!?  

[mrklean]

What do you guys like to use for topwaters buzzbaits frogs stuff like that?

[Stick in Mud]

If I can get them to bite on a buzzbait, I'll use that, especially as the lily pads thin out with the cooling water temps.   Usually, though, I'm throwing a frog.  Hooking percentage isn't that great, but I can survive a few missed fish if the strikes are that much fun.

[mrklean]

Awesome I think I will be making a trip to cabelas today I think I have one scum frog and that's it might be time to upgrade 

[ssaamm]

River smallies. Jigs and crankbaits. 

 

[thatoneguy]

A few from Leech on Sunday. Wind was wayyyyyyy rough so most of them came on 10" worms, but we found a couple of spots calm enough to get them to eat a frog. The fishing is gonna get better and better!

Edited September 23, 2015 by thatoneguy

[RuddyDuck]

Nice fish!

They seem to be pickin up a little around here. Went out last night for a quick trip and got a few. They were chasing squarebills, lipless and spinnerbaits. Biggest was a 19in and an 18in. Water was still 68 down here. I'm guessin up there it is a bit cooler. I will be heading up to Akeley this weekend, so I guess I will find out.

[thatoneguy]

Water on Leech was 61 when we started, 64 when we ended. Will likely be in the high 50s when I get out there tomorrow morning. I'll post an updated report.

[RuddyDuck]

This cool week should drop the temps quite a bit. I was out around here on Monday and temps were still upper 60's then. The buzz bait bite was decent as I got several on one late morning. Had to deal with alot of pike too. They sure like those buzz baits.

 

[MN BassFisher]

Yeah these cold nights and this stretch we're having should drop the water temps quite a bit! I was out with @bassfshin24 on Monday afternoon and he was reading 70 degrees still on a metro lake. 

[Juan Grande]

I fished with RumRiverRat on Saturday and he fished the same lake a week earlier and said the water temps dropped 10 degrees.  They were in the upper 50s.  I fished a 100 acre local lake yesterday and in the afternoon they were about 62 degrees. 

[Hester]

Juan, where has rum been? Haven't seen him on here in a long time. 

[RuddyDuck]

I fished with RumRiverRat on Saturday and he fished the same lake a week earlier and said the water temps dropped 10 degrees.  They were in the upper 50s.  I fished a 100 acre local lake yesterday and in the afternoon they were about 62 degrees. 

So how was fishing Sunday? Anything biting?

[Juan Grande]

He's still on here Hester, he's SwimBaitChucker or something now.  

Ruddy, I thought fishing would be better, but pretty slow.  I got a couple decent ones pitching jigs to docks and a nice 3 1/2 on a downed tree.  Nothing going on the rocks or in the weeds, however.  

[rascal23]

I've been getting out a fair amount lately. Spent 5 days the last week of Sep. around Eveleth. We fished some new water and old favs. Generally, the bass bit real well all days. Water temps were right around 63-64 then and weather was a beautiful overcast calm pattern that finally broke to a little sun by Sat. Fished a lot of different stuff, with a t-rigged or jig worm being most consistent - straight tail "trick" mainly. Various others on cranks, topwater, and swimjigs. Had to have weeds, shallow and mid depending on the lake. Not so much on deep weeds. Had a real fun day on a mine reservoir west of Hibbing that gave up a few big fish up to 20" plus a bonus fat 33" pike, nearly all on trick worm.

  Around here this week, mon was a little tough on Chisago, but in certain areas got a number of fish on worms and square bills. Jigs not so much.   Switched lakes on Tues and fishing was much better, jigs finally working as well as worms along with squarebills and flicker shads. All shallow weeds or pads- 5ft or less.  A lot of fish but nothing over 18".  Water temps are still around 61-63.  I would like to see it cooler cause the prime time will get squeezed more and more into a short time later this month. Gotta go hit another one today.

rascal