Late Fall Largemouth and Smallmouth Tactics.

  There are so many anglers out there who as fall arrives and the air temps become slightly uncomfortable decide to put the boats and fishing gear away until the spring. You are missing out on what is one of the most productive times of year. Maybe not for numbers but for good size bass.  As the water temperature come down into the lower 40's and colder the fish become predictable. They congregate in areas that have these features. Small pond largemouth will find the deepest water. If the pond only has a max depth of 12 feet then that's your best high percentage spot to fish. If your fishing a lake where there is much deeper water then you try to find humps and points. Rises from deep water that come up from 30-40 to 15-20 feet. You will find the smallmouth and largemouth on the edge or on top of this drop. Some days you will catch them up in as shallow as 18 feet some days down to 35. You have to play around and move until you find active fish. If you have a shoreline with a quick steep drop with a lay down falling into the water these are great cold water largemouth spots as well. Two great things about having good electronics is finding these spots with your GPS and also showing you bait and fish on your screen. This is where you should put in a lot of time. Where there is bait there is active fish. Some people have trouble slowing down fishing finesse and deep and I used to be one of them but now i look forward to it. I'm gonna take you through my top 5 lures for this time of year and explain how to fish them. Hope it helps you set more hooks for years to come!



#1   Blade bait.

  I am a huge fan of blade baits for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. They produce from November all the way through March. They offer them in many different sizes but I prefer the 1/2 oz version in most cases. Lots of companies out there make a good blade but my favorites are Vibe and The Silver Buddy.  Color is really up to you. I've had gold, silver and perch all work well. I like to fish them on a 7 foot medium or medium heavy bait casting rod with 20 lb braid and a 12-17 lb fluorocarbon leader. One great thing about a blade bait is how fast they sink which means more time spent in the strike zone.  Once it reaches the bottom i like to lift the bait about 1-2 feet with the rod tip. Reel in your slack while putting the rod tip back down to make contact with the bottom. I repeat this all the way back to the shore or boat. Never have slack in your line as the fish hit very soft hitting on the lift of the bait or more often as its dropping back down. In the past few years i have caught 4 largemouth over 5 lbs and many quality smallmouth on the blade making it my most productive cold water lure. They have these in stock at most Dicks Sporting Goods and Cabales as well as some small tackle shops.

#2  Hair Jig

 Hair jig is a new lure to me this season and i am mad at myself for not fishing them sooner. Again this lure is extremely productive for both bronze and green bass. I am a huge fan of Punisher Lures hair jig. Hand tied and rest back end up when it sits on the bottom and is made with a great quality hook. It is available in 1/4 oz and 3/8th oz. If your fishing less than 20 feet the 1/4 is awesome but fishing deeper than that i use the 3/8th to help save time reaching the bottom. I have done very well on the camo color and black with a crayfish plastic trailer. Green pumpkin for the camo jig and black for the black jig with the claws sticking out just past the end of the hair. I fish these jigs on a 7 foot spinning rod with 10 lb braid and a 8 or 10 lb fluorocarbon leader. If you want to get the bait down even faster you can use straight 6 or 8 lb fluorocarbon. Once you reach the bottom you have two ways you can fish it. Either a slow drag across the bottom or a slow drag with double hops of the rod every 5-10 seconds. Key is keeping it right near the bottom. When they hit you just feel a small tap like you would a bass jig. I have had so much success this past month that it is quickly becoming a favorite cold water lure. You can find these on www.tacklewarehouse.com and www.punisherlures.com.


#3 Drop Shot

  The drop shot has caught me fish on days that no other lure was working. It is one of the most simple ways to fish and can be very very productive for both largemouth and smallmouth. I like to use a 7 foot spinning rod with 6 or 8 lb fluorocarbon for drop shotting. You have an incredible amount of options for drop shot baits. Really its up to you want type of baits you like to throw. I like to use minnow imitations over worm imitations but both work. My favorites are the Lunker City Ribster and Power Minnow twitch tails in natural colors or white. You should tie your hook about 16-18 inches above the weight/bottom. You can drop it right off the side of your boat or even make short cast with it. Once it reaches the bottom i like to twitch it with very small shakes of the rod tip every 5 seconds or so. You will feel a very small tap and swing! If you dont know how to tie a drop shot rig you can look it up on YouTube. Seems harder than it really is. Tie a few practice rigs and you will be good to go.


#4 Bass Jig

 The bass jig is an all year round big bass slayer that I should throw way more often than i do. This lure is primarily a largemouth lure for me. I like to throw a big 3/4 oz black and blue jig with a double skirt and a big chunk trailer into big lay downs (fallen trees) that fall into deep water. I fish this on a 7 foot medium heavy bait caster with 30 lb braid and a 20 lb leader. While casting into a lay down always let it fall on tight line. No slack as 80 % of your strikes will come on the initial drop. If it doesn't get hit on the drop work it slowly back to the boat with some hops until your past the lay down then just reel in and repeat. You will get hung up fishing around trees and you will lose jigs but you will also catch bass so its worth it! You can find bass jigs at almost every store or website that sells fishing gear.


#5 Swim Bait

  Swim baits can be awesome this time of year for smallmouth bass. I like to use the Keitech 3.8 swing impact on a 1/2 oz jig head. Blue gill colors and natural colors have worked best. I fish this on a 7 foot medium action bait caster with 20 lb braid and a 12 lb fluorocarbon leader. You let this fall to the bottom on a tight line as occasionally the fish will hit it on the fall. Once on the bottom you reel it in as slow as you can possibly reel. Stopping every so often to let the bait fall back to the bottom. The fish sometimes slam the bait other times just tap it. Just be ready to set. You can get these on many websites and stores and other paddle tail baits can be very good but the keitech has produced best for me with perfect tail action at slow speeds.


Now get out there and catch some bass and i hope you all practice catch and release!

By:

Joe Jacobowitz