I’m only 23, but if I live to be 109, being in Jordan Hare Stadium last November to witness Chris Davis’ “Kick Six” to beat ‘Bama in the final seconds of the 78th Iron Bowl will be one of the coolest memories of my life.
Man, how can ya’ not love college football?
But also, how can you not love October bass fishing? In my opinion, it’s the kick-off to the best bass fishing of the year. Why? The fish move shallow, and they’re not distracted by the spawn like they are in the spring. Instead, they’re shallow in October for one simple reason — to feed-up for their natural anticipation of winter.
Back of Creeks: You may be tired of hearing that shad move to the back of creeks this time of year, but it’s true, so go where the groceries are. Start looking for bass mid-way to the very, very, back of the major creeks on your favorite lake.
You Can’t Go Too Shallow: Nick Marshall may be looking ‘deep’ for receiver Sammie Coates this weekend, but you need to be looking for largemouth in super shallow water right now. When I say shallow, I’m talking from 8” to 4-feet deep.
Look for off colored water: The benefit of off-colored water is that it naturally forces bass to stay shallow because it’s easier for them to find and eat shad and other forage when the depth of the water column is limited.
Visible Cover: Another reason I love fishing in the fall so much is that you’re casting at visible targets including boat docks and laydowns.
Lures: You can’t hardly beat the three lures I’ve got hanging on the football in the photo, and you can use them in combination with one another in shallow, off-colored water around visible habitat.
It’s hard to beat a 3/8 ounce spinnerbait if you’ve got wind and clouds. But on days when there’s not a lot of wind, I like to pick up the XCalibur Square Lip 100 crankbait tied to 15 or 17 pound fluorocarbon line for casting around laydowns, stumps and rocks. It deflects really well, and gets a lot of ‘reaction strikes’.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have the courage to cast a shallow squarebill into fairly heavy cover. If you’re afraid of getting snagged, you’re simply not going to catch as many fish.
Plus, a 3/8 ounce black and blue jig is pretty much a must have, especially if you’re around shallow docks and need a lure to skip up under them.
The cool thing about this time of year is that the fishing is just going to get better and better with each passing week … all the way to the college bowl season, and I’m planning on us being a part of the new 4-team College Football Playoff. War Eagle!
