The reason I put a question mark on the title of this thing is because a lot of guys have been having trouble getting on the fall bite this year. Here’s the thing — the fall frenzy doesn’t go on all the time. It starts and stops depending upon the calendar and the weather.
And, I think a lot of anglers are getting a little in front of themselves. I’m in New Jersey. That’s farther north than most of the country and the bass are still transitioning from summer to fall and winter. They are not in the backs of the creeks yet.
I’d put the fall season into three categories. The first one is a tough bite as the fish are moving from their summer haunts into the shallow areas where the shad and other minnows are collecting. I say tough only because the fish can be hard to find when they’re moving. It’s not tough because they aren’t feeding.
The next one is when the bite is on. The minnows are back in the creeks and so are the bass. They destroy spinnerbaits, vibrating jigs, crankbaits, plastic minnows and almost anything else you throw in their direction.
This is the classic fall frenzy that everyone reads and dreams about. It doesn’t last long but if you’re fortunate enough to hit it right you can have the best day of your fishing life.
After that, it’s another tough bite. That happens when post frontal, high pressure conditions take hold, the sky turns deep blue and the fish move back out, off the shallows. Matters get worse when this happens because the water is usually clear and they turn skittish and well as slow to feed.
You can think of the tough conditions as bookends between the furious bite. That frustrates a lot of guys because they either can’t go fishing when the bite is on or they don’t want to fish when the bite is on. One of those things can’t be solved. The other one can be solved.
If you can’t go fishing after the fish have moved into the shallows, there’s really nothing you can do about it. Your family comes first. You have to fish during the tough times.
But, if the fish are shallow and it’s cold — cloud cover, wind, spitting cold rain — then you need to have a talk with yourself, suck it up and head towards your favorite lake.
That’s the way I look at fall bass fishing.
Before next week’s column I want you to do a few things. First, dig out a handful of crankbaits, all shad finished. One group should run in the 4-6 foot range. The other should dive into the 8-10 foot range. Use whatever you like. My choice is the Rapala DT series with a Disco Shad finish.
You also need to put together your drop shot box with a good spinning rod. I use Abu Garcia rods and reels, Berkley plastics and VMC hooks. You’ll also need a few wacky rig hooks and a dozen or so finesse worms. Again, I use VMC hooks and Berkley plastics.
Next Monday we take a close look at how to use the crankbaits to find, and catch, the transition bass. And, we’ll talk about how to use a drop shot rig and a wacky worm to find, and catch, the post frontal bass.
Mike Iaconelli’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter or visit his website, mikeiaconelli.com.
