Dialing in the fall transition can be a little bit tricky to the average Bass Joe out there. Just when you think you have the early-fall/late-summer pattern dialed in, presto, everything changes. Depths change, structure changes, fish start to act differently and spend their time in different parts of your lake’s topography.
Fortunately, they bite like mad most of the time. The trick is to quickly recognize the factors that are influencing bass this month, and to follow them through their transition.
Who better to help you tackle the transition than four-time Bassmaster Classic champion Kevin VanDam and four-time Classic runner up Aaron Martens?
Listen up, kiddies. This is good stuff:
KVD on: Where to start
“It’s all about forage in the fall, and almost anywhere you go in the country, it’s baitfish. There are a few fisheries where they don’t have a lot of baitfish and you have to figure out the other forage, but for the most part, it’s first about finding baitfish.”
KVD on: Shad
“Universally, shad are really critical. They’ll start moving back shallower when the water cools down; in reservoirs, they’ll go to the back of creeks; in rivers, they’ll move toward feeder streams; they’ll move up to flats. You’re really targeting whatever habitat is available around those areas. In some places, there isn’t any structure: it’s deep water. In highland reservoirs, they’ll be out off of points, schooling. In lowland lakes, they’ll be in the backs of creeks, around stump and laydowns. Or around grass: Wherever there’s grass, they move in. You want the best hint where shad are schooling? Look for birds. They’re better than any electronics.”
KVD on: Fall baits
“Spinnerbaits and shallow cranks are really my go-to tools in the fall. A redeye shad pattern like a KVD 1.5 and a willowleaf spinnerbait are my dominant fall baits. For me it’s power fishing time: Buzzbaits can be good over grass, too, it just depends on the region. No matter what, though, I’m almost always fishing horizontal presentations where you can cover some water and look for these fish.”
Martens on: Fall jigs
“Places like Cachuma and Casitas fish similarly, and it might surprise people to hear that I throw a jig a lot in the fall. The last two times I fished Casitas in November and December, I caught 30 to 50 fish a day and didn’t throw anything else but a ½-ounce jig. I was just crushing them on it in 40 feet of water. It’s pretty simple: 10-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon line, a 3/8- to ¾-ounce football-head jig, a 7-foot Megabass 772 rod, and a watermelon red or green pumpkin 4- or 5-inch Yamomoto twin tail.”
Martens on: Spinnerbaits
“You might never throw a spinnerbait, but always have a spinnerbait rod on deck, because you’re going to need it if the wind picks up. You might go three or four days and not throw a spinnerbait, but there might be that one day, and you’ll catch the heck out of them on a spinnerbait. This time of year it’s all shad colors: chrome, nickel, gold with a natural shad skirt like pearl/chartreuse, pearl/black, silver.”