Fall is coming and the crankbait bite will heat up as the weather cools off!
We’re heading into that time of year when baitfish will begin to head into the backs of creeks on most ,lakes and rivers, and the bass will start to pile up in there to fatten up on the available forage.
Baitfish are lured into the creeks by cooling water. Baitfish may include,shad,shiners,hitch,bluegill,crappie,minnows and the baby bass that feed on them. The colder the weather gets the more the baitfish will be concentrated. Incoming rains will increase the nutrient level in the water also atracting more baitfish. This will create a great feeding oportunity for bass to feed up in fall and prepare for a long winter. This is a great time to start using shallow diving crankbaits.
Using spinnerbaits and flipping techniques work well, too this time of year, but a crankbait can be a better choice, especially when the water is relatively clear. You will need to cover water quickly to find the bass. Crankbaits make that possible, and they best resemble all the different kinds of forage.
If the water is heavily stained, the vibration of colorado bladed spinnerbait or slowy fishing a jig with a rattle, and flipping craw patterns into cover may work better.
Square-billed crankbaits are a great option because of the erratic action they deliver. The smaller, square-billed body baits are ideal when the bass bunch up in the shallows. If the bass get tough to catch after a storm front in clear water it’s recommended to use a tight wiggling crankbait to force a reaction strike.
If you head into a creek in the fall, You may have multiple rods rigged with different line sizes, baits and colors. The water tends to be a little more stained in the back of creeks than it is near the front of the creek, so be prepared for all the conditions you may run into.
Things to look for, if the water is stained or off colored, the fish will be shallower and holding tighter to the cover, so use heavier line such as 15lb Trilene and a bigger bodied bait. In clear water it is better to use smaller baits in more natural colors.
You need to have the bait hitting bottom or bouncing off cover, so using various line sizes will help this.In shallow water 12-15lb test is your best bet.
Bass will feed on the edges of flats near channels and will set up next to weed edges or stumps to ambush the bait.
Use theese fall crankbait tips to catch more bass!
