Fall is a time of the year when a lot of fisherman change there interest from fishing to hunting, the area lakes become less crowded and the fish are in a feeding frenzy preparing for winter. What better reasons or season to spool on some new Trilene Line on your reels and head to the nearest bass fishery for some exciting action.

Those bass are focused in on eating as many shad as they can possibly catch, so that is the type of bait that you should mimic as you make your lure selection. There are several factors that you need to keep in mind as you choose what to throw.

 1. Match the size and color of the shad. 2. Remember that these fish ARE EATING, and if you are not catching fish on a regular basis, throw something else. 3. Keep it simple, you’ll be amazed at how many bass you can catch on a plain white grub, impaled on a lead head jig.

Now with that said, let me tell you about a few lures that I used last fall and have already caught several bass on this season. One is called the Baby Hoo Daddy, manufactured by the Gene Larew Company, simply place a pearl white with silver sparkle Baby Hoo Daddy on a 1/8-ounce lead head jig and start casting. This lure will catch any fish that eats shad. Another choice is a small white or pearl colored crankbait, like a 2A Bomber or chrome colored RattleTrap. Fish these baits fast and cover a lot of water, remember, these fish are aggressive and are feeding, so don’t waste a lot of time in one area.

Of course one of the major keys to your success will be to find what areas of the lake that the shad are using, that means look for creek channels that have some shallow flat areas around them. Keep your boat in the channel and cast shallow, I’ve found that my Pinpoint Positioning Motor, set on the creek or depth track mode makes this a simple process as it continually analyzes the depth and repositions the boat to keep me in the correct position. Besides it also makes it easier to locate underwater points and ridges as I work my way through the area and these are key locations for the bass to ambush the schools of shad from.

If you’re looking for a great opportunity to introduce someone to the sport of fishing, this is it. Although you may not catch many lunkers you will catch a lot of bass and that’s what makes this time of the year fabulous.

Till next time, practice catch and release and good fishing.