Top-To-Bottom Fall Bait Strategy
Mark Rose loves it when everything falls into place and creates a great day on the water. Often, that’s just what happens as the year draws to a close and the autumn cooldown ignites the bass fishing scene.
“Obviously, it’s been hot, water temperatures have been warm, it’s been kinda hard to stay out there, and the fish haven’t been feeding as well,” Rose said of the recently departed summer heat. “Also, there are many tournaments on most of the popular reservoirs, so the waters have been crowded. But once the fall temperature changes occur, you see less fishing pressure (because a lot of people are hunting), water temperatures are dropping, and that’s grouping up the baitfish. Bass will always go where the bait goes, and that’s why fall fishing is so good — the baitfish come out of deep water and get really shallow.”
Find the Fish
Experience has taught Rose that fall bass will be looking up much of the time, as they watch for baitfish that spend a lot of time holding near the surface. Experience has also shown him that bass don’t always follow the script.
“You need to be ready to cover the water column this time of year,” Rose said. “Sometimes, the bait is just down lower. I’ve seen many times when everything is on the bottom on cloudy days; but you might also have times when they’ll bite a topwater all day. It can change day to day, so you have to keep an open mind.”
When the fish are up high in the water column, but he needs to cover water and find them, Rose likes a 1/8-ounce Strike King Mini Pro Buzz. He’ll remove the skirt and add a Strike King Menace Grub or a 3.25 Strike King Rage Swimmer to mimic a dashing shad.
“If I know where they are, I’m throwing a Strike King Sexy Dog Jr. with the Mustad Alpha Point Inline Triple Grip trebles,” Rose said.
At the opposite extreme, Rose keeps a shaky head ready for tempting fish holding near the bottom. A good option here is Mustad’s A-Tak Standup Jig Head with a 6.5-inch LIVETARGET Finesse Worm.
“If I come up to a stump or some other piece of cover, or if the fish just go down, a shaky head’s a good way to get them on the bottom,” Rose said.
For tempting fish in the mid-depths, Rose turns to a 1/4- or a 1/2-ounce Strike King Redeye Shad. Here, too, he’ll retrofit his lipless bait with Mustad Alpha Point Inline Triple Grip trebles.
“You need a topwater and something like a worm on the bottom, but if you have a lipless crankbait, you can fish it from a foot under the surface to as deep as you need to go. If the grass is not too bad, I’ll use No. 2 trebles, but if there’s more vegetation, I’ll go with No. 4s.”
Action Everywhere
As Rose points out, the fact that fish are on the move this time of year can present some challenges, mostly in terms of staying on the bite. That’s why the top-to-bottom bait strategy is so important.
On the flipside, Rose appreciates the fact that fall fishing can actually simplify the search. You gotta cover water and look for them, but fall bass leave lots of clues.
“You'll see the bass busting, and schooling, so even if you don’t have forward-facing sonar, you can just sit off the points and you’ll eventually see them. The baitfish are roaming around, and the bass will follow them wherever they go.
“Sometimes, you can set up on wide open flats, but you’ll have to visually find them. However, if you set up on a point or some kind of ambush spot, you’re gonna find them a lot easier because the fish will come to you.”