Get in the Swim for Early Fall

Location by Darl Black photos by the author Where should you look for lake-bound Smallmouth Bass during the early fall? Smallmouth Bass inhabit a variety of impounded waters, making it difficult to address all the possible specifics in detail. However, here It has been a long, hot summer. Catching Smallmouth are some generalizations. Bass during this timeframe from lakes has been tough for Start by checking the shallower sections of hard bottom many anglers, because Smallmouth Bass usually suspend mid-lake humps and long main-lake points. Rip-rap areas in the water column or mill around key spots of off-shore on causeways are always worth investigating, as well as the structure. While some daytime feeding forays occur under rip-rap on the face of a dam if you are permitted to fish certain weather conditions, the majority of bronzebacks along it. hunt their prey from late evening through early morning. Although a massive weed bed on a shoreline flat is With the arrival of September, impending changes are usually the home of , Smallmouth in the air. Even though daytime temperatures may still Bass often run the outside and inside edges of the thick feel more like summer than fall, the cooler nights and vegetation in the fall. However, if you find a flat with shorter days result in a gradual drop in water temperature. submersed vegetation interspersed with hard bottom When water temperature falls into the mid 60-degrees F channels of sand and gravel or sporadic rock outcroppings, and continues to slide downward to the low 50-degrees you have also likely found fall Smallmouth Bass. F, Smallmouth Bass in lakes are on the move. Bass follow On lakes that lack weed growth—especially flood-control baitfish schools to shallower water and feed more ravenously lakes—concentrate on areas with bottom composition of during daylight hours. either gravel or small cobble rock, or broken chunk rock in

24 Pennsylvania Angler & Boater • September/October 2018 www.gonefishingpa.com depths less than 12 feet if the water is clear and less than 8 feet if the lake is dingy. Flood control in the lakes are being drawn down in the fall, forcing Get Swim fish to retreat ahead of the falling level. However, if heavy rains result in the lake level rising into the grassy and brushy edge of the shoreline, forget everything else, tie on a swim jig and go shallow with the rising water. Lures In the early fall, Smallmouth Bass have a single track mindset—baitfish. So, if you are pursuing Smallmouth Bass, you need to have a similar mindset. Use artificial lures that are worked with a constant retrieve to imitate fleeing baitfish or lures with an intermittent or erratic retrieve to The topwater bite for Smallmouth Bass during the early fall is great. imitate injured baitfish. Avoid bottom-bumping baits or other slow presentations. Keep moving and cover water, because Smallmouth Bass are on the move during this time of year. Here are my favorites: somewhat fish-like shape lure is a slow sinker. 1. Dog-walking topwater lure—Walking-the-dog retrieve A nail weight can be inserted to make the bait (side-to-side sashay imparted on certain surface baits) sink faster or positioned to help it perform more is representative of an injured baitfish floundering erratically. Nose-hooking a soft jerkbait with a #1 on the surface. The traditional walking bait is a cigar- drop shot hook provides better action as well as shaped lure, but lure designers have balanced newer increasing hook-up ratio with fish. With practice, chuggers and poppers to walk if the correct rod the angler can make this piece of plastic do all sorts manipulation is applied. Developing the proper rod of acrobatic fish-like moves. Jumping across the cadence of downward snaps and pauses takes practice. surface, frantic splashing followed by a long sinking Hold on tight. drift and slow side-to-side subsurface swimming are 2. Suspending hard jerkbait—A slender minnow-shaped among the many tricks. plug that is pulled below the surface and paused for 4. on fish head spinner—A recent Bassmaster several seconds is another injured baitfish imitator that Classic winning lure, this combination lure is a great drives Smallmouth Bass crazy. Once again, the proper substitute for the overused . It fishes well in cadence must be developed to make this lure effective. open water in depths to 15 feet with a slow roll retrieve Some days a faster cadence works while other days a as well as around visible cover in shallower water. slower cadence with longer pauses produces. Experiment 5. Swim jig—Not intended as a bottom-bouncing with the number and timing of pulls and pauses. jig, the unique design of a swim jig allows it to be 3. Soft jerkbait—Do not confuse this firm soft plastic maneuvered by the angler through weed and wood bait with a hard body jerkbait. The 41/2- to 51/2-inch cover with a slow, steady retrieve. Choosing skirt and twister-tail grub colors allows the angler to customize a swim jig, so it resembles various baitfish like small , sunfish, shad or shiners.

The author’s favorite early fall baits for lake Smallmouth Bass (left to right from top): swimbait on a fish head spinner, dog-walking topwater lure, swim jig, soft jerkbait and suspending hard jerkbait.

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