Fall bass fishing is some of the most rewarding fishing we do all year long. The warm, sunny days become shorter and cool, crisp evenings prevail. Dropping temperatures and diminishing sunlight, along with the presence of schooling baitfish, are the main forces that drive largemouth and smallmouth bass to feed more aggressively this time of year. The action is faster, the bite windows are shorter, and the fish—many of which are still fat with the fruits of summer—are tacking on pounds before winter conditions take hold.
With On The Water’s Fall Brawl Tournament around the corner, we’re looking at tackle and gear that will bring more (and bigger) bass to hand through cold fronts, unpredictable autumn storms, and seasonal changes in diet.
More than any other season, fall bass fishing requires covering all of your bases. Soft-plastic minnows, bladed jigs, jerkbaits, glidebaits, and topwaters are all in play. The OTW Bass Club’s Fall Brawl Box includes a handful of reliable bass baits that will check those boxes, but here are a few others that deserve real estate in your tackle trays around the autumnal equinox.
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Finesse Minnow Bait
Rapala CrushCity Mooch Minnow (4.5-inch)
The CrushCity Mooch Minnow is now available in a 4 1/2-inch size and a wide selection of natural colors. Over the past year since its release, this finesse-style soft plastic has become a mainstay for anglers targeting pressured or lethargic bass eating shad or herring fry, which makes it a great choice for the fall. Even with minimal movement imparted, its tapered tail quivers and shimmies by design, and in cooler water, when bass are feeding but can be a little more selective, that subtle action draws strikes.
Because the Mooch Minnow floats and hovers horizontally in the water column, it’s an ideal bait for use with forward-facing sonar and/or finesse techniques, like drop-shotting.
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At 4 1/2 inches, the Mooch Minnow’s larger profile will stand out in lakes and ponds with strong populations of common shiners, alewife, and other schooling baitfish.
Also available in 2 1/2- and 3 1/2-inch sizes.
Prime Season: Mid-September to early November
Dice & Creature Baits
Strike King Sexy Bug
The Sexy Bug is a versatile soft plastic that works best on a Texas rig, Carolina rig, or as a jig trailer, so you can fish it from shallow cover to deep structure as the weather gets colder. The bait’s ribbed body generates minuscule vibrations that draw the attention of nearby bass, and the appendages squirm and flutter with each pause-and-drop or twitch during a slow retrieve.
As a jig trailer, the Sexy Bug adds just the right amount of bulk and provides a tantalizingly lazy but deliberate undulating action that entices bass to eat in cooler water. It’s a great choice for anglers fishing mid-depth transition areas like ledges and weed lines, where bass are prowling for craws and juvenile baitfish.
In rivers and streams, the Sexy Bug also makes for a strong hellgrammite imitation. Consider rigging it on a bare ball head jig or Ned head, and hop or swim it over rocky bottom through current seams and deeper pools.
Prime Season: Mid-October to late November
Chatterbait
Z-Man Chatterbait Micro Max
Later in the fall, as air and water temperatures rapidly drop, so should the size of your bait. The cooler the water, the less energy bass will expend in pursuit of a large meal; they look for easy pickings, and the Z-Man Chatterbait Micro Max delivers. Available in 3/16- and 1/4-ounce models, it’s light enough to fish over shallow cover like dying grass beds, but heavy enough to be fished along the deep edge of a rocky point.
With a slow retrieve and an occasional pause, the small bladed jighead produces heavy vibrations that, even in chilly water, are enough to make lethargic bass investigate.
Add your jig trailer of choice and fish the Chatterbait Micro Max tight to bottom, to rock or timber, or to schooling baitfish in open water.
Prime Season: Early September to mid-November
Glidebait/Swimbait
Spro Sashimmy Swimmer 125
The Sashimmy Swimmer 125 is an early autumn killer. When bass first sense a change in pressure or water temperature, they feed more recklessly to pack on the pounds before the winter months, and that’s the time to throw a mid-size swimbait. Weighing just 3/4 oz. and measuring about 5 inches, the Sashimmy 125 is beefy enough to dupe a big perch-eating largemouth, and small enough to get bit among schools of juvenile alewives or sunfish.
This appetizing swimbait also falls at a rate of 1/2 foot per second, which makes it easier to target bass in different portions of the water column when they’re bouncing between deep and shallow habitat in search of food and comfortable conditions.
Now available in 7 new colors.
Prime Season: Early September to mid-October
Crankbait
Strike King Hardliner 35
The Strike King Hardliner 35 weighs 5/16 ounces, measures 3.5-inches long, and has a running depth of 3 to 5 feet, which is the money zone during the early fall before bass transition to spending more time in deep water. It’s an ideal size for matching fall forage—not too big to spook pressured fish, but substantial enough to draw strikes from quality bass.
What’s unique about the Hardliner is its flat-sided design—similar to old balsa wood crankbaits—which allows it to swim with a tight, erratic wobble that works great at various retrieve speeds and bumps cover like rocks and stumps without issue. Whether you retrieve it fast, slow, or steady, it’s an ideal choice for running through creek channels, over grass flats, and other areas where baitfish congregate during the fall.
Prime Season: Early September to mid-October
Topwater
Rapala ClapTail 110
While the summer months are often considered prime time for topwater baits, the early fall is just as productive. Warm days give way to cool nights, and with young-of-the-year baitfish on the move, bass move shallow to feed during low-light periods like dawn and dusk. The ClapTail 110 measures 4 3/8 inches with a profile that resembles an array of bait, from bluegills and shiners to small shad and perch. Its prop-style tail and dorsal blade work to create a flashy commotion that mimics a panicked baitfish or school of bait.
Cast this noisy-but-natural topwater over submerged timber and beneath overhangs to pick up hungry largemouth lingering in the shallows for an easy meal.
Prime Season: Early September to early October
Jerkbait
Spro McDart 110
Early spring aside, there’s no better time for a suspending jerkbait than mid to late fall. The Spro McDart weighs 1/2-ounce and includes an internal weight transfer system, so it’s capable of long-distance casts. Its wide lip produces a more erratic side-to-side darting action than its cousin, the Spro McStick, to trigger violent strikes from bass in 4- to 6-foot depths.
One of the most overlooked benefits of this suspending jerkbait is its chip-resistant coating, which maintains its natural appearance whether it’s bumping hard cover like rock, or getting beat down by big bass.
Prime Season: Mid-October to late November
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