Thanksgiving usually brings a lot of family time, but it can also give you a little time to get on the water, either on a local lake that has been left alone while many outdoorsmen focus more on hunting season, or on a relative’s farm pond. If you do decide to go fishing during the holiday, the tips from these pros
might help you put a few more in the boat or on the bank. Casey Martin – Lake Guntersville, Alabama
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“This time of year is when I do a lot of my fishing,” says the Keystone Light pro. “I love it because everyone is up in a tree, and I have the lake to myself. There are thousands of boats zipping around Guntersville in the summer, and the fall is a really peaceful time to just enjoy fishing.”
Martin says that with the water temperature hovering just below 50 degrees, flexibility would be paramount.
“This week, I’d be looking for areas in the backs of creeks with shad, or for fish that are grouped up deeper in wintertime places,” he says.
Martin recommends throwing a Rat-L-Trap or a spinnerbait (with blades sized to the forage) for the fish keying on bait, or towing an umbrella rig or single swimbait for the deeper bass. Austin Terry – O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas
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Though a lot of the lakes in Terry’s area are low and fishing tough, he says that if he did go fishing instead of hunting that he would take a shot at a Texas lunker on Ivie.
“Fall can be hit or miss,” he says. “Some days you will catch a lot of fish, but nothing big. Other days you might only catch a few, but one will be a 9-pounder.
“The crankbait bite is good now,” Terry continues. “You just have to look for the offshore structure that has shad on it. Ivie has a lot of man-made stuff, like artificial reefs and old foundations, that fits the bill.”
Terry, who finished 16th in AOY points on the Walmart FLW Tour this year, also says that running the banks with a big topwater, such as a Black Dog Lunker Punker, can be a good way to catch a giant. Failing that, he suggests that throwing a jerkbait anywhere there was bait would at least pick up some little fish. Philip Jarabeck – Virginia
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Jarabeck has been fishing up a storm this fall, but not necessarily for largemouth bass.
“I’ve been going to Kerr Lake and catching stripers on an umbrella rig,” he details. “It doesn’t matter what the weather is, all the long, flat clay points on the main river are loaded with bait and fish.”
Jarabeck recommends looking for birds or bait and then throwing an umbrella rig – the one he uses is homemade and has shorter and stouter wires for extra durability.
“I’ve caught up to 80 fish on it, boat-flipping them and everything, before I broke it,” he says. “The fishing is just amazing now. There are 5- to 15-pound stripers all over, and there are some really nice bass mixed in.”
If stripers really aren’t your thing, Jarabeck says that getting around docks with bait on Smith Mountain Lake would certainly produce some bass.
“It’s not rocket science right now,” he says. “There are a lot of fish up shallow, and a jig or a shaky-head rig will catch them.” Adrian Avena – New Jersey
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Though Avena has spent much of his fall on the ocean guiding for stripers, he still enjoys pond fishing as much as anyone, and growing up in New Jersey has afforded him plenty of opportunity to hone his skills.
“Most little lakes and ponds used to be some kind of swamp or lowland before they got dammed up,” says Avena. “For me, this time of year, that means you want to find the creek channel. It seems like the fish will all suck down into that deeper water.”
Avena suggests that because the forage in most ponds is small, downsizing baits would be important. He recommends tossing a 1/4-ounce Stan Sloan’s Zorro Baits Booza Bug, a Lucky Craft Pointer 65 or your favorite lipless crankbait in the 1/4-ounce size. With smaller baits comes lighter line – Avena typically starts at 6-pound test with rods to match.
“Most little ponds have a lot of grass in them in the summer, and that tends to scatter the fish,” Avena explains. “This time of year the fish can really be concentrated in a certain area, and that can be really fun.”