As the fall progresses, look for the bass on the river to begin to migrate toward their wintering areas. As the amount of light each day continues to diminish, this triggers the baitfish and bass to begin to move. Look for the bass to use hard cover like rock and wood, both man-made and natural. The bass like to stop on this type of cover that is positioned on the main river adjacent to the wintering areas picking off easy meals as the bait fish search for deeper areas that are protected from the main river current.Its crankbait time! I love to fish tidal rivers in the fall. The crank bait bite comes alive and the bass are aggressive as they prepare for the long cold winter. Some of my best crankbait choices this time of year the Bagley’s DKBII, Wiggle Wart , Pete’s Quiet Killer, Bomber Flat A. When the bass are in the current and really aggressively striking lures, I like the Bagley’s and Wiggle Wart. These are wide wobbling crankbaits that both have a big presence in the water. The Bagley’s is silent and the Wiggle Wart has rattles and makes a bunch more noise. I switch between the two baits until I can find out the noise level the bass are striking best. They both work well in current and run between 4-6 feet on 10-12 pound test.
When the bass are less aggressive I really like the flat side cranks. This can happen when the current is light or the water is very clear or the sun is shinning bright. The Bomber Flat A is a great flat side that fishes well in the 4-6 foot range. When the fish are very shallow relating to the eel grass or remaining hydrilla I
use Pete’s Quiet Killer. I designed this bait to be fished around grass in the 1-3 foot zone and to trigger strikes from bass that are not aggressive. The Quiet Killer doesn’t have any rattles and does a great job of coming through the grass and triggering strikes from fish that will turn away from more aggressive baits.
Equipment — Denali Rosewood 7′ Cranbait rod, med/heavy, 6:1, Shimano Chronarch, Gamma Edge Fluorocarbon 10-12 pound test.
Crankbait colors — I typically use three colors in all my crankbait fishing. Charturese is the color I use the most. When there are a lot of shad or herring present I use a shad pattern. Finally, I choose a dark craw pattern when I see the presence of crawfish or they seem to be short striking the other colors.
Cranking equipment can be found at www.sfttackle.com.
Guide Trip and On-Water Training Available Dates:
October – 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 23-28, 30, 31 – November — 1-15
To reserve a date, contact Pete at: pete_gluszek@msn.com – (609)805-2280