Swimbaits in the Fall
Category: Tournament
Oct 4th, 2013 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Oct 4th, 2013 at 12:00 AM
Fishing in the fall on the Coosa River chain or anywhere else for that matter, is a great time to be fishing a swimbait. These baits provide the great baitfish action needed to catch fish. Here are five tips to help you catch more bass in the fall on swimbaits.
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FLW Tour Pro Clent Davis (Tom Leogrande)
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1. Pay attention to the weather. If you are fishing post-frontal conditions, which is often the case here in the South this time of year, make sure you are using a smaller three-inch bait. If the weather is right, and it not just after a high-pressure condition, I would be using a large 7″ to 7.5″ swimbait. Often in these conditions, the bigger the bait, the bigger the fish. Do not be afraid to throw a large swimbait. Water temp for fall swimbaits should be around 75° and falling to the mid 50° range.
2. During this time of year, I will target boat docks and any type of wood or rocks. Bass really like to suspend in the fall, so look for water in the 10′ range, and they can be as deep as 100′. I know that is a wide range, but if you are willing to try and look for those suspended bass with a swimbait, it can pay off. A swimbait is not completely weedless, but it is amazing how many big fish you can catch around the edges of a grass line. If you happen to run up on a group of schooling fish, be sure to cast it out and let it fall. Schooling fish are usually smaller fish, but if you let this bait fall through the smaller fish to the bigger fish beneath, it can be a perfect time to catch a monster.
3. Water clarity determines how fast of a retrieve, to use. If the water clarity is three to five feet, I am going to use a fast retrieve. If the water clarity is less than three-foot, I am going to use a slower retrieve. Just experiment with your retrieve, and let the bass tell you have fast they want it.
4. Here in Alabama, everywhere for that matter, the Alabama Rig has become well known. When I am using it, I like to rig it a little different. I run it with two different size swimbaits. On two hooks I will use Basstrix six-inch swimbaits. On the other three hooks, I will use a three eight-inch Keitech Swimbaits. This is a great bait to use in the tail water of a dam, and around floating docks.
5. When fishing a weighted swimbait I use a 3/8 oz. to 1/8 oz. head. I like to use a 3/0 to 4/0 size hook on a six-inch Basstrix. Some guys like to use larger 5/0 hooks but I think that kills the action of the bait. So, I use the smaller hooks. I also use a new product I saw at ICAST called the Slide-Off Weedguard. This is a great tool to that makes any swimbait weedless and much easier to fish around weeds and wood.
This year try something new during the fall, spend some time fishing a swimbait and see if you catch more fish.