Late Fall Bass Fishing Baits and Techniques

Mike Brown of Clarks Hill, South Carolina, is a member of the PartsVu community and a bass tourney winner. He generously provided invaluable advice to help people interested in improving their bass fishing skills. In this article, he discusses the approaches that work well for late fall bass fishing.

As the water continues to cool, the bait fish migrate further into the shallows. However, don’t ignore main lake points and humps. In my area lakes, the water level has dropped and will likely continue to drop as our drought continues. The drawdown generates current in these main lake areas, and even the slightest current will position bass on the down-current side of points and humps.

The baits that are most successful for these humps and points are nothing new and include topwater walking baits; deep running crankbaits; and finesse baits, such as shaky head jigs and Neko rigs. Work these baits close to the highest point of the hump or point on the downstream side. Tokyo Rigs are a relatively new bait that has emerged and is proving to be successful.

VMC is the first tackle manufacturer to sell Tokyo Rigs in the United States, but I’m certain others will soon follow. I’ve started making my own, but I make them from a different type of soft plastic than the kind used for the current standard worm or creature bait. I attach the weight to a longer wire and use a soft-plastic paddle tail swimbait that continually pulls it across the bottom, making it look like a baitfish swimming along the bed. I am also able to use a bunch of old lead weights that I put in mothballs when I began using tungsten weights.

The main tactic I want to highlight is concentrating on the shallow banks. As the water drops and the baitfish move further back in the creeks and bays, the bass will use the banks to herd the bait, and a feeding frenzy will often occur. The best baits to use are buzz baits, spinner baits, square-bill crankbaits, plopper-style baits (Berkley’s new Chopo has my attention), and frogs. If a bank has a deep edge, don’t forget to have a rattle trap-type bait ready because it can sometimes be a real attention getter from bass that are far away and trigger a feeding spree.

I hope these tips help as you work to perfect your late fall bass fishing techniques. Wishing you tight lines and happy fishing!