Blade Bait Presentations for Fall Bass Fishing by Mark Fong

Spinnerbaits for a fall bass presentation

FALL 2017

strikes from neutral fish by making the blades flutter erratically and the skirt pulsate. This action can be achieved by popping the tip of the rod or by speeding up, stopping or stuttering the rate at which you crank the reel handle.

MULTI-SPECIES APPS

Largemouth: Burning a spinnerbait has universal bass appeal – it works on all species of bass.

When the largemouth bass get out on flats with scattered grass, as they are known to do in the fall on Clear Lake and the Delta, burning a lipless crankbait is standard operating procedure.

May I suggest an alternative?

Try hyper winding a spinnerbait past the visible clumps of grass. Not only can you cover a lot of water efficiently; but,

you can also give fish that see plenty of lipless cranks a different look.

Spotted Bass: On deep clear water reservoirs like Shasta and Oroville, schools of marauding spotted bass will suspend on main lake points and bluffs, waiting for their chance to ambush schools of shad or pond smelt. First thing in the morning, a walk-the-dog style topwater bait can provide fast action. However, once the sun gets higher in the sky, the surface bite has a tendency to wane.

Instead of switching to the dropshot or a dart

head worm, try bulging a spinnerbait just under

the surface of the water. Spots will come a long

way to smash your blade and just watching

this unfold before your eyes is something to

behold.

Smallmouth: Take a lesson from our friends

in the Northeast,

when smallmouth

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