Fall 2021
A
s summer turns to fall each season, Major
League Fishing pro Brent Ehrler picks up the
pace with his fishing. He turns his attention to moving baits to cover water in search of actively feeding
bass. His years of experience have taught him that this
is the best way to be efficient and get into a fall feeding
frenzy.
TOPWATER TIME
As summer wanes, Ehrler doesn’t put down the topwater. He says it gets more use in the fall as it is a highly effective tool for locating and catching bass.
“Late summer and fall is a time when I always have a topwater tied on,” he said. “The fish are actively feeding on baitfish or schooling, which is the perfect time to fish a topwater.”
He rotates between a traditional walking bait like the Lucky Craft Sammy 108 or a darting and splashing walking bait like the Gunfish 95. Both of these baits will likely be in the Chartreuse Shad or Ghost Minnow, depending on water clarity.
“The Sammy is very versatile and you can fish it slow or very fast to cover water,” said the California pro. “The fact that it has three trebles is a good thing, too, and helps me have a better chance at hooking and landing those fish. The Gunfish is an awesome bait for schooling fish but can be fished quickly to cover water as well.”
This time of year, his plan is to go into search mode and he fishes fast.
“I cover a ton of water,” he said. “I tend to start with the main lake stuff before going back into the creeks. If it’s a reservoir, I still start on the outer area and look for flats, hopefully with brush or some other cover on them. If that’s not working, I’ll start to move into the
secondary points and further back into the pockets and coves.”
One promising sign, no matter what type of fishery he is on, is grass. It’s proven to be an essential ingredient for his topwater success for years and happens each fall.
“Some type of vegetation is key for fall topwater fishing,” said Ehrler. “This is even more important when you are fishing the main lake stuff. If no can find some isolated stumps and rocks mixed in, even better.”
Ehrler has his system down, complete with a specialized topwater rod, high-speed reel, and braided line with a short monofilament leader for topwater gear.
“I like Randy Howell’s signature series Daiwa Tatula Elite rod,” he said. “It’s actually a 7’ medium-light lipless rod, but it has a real soft tip. It casts well, even with light baits and with a braided line; you don’t have to put much pressure on them and risk losing them with small treble hooks.”
He pairs the rod with a Daiwa Tatula Elite SV reel in the 8.1:1 gear ratio that he spools with a 30-pound Sunline braid with a leader of 19-pound Sunline monofilament.
SHALLOW CRANKING
Once he feels that the topwater bite is in the rearview window, Ehrler picks up a crankbait and goes to work.
“Later in the fall, when the topwater bite starts to die,
I start cranking,” he said. “There comes the point
when it is just a little too cold for topwater baits,
but they will definitely still eat a moving bait like
a squarebill crankbait.”
During this bite transition, he turns his
focus to hard cover. His approach is to hit as
much of it as possible on a given day.
“I’m looking for a lot of the same areas
that I would throw a topwater earlier in the
fall, but I’m mainly looking for hard cover,” he
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