®
Fall 2021
page 22
said. “Any type of rock is always going to be good. Laydowns and docks are also good. The key is just to hit everything in front of you and to keep moving.”
Some of the key areas he looks for are hard objects, but he is also mindful of where to look as baitfish are another key.
“It happens every year,” he began. “The groups of fish stage out deeper where most of them spend the summer and then they start running shallower to follow the baitfish migrations. I’ll target flats, channel swings, and other areas to intercept them as they go back to the creeks.”
Ehrler’s top weapon is a standard 1.5 size crankbait and he’s a huge fan of the Lucky Craft 1.5. Almost all of the time, he’s using a pearl threadfin shad color.
“That color works great in dirty water and just as good in clear water situations,” he shared. “It’s a great all-around shad color. The 1.5 is my favorite crankbait for the fall, but I’ll also mix in a BDS 3.”
Like his topwater gear, he has a system for cranking.
“My 7’2” medium-heavy glass cranking rod in the Daiwa Tatula Elite Series was designed especially for the Lucky Craft 1.5,” he shared and added that he would either fish it on 14 or 16-pound Sunline fluorocarbon depending on the cover.
Ehrler is ready with a two-pronged approach of fishing a topwater or a shallow running square bill crankbait when summer turns to fall. It’s worked for him time and time again and he’ll be doing the same thing again this fall. •