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Fall 2022
A
s the calendar pages continue to flip, moving
from late summer into early fall, most of the
lakes and rivers are being drawn down for winter, and the endless amounts of lush, green vegetation
begin thinning out and dying.
Most bass anglers are used to fishing vegetation during
the summer months, but sometimes leave it in the fall
when it becomes scarce, or it is harder to find the healthy,
green, vegetation; but they don’t have to.
There are things an angler can look for to help increase
their odds when fishing
vegetation in the fall, as
well some key lures that
will help cover water and
load the boat.
Some of my favorite
methods for locating
quality vegetation in the
fall are reaction style baits
that allow me to search
out active bass and find
green healthy-looking
weeds. Green vegetation is
important as they will still
be putting oxygen into in
the water.
On river systems, or
lakes where bass live in
shallower water, I like to
use a buzzbait and hollow-
bodied frog. Both lures allow me to keep my foot on the Minn Kota Ultrex at a constant speed, while casting a War Eagle Buzz Toad along the edge of vegetation and over top submerged grass.
When I find some of that last vegetation of the season that is matted, I’ll work a Snag Proof Bobby’s Perfect frog over that matted cover, along with walking the frog back to the boat over open water. Being that some of this matted vegetation is very thick, and I want to make long casts. Using a braided line is an absolute must for frogging, so I
will spool my reel with 65-lb Seaguar Smackdown
Braid in Stealth Grey.
When fishing shallow water some key things to
look for are depth changes and isolated cover. Even
subtle changes can attract bass like when a bank
goes from 2- to 2 1/2-feet, chances are that slight
depth change is going to attract a bass.
An isolated piece of cover
such as a lay down or a small
group of lily pads is just a
perfect place for bass to
feed. In the fall when
you find fish on an
isolated piece of cover,
chances are that you
are going to catch
several bass there,
because they will all be
holding that one piece of
cover.
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