These are the bass fishing lures you should always have in the fall.
While it's still cold outside, the bass begin to gorge themselves on anything they can find. This makes for some phenomenal fishing if you throw the right lures.
When those cold fronts are hitting consistently this time of year, bass become erratic. Some stay put in deeper water, others move in shallow, and the rest start chasing schooling shad into creeks. This means anglers will need to cover a lot of water, but also stay strategic at the same time to land big largemouth bass.
Here are my five go-to baits to get the job done for early spring and late fall bass fishing.
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1. Lipless Crankbaits
Lipless crankbaits are fantastic for covering water quickly, especially in the shallows. Casting them out far along the bank line and burning them back will get some great reaction strikes from hungry fish.
I like to use a 1/2 oz chrome, black/chrome, blue/chrome, or crawfish colored Rat-L-Trap brand. Consider a shad pattern to match what the fish are feeding on. The noise combined with the flashing drives big bass crazy.
2. Jigs
While baits with jigheads are effective all year, they are especially effective for early fall fishing. Crawl, hop, or swim them quickly through hard cover like stumps or brush piles to entice fish.
A 1/4-ounce jig in white, bluegill or dark color skirt works best. I like to throw a white- or dark-colored creature, craw or curly tail grub on the most eye-catching action.
3. Jerkbaits
Jerkbaits are one of the go-to lures when fishing around schools of baitfish. The erratic action draws bass' attention as they are aggressively feeding. In the right conditions you can be catching bass all day on one of these baits. We especially like them for smallmouth bass in deep water in the fall.
My favorite jerkbait is a white or white/chartreuse Zoom Fluke. A quick fishing tip. I throw it on my spinning rod, cast it out and lightly jerk it back to the boat with small pauses in between. You should always have at least one jerk bait in your tackle box this time of the year.
4. Tubes
Tubes are a very overlooked lure, especially on days when the fishing is slow. They have a very unique spiraling fall that closely resembles a dying minnow and drives big fish nuts. You can also drag or hop them across the bottom, making them very versatile.
The reason I like to use them in the fall is because they also imitate crawfish very well. Which may be just the tasty morsel to get lethargic bass to bite. I like to toss these bass baits next to a laydown, and if I don't get a bite on the drop, I slowly hop them back to the boat for a more finesse approach. The bass will think they have found an easy meal making this one of the best fall lures out there.
Everyone should keep soft plastics at the ready, as many of them have served as anglers' fallback options for generations.
5. Spinnerbaits
Spinnerbaits are probably the most used lure during fall. They put off a lot of vibration, imitate bait fish well and can be fished fast or slow.
My favorite is a 1/2-ounce Strike King KVD spinner in sexy shad or chartreuse. I have probably caught more bass in the fall with this than anything else.
I guarantee if you keep these five lures ready to go, you'll get onto some fall bass. Just remember the most important thing in the fall is to keep moving until you find the fish.
Now is not the time to return to your same spots during the summer and expect the same bite. Fish all over the place from shallow water to deep as well as cover and open water.
NEXT: MASSIVE 13-FOOT TIGER SHARK CAUGHT OFF COAST OF HILTON HEAD
