Autumn Alternatives

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Autumn Alternatives

By Steve Price

If you’re looking for a safe bet, put your money on Redlands, California pro Brent Ehrler and the chances he’ll be throwing a topwater bait on Lake Mead during the autumn months. Two quality largemouths hooked on one cast and 20 followers will turn anyone into a topwater angler, but in truth, Ehrler will have a surface popper tied on no matter where he’s fishing during the September-October-November season.

“I use topwater lures primarily as a search bait,” explains the 2006 FLW Forrest Wood Cup champion, “walking it fast and just covering water. During the autumn, bass usually gather in tight schools to chase baitfish, and the fish I’m looking for are generally still out on the main lake on points, flats, and pockets. They either have not migrated into the backs of creeks or they’re already back out and on their way to winter structure.

“A lot of bass fishermen overlook topwater baits in the autumn because they’re busy throwing shallow crankbaits in the backs of those creeks, and they know topwater patterns can be as fickle in the autumn as at any other time of year. Still, I’m always looking for alternative lures and patterns the bass might not be tired of seeing. I always have topwater lures on my rods this time of year.”

Ehrler’s feelings are easy to understand. In addition to that remarkable day at Lake Mead, he won the November, 2004 FLW EverStart Championship on Kentucky’s Lake Cumberland by using a topwater lure to locate his bass, and surface plugs, usually a Lucky Craft Gunfish, have played a role in many of his tournament successes during his years of FLW competition.

In addition to walking topwaters over points and flats, there are several other alternative patterns anglers may consider when looking for bass this time of year. Here’s a quick look at some of them:

Swimbait the Bridges
Bridge pilings offer good vertical cover near a depth change or channel, which is always a good place to look for bass. The pilings provide a break in the current, shade if it’s a bright day, and washed-in brushy cover on the upstream sides of the pilings.

Initially, the easiest way to fish a bridge is by keeping your boat slightly down current and casting upstream so your lure looks natural as it comes down beside a piling. Small plastic swimbaits are excellent lure choices, but crankbaits and even spinnerbaits may work, depending on how active the fish are. Soft plastic worms and weedless Senkos can be used to explore possible cover in front of the pilings, while drop shots often take fish holding in the eddies and wash-outs behind the pilings.

Which piling to fish? “Those closest to shore are frequently the most popular with anglers, but not necessarily the best,” notes Bassmaster Elite pro Todd Faircloth of Texas. “When I fish bridges, I like to idle around each piling first and look for baitfish activity on my electronics. If the water has a lot of color, I’ll usually concentrate more on the shallow pilings, but if the water is clear, I’ll fish the deeper pilings closest to the channel.”

Finesse the Riprap
During the recent Professional Anglers Association (PAA) Toyota Texas Bass Classic on Lake Conroe in Texas, Mike Iaconelli nearly won by fishing a shaky head worm down riprap banks. Fishing was extremely tough on the lake, but Ike weighed in 47 pounds; his three-day catch included two bass over 8 pounds, including a 9-4 lunker that won him big fish honors.

“Rocks are always worth fishing in the fall,” notes the 2003 Bassmaster Classic winner, “because bass are so keyed in on following forage. Baitfish frequently stay near rock walls because they can feed on the algae growing on the rocks, and so you can guess the bass won’t be far away.
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Iaconelli’s favorite outfit for this type of fishing is a ballhead with an off-set hook that holds his 4 or 6-inch worm Texas-style. Rigged weedless, he drags the worm until he hits a rock, then starts shaking with his rod. Because the ballhead has a 90-degree line-tie eyelet, the angle of the line, along with the shaking, pivots worm slightly upward so it begins waving in the water. Eventually, the shaking pops the bait free, if a bass hasn’t hit it first.

“Basically, you pick a head weight heavy enough to allow you to maintain contact with the bottom,” Iaconelli instructs. “My favorite sizes are 1/8-ounce in water down to about 10 feet, 3/16-ounce down to 15 feet or so, and ¼-ounce when I’m deeper than that. I like a 6-inch worm because it has plenty of action, but I’ll use a smaller or larger size, depending on the forage size.

“I know some anglers use a shaky head in a vertical presentation, but for me it’s always a dragging presentation along the bottom. No other presentation gives you the same type of worm action. If a sudden November cold front slows down the action, this is my favorite alternative.”

Cranking Creek Mouths
When he isn’t dragging a shaky head worm, Iaconelli also likes to crankbait the mouths of creeks during the autumn months. He chooses deep diving models that dig and bounce along the bottom, and he concentrates on the two underwater points that form at the mouth of each tributary.

“Here I’m looking for fish that may either be on their way into the creek, or coming back out,” says the New Jersey pro. “Points are worth fishing anywhere, anytime, but they can be especially productive in the autumn because you know bass are going to be moving past them sooner or later.”

The best approach, thinks Iaconelli, is by keeping your boat in the deeper water, and casting up into the shallower top of the point, then retrieving fast. While bass may be feeding, a fast retrieve may generate impulse strikes, too, and since bass may be tightly grouped, it’s important to cover the water thoroughly, working the points from different angles.

“This is a good time to have a marker buoy on the deck with you,” says Iaconelli, “so you can kick it overboard when you get a strike. You can use it to re-position your boat and make another cast to the exact same spot.”

Burning Bluffs
Long, vertical rock bluffs attract bass throughout the autumn months, and two ways to catch them are by burning a big-blade spinnerbait just under the surface along the side of that wall, or clattering a buzz bait on the surface by the rock face.
Bass tend to suspend along these bluffs, and both lures will bring them up. The keys to making this pattern pay off are making long casts, and keeping either lure very close to the bluff. Bass that hit these lures are striking out of impulse, but baitfish probably are not far away.

You’ll need a spinnerbait with a big Colorado blade, and because you’re retrieving fast, choose a heavier model, such as ¾-ounce, to help keep it down. With the buzz bait, make long casts and keep the lure moving. Make sure you spend time fishing the ends of the bluffs, too.

“There are a lot of alternative patterns for autumn bass fishing, primarily because the bass are moving toward shallow water,” concludes Ehrler. “That movement takes place over an extended length of time, however, and not every fish is migrating at the same time or rate of speed. In order to locate the bass along their route, it’s important for an angler to consider as many options as possible in both shallow and deep water.