Fall Fishing Starts Now!

Fall is one of the best times to catch bass and walleye. Early autumn is a transition period, but by mid fall anglers can expect to find good numbers of bass and walleye concentrated on key spots.A jerkbait is one of the best lures for catching fish in the fall. Here are some tips on where to look for bass and walleye in autumn and how to catch them using rip baits. Early Autumn Trends While some fish may already be stationed on deep structure during summer, the overriding pattern in fall is for bass and walleye to move to deep habitat. Early autumn marks the beginning of cooling water temperatures and shorter daylight hours. These are just two factors stimulating bass and walleye to move from summer habitat to locations where they’ll spend winter. Why Jerkbaits? Transitioning fish are scattered fish and any angler worth their weight in salt will tell you, “covering water” is the name of the game. One of the best lures for the job is a long-casting jerkbait, like a Rapala Shadow Rap or X-Rap. Whether fished fast and erratically in early autumn, more moderately in mid season, or ultra-slow in late fall, a jerkbait’s erratic, struggling baitfish action and flash attracts predators from afar.Equally potent is the strike-triggering power of these lures when paused during the retrieve. The Shadow Rap will slowly sink action, while the new Rapala RipStop touts a “stop on a dime” action with a slight shimmy, then a super slow, head up rise that fish can’t resist. X-Raps and Husky Jerks suspend on the pause, covering the middle ground in an angler’s jerkbait arsenal.Beyond experimenting with these different “at rest” actions, anglers should also try different pause lengths with jerkbaits. In early fall, a pause of one or two seconds can trigger strikes, but come November pauses lasting 10 seconds or more can be the secret to getting a trophy bass or walleye to bite. Green Means Go On fertile lakes and rivers, deep healthy weeds near bays, tributaries and flats will hold bass and walleye. These zones are quite literally the “greener pastures” in autumn. Cooling shallow water temperatures cause baitfish and predators to leave shorelines and skinny water and deep move deeper.Retrieving a jerkbait over the top of weeds or along the outside edge will catch walleye, smallmouth and largemouth. Expect creek channels, tributary outflows, bends, weed transitions, and rock or sand within weeds to concentrate fish. Vegetation hit with wind and waves is another common fall hotspot. Pound Points Bass and walleye use points like highways and they’re reliable spots in the fall. It’s common for fish to hold on the deep portions of a point in early morning. This is when a deep-diving jerkbait can be your best friend. Work the lure over the point as well as along it’s ledges. Also, make casts away from the point into open-water for suspending fish.As the sun gets higher in the sky and temperatures rise, bass and walleye may move up on the point. Sun-hit rocks are key casting targets. Deep-Water Tactics Deep mid-lake structures and flats holding baitfish are common fall hangouts for trophy walleye, smallmouth and, at times, largemouth. Here, a deep-diving jerkbait is deadly.Cast and reel the bait down to its running depth, then use snaps and pauses to work it back to the boat. The lure should always run above fish. A sonar will reveal the optimal depth based on baitfish and predator position in the water column. Stroll and Jerk Another popular tactic is “strolling” jerkbaits on thin diameter braid, like Sufix 832, outfitted with a 12- to 15-pound fluorocarbon leader. Bomb the bait back behind the boat then let out another half or full cast of line. Slow troll the jerkbait using the wind and a trolling motor. Snap the rod forward, then slide it back to make the jerkbait dance. Pro Tip: Weighting a jerkbait will increase its running depth and can payoff in late fall when fish are deep and sluggish. The DIY is as easy as sticking Storm SuspenDots and SuspendStrips to the belly of the lure.Don’t leave the launch this fall without a good assortment of jerkbaits. From mild early fall conditions to late autumn’s ice-cold conditions, rip baits consistently put bass and walleye in the net.