Jan 9th, 2009 by Jake

Late Fall Bass Fishing.

    Late fall can prove to be one of the most difficult times of the year to wet your line in New England. Late fall is denoted by steadily dropping water temperatures, possible light ice cover, and bass coming down with a severe case of lock jaw. This is your last chance to land that lunker before the fisheries become completely iced over and in fact may be one of your best shots at landing that trophy, as larger fish are less affected by temperature. In this article I hope to bring light to some tricks and tactics that will help you optimize your stringer in tough late fall conditions. The first step, as always, is to know where the fish are this time of year.

         Location, Location, Location!

    In a previous article, "New England Fall Bass Fishing," I outlined the three phases of fall time fishing in New England in relation to temperatures throughout the water column. This is very important to keep in mind when approaching the water in search for the late fall lip rip. In this period the deepest water in the lake/ pond is where you will find the fish. This is due to that fact that the plummeting temperatures have now cooled the water at the top of the water column to a much lower temperature than that of the deeper sections. On occasion you may see a few stragglers in the shallows, primarily on days when the sun is bright overhead, but you will find these fish to be extremely lethargic and skittish. The key is to target the depths. Use your fish finder or your polarized sunglasses to find steep drop offs on the edge of flats or otherwise just the deepest water you can get your bait into. Using a weighted bait to feel out the bottom can prove to be a great tactic when approaching new water. This is best achieved using a light, but powerful rod preferably with an exposed rod blank for extra feeling, paired with low stretch line, I suggest Berkley Fireline. The idea is to cast the bait out as far as you can, I tend to use a 1/4 to 1/2 ounce jig and let it sink to the bottom and just slowly crawl it back feeling out the bottom for structure and drop offs.

                      Presentation

    Once you have located some spots of interest you must present your bait in such a manner that will entice even the most lethargic bass into biting. The key phrase to remember here is "Slow and Low," which means that you must present your bait on, or as close to the bottom as you can get it and to retrieve it as slowly as you can. This can prove to be more challenging than it sounds, the patience part at least. The idea here is to cast your lure out, let it sink to the bottom and retrieve it slowly along the bottom leaving it in the strike zone for as long as possible. Do not think of it so much as a retrieve, just a series of subtle twitches, crawls, and jigs. While retrieving focus on the response you receive from your rod as to what the bottom feels like, this is where the light rod with the exposed rod blank comes in handy, if you have one wrap a few fingers around the exposed area and if not just touch the rod right above the handle and you will have a heightened level of feel. Make sure to keep your line as tight as possible so that you are ready for the hook set and so you can more effectively feel when a fish picks up your bait since most hits will be incredibly subtle under cold water conditions.

    Once you feel your bait hit the bottom reel up any slack that may be in your line and then begin your retrieve. Hold your rod tip 10 O'Clock and control your bait with very subtle movements of your rod tip. Try to visualize your bait on the bottom and imagine it doing three main things, crawling, jumping, and twitching. To crawl the bait hold your rod tip just as it is and slowly reel so that you do not feel your bait leave the bottom, if you feel it get caught up on some structure just lift your rod tip lightly and pop the bait over it. To jump the bait just pull up quickly on your rod raising the tip just a few inches and imagine your bait just popping an inch or so off of the bottom, this is good to kick up some sediment from the bottom and draw attention and is best when your bait is paired with a rattle chamber. The third motion you will want to try out is the twitch, which requires you to twitch your rod tip lightly, up until you feel the weight of your bait and shaking the tip just enough so that you do not feel your bait lifting from the bottom. Combine these three movements in varying orders and speeds until you find the right pattern for that given day, and don't forget to vary pause times in between movements, sometimes leaving your bait for up to 30 seconds is the ticket to landing that trophy cold water bass.

                     Bait Selection

    Now that we have established a solid method for locating and enticing late fall bass let's talk a bit about lure selection. There are a few elements to consider, first is size. Cold water bass tend to not want to move around a whole lot and if they are going to expend energy attacking your bait it better be worthwhile, that being said, a chunky large profile bait is your best bet when luring bass in cold water situations. Furthermore, a bait with natural movement is always a plus. Since you will be leaving your bait in a stationery position for long periods of time, a bait that has some type of movement even when not being jigged can be a huge plus. Once again considering the fact that bass become very picky eaters when the water gets cold, don't hesitate to pull out all the stops when adding a rattle chamber to your bait and applying some scent, these products may just add that little extra excitement for the fish that will draw them to bite. Here is my list of the most productive baits when late fall bass fishing in New England:  

                                  Soft Plastics

    As I stated above, you will want to tie on a bait that has some girth to it. There are many soft plastic baits that fit this bill quite well and additionally sport all types of tentacles/ tassels, etc., which add to the baits natural movement as it sits on the bottom. Fishing soft plastics with weight is a must this time of year to ensure that they hold the bottom. More specifically, my personal favorite bait to fish under these conditions is hands down the YUM Wooly Hawgtail with a weighted shank hook. This lure fished in the manner described above has produced more cold water bass for me than any other. Additionally, two other soft plastic baits fit the bill quite well this time of year, the floating tube, and the curly tailed grub. The floating tube fished with weight will stand straight up off the bottom producing a nice profile and holds a rattle chamber in its hollow body quite well. The last plastic that I will suggest in the late fall is the curly tailed grub fished with a jig head. This bait, like the tube will stand upright when it hits the bottom and lends nicely to the tactics discussed above. 

                                         Jigs

    

    A natural choice when fishing any deep water situation is of course, the jig. The jig will hold the bottom well and creates an enticing presentation when fished with the presentation described above. Your best bet is to throw a 1/4 - 1/2 ounce depending on what your rod can handle with a chunky trailer that will add to the profile and natural movement of the bait. For the trailer I like to use a Gary Yamamoto dual hula tailed grub, a Baby Brush Hawg, or a YUM Wooly Hawgtail.

    This is also a good time of the year to consider hair jigs and feather jigs due to their natural movement, especially when fishing in the river for smallmouth bass. Although these baits are known best for snagging smallmouth bass from the river, they can also produce a healthy stringer of largemouth bass in cold water conditions. The reason is that feather and hair jigs will stay in motion even when you let them sit on the bottom, and these subtle movements will often entice a strike from a lethargic bass. 

                                    Jerk Baits

    The final tackle suggestion that I will make for Late Fall Bass Fishing in New England is the Suspending Jerk Bait, as it lends well to a variable speed retrieve. When choosing a jerk bait to fish this time of the year you will need to have a good idea of the depth that you want to fish, this can be determined with a fish finder or by throwing out a weighted bait and counting it down to the bottom. You will want a bait that will suspend a foot or two from the bottom. Cast the jerk bait out and give it several seconds to sink down to its suspending depth before beginning you retrieve. This is where extreme patience comes in. Give the bait a series of small jigs of varying speeds and distances with varying pause times in between. The most important element of this retrieve is the pause time, don't be afraid to let your bait sit for up to 30 seconds or longer, it may be the key to landing some serious cold water bass. 

-Happy Bassin'


      Come Discuss This Article And Much
               More On The BASStard Forum!