The fall bass season is finally over and the kayak has been put to rest for the winter. It’s been a great fall with lots of bass caught and a few new techniques added to the arsenal. The main area that I fish receives so much pressure that the bass have become accustomed to seeing baits and hearing pings from sonars. One way to combat this is to use speed, very light line and reduce your sonar sensitivity to as low as possible.
This year I was using a 3-way swivel rig with a 1.5 oz weight and running a single swimbait or a tandem swimbait (two swimbaits tied together to run behind each other). The line I’m using is 7lb test fluorocarbon and I think it makes a lot of difference. You can’t house fish in but I get a lot more hits using the light line. I’m also running around 3km/h so they fish don’t have a chance to inspect the bait, they either smash it or let it go.
The swimbaits I’ve been using are the Keitech 3.8” Fat Swing Impact, BPS 4” Speed Shad and the Jackall Rhythem Wave 5.8”. I like to keep the jig head size light as the 1.5 oz weight does the work of getting the baits down to the bottom.
This rig can cover a lot of water and when a fish decided to commit they usually crush them!
One thing to remember when targeting these fish in the fall is to get them back as soon as possible. If you’re going to take a picture of them have your camera ready and keep them out as little as possible. I always keep a needle in my kit in case I have to fizz a fish that won’t go back down. This is a great article and video on how to properly fizz a bass.
How to Fizz a Bass
- Randaller
