Spin Up Some Fall Bass Fast in Northern Lakes

Spinnerbait secrets for late-season success

By Dan Johnson
from The Fishing Wire

Use a big spinnerbait

Duck hunters’ jonboats may outnumber bass boats on many lakes in mid to late fall, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t fine fishing to be found. Both largemouths and smallmouths offer great opportunities for bass fans faithful enough to pursue their favorite fish deep into autumn.

One of the most effective and easiest to fish patterns hinges on the simple but deadly spinnerbait. Just ask bassin’ ace Scott Bonnema, who slings blades for burly bass virtually until first ice ushers in the hard-water season. “From the time water temperatures hit the low to upper 50-degree range, right through ice-up, is some of the best fishing of the year on North-country lakes,” he says.

While shoreline reed beds, docks and other skinny water cover and structure may be tempting targets, the action actually heats up farther from the bank, in depths of 12 to 14 feet or more, depending on the lake. “As shallow weed growth dies off, bass slide out into deeper vegetation that’s still green and healthy, such as clumps of coontail and cabbage,” he explains.

Structurally speaking, one of his favorite finds is a weed-crowned underwater hump, although points, inside turns and other irregularities have potential as well. Access to deeper water is a plus, but bass have no problem wintering on flats in the 20-foot range, so don’t limit your search to areas adjacent to extreme depths.

To find fish fast, Bonnema idles his boat over likely lies, keenly eyeing the split-screen display on his Humminbird 1198c electronics. As GPS mapping guides him along key contours and across prime flats, sonar returns-both in traditional and picture-like Down Imaging mode-highlight promising weed patches and fish lurking in or near the greenery.

Big fish like spinnerbaits

On the presentational front, he favors hefty spinnerbaits in the ¾- to 1½-ounce class for their ability to cover deep water in search of fish, as well as trigger strikes. One of his favorite designs is Terminator’s T-1 Original Titanium Spinnerbait. It stands up to abuse from bass and bonus northern pike, and has beveled blades and an easy-to-swap, QuickChange silicone skirt.

“Experiment with skirt color, along with blade finish and style, to find what the fish prefer,” he says. “I typically start with a white skirt and chrome, double willow-leaf blades for largemouths. Smallmouths love chartreuse, so adding a touch of that to the pattern can make a big difference.”

Colors that mimic baitfish are also hot. “For the most part, bass are feeding on young of the year sunfish-we call them bass potato chips-as well as various minnows and juvenile yellow perch,” he adds. “So darker colors, along with golds and blues, have their place, too.”

A variety of middleweight spinning and casting tackle works for this tactic. Bonnema prefers a medium to medium-heavy, 7-foot Lew’s Tournament Speed Stick, which offers ample length for long casts, and plenty of backbone for solid hooksets. A tractor-geared casting reel like the 5.1:1 model in Lew’s BB1 Pro Speed Spool lineup is a plus for pulling big baits slowly along bottom. He typically spools up with 14-pound Sufix Castable Invisiline fluorocarbon, but bumps up to 17-pound test in dirty water.

After firing out a cast, Bonnema lets the spinnerbait settle. “One of the most common mistakes I see people make this time of year is to throw way out there and instantly start to reel it in,” he says. “It’s important to let it hit bottom.” When the bait lands, he tightens the line and gives it a sharp snap to start the blades spinning.

The ensuing retrieve is unhurried and relatively inanimate. “It’s natural to want to fish fast and cover water, but you need to keep the bait moving slow and steady over the weed clumps-not making the bass chase it too hard,” he says. “When you tick grass, snap the spinnerbait out and let it flutter back down.”

Slowly ticking a spinnerbait across deep weed clumps is key to consistent catches once bass abandon shoreline cover.

Getting the first strike is often key to a flurry of action. “Bass are a little more lethargic right now, but once you trigger one, the rest of the group gets excited and you can usually catch a few more from the same area,” he says. “In fact, anytime you catch a fish, mark the spot with a waypoint or marker buoy, or make a good mental note of the location, and target it with multiple casts.”

Bonnema believes time of day is also a factor in the pattern. “The morning bite is good, but you don’t need to be out at first light like earlier in the season,” he says. “As the day warms, the fish move higher in the weeds, and you can be a little more aggressive with your presentation.”

One word of caution is in order for northern anglers, however. When fall turnover occurs, it can shut down the fishing in a hurry. “It’s like flipping a switch,” says Bonnema. “You know right away what happened. Weeds and bottom debris are floating everywhere, the water looks dingy, and the bass aren’t biting.”

When turnover strikes, he suggests switching to a lake that’s not undergoing this annual process, or waiting at least a week to fish the affected lake again.

In the end, the deep game can be intimidating to anglers accustomed to flipping and pitching close to shore, but it’s a simple and stellar tactic for tapping the fine fall fishing overlooked by all but a few die-hard bass fans.

How and where to catch middle Georgia Winter Bass

A Chinese proverb says it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. It is also better to put on warm clothes and go fishing than curse the cold weather. If you sit around and complain about the weather you will miss some good fishing.

You don’t have to be cold while fishing, no matter what the weather. A good snowmobile suit, insulated underwear, snow boots, a stocking cap and a hood will help keep you warm. Add some chemical handwarmers in strategic places and even a propane heater and you can be comfortable.

The best thing to keep you warm this time of year is catching bass. Hook a hog and you will forget the weather. Limit out on three pounders and it might as well be a spring day. And even if you don’t catch much, who would rather sit around in the house than be out fishing?

Cold weather does affect bass but they still have to eat, so you can catch them. Since bass are cold blooded they slow down and don’t eat as much, but they do eat. If you adjust your methods and use the right lures, you can get them to bite.

There are just as many ways to catch bass in January as there are in June, but one thing you must do is slow down. Bass are less likely to chase a fast moving lure this time of year. And they often prefer a small bait over something big in cold water. But you can catch them from the shallows out to the deepest structure if you fish it right.

In the middle of our state three lakes offer excellent bass fishing right now. Jackson, Oconee and Sinclair all have some things in common for catching bass this time of year but each has its own special qualities, too.

Bobby Ferris grew up in Monticello and went to college in Milledgeville, fishing with the Baldwin Backlashers Bass Club during those years. That club fished Jackson, Oconee and Sinclair regularly. After college Bobby has worked in the middle Georgia area for two EMCs and continues to fish this part of the state a lot.

Now Bobby fishes with two Griffin bass clubs, the Flint River Bass Club, where he won seven of 12 tournaments year before last, and the Spalding County Sportsman Club. He also fishes some pot tournaments on middle Georgia lakes and knows them well.

Bobby sold boats at Piedmont Outdoors part time and his affiliation with them and The Sports Center in Perry, as well as his ability to catch bass, got him on Team Triton. He was willing to share some of his tactics for winter bass on the three lakes highlighted here.

I joined the Spalding County Sportsman Club in 1974 and the second tournament I fished was at Sinclair. The third tournament I fished was at Jackson. Four years later I joined the Flint River bass club. Oconee was not even around back then but I watched it being built and both clubs I fish go to those three lakes often. We almost always fish them in the winter.

Last year I won the point standings in both clubs. I have learned some good patterns on these lakes for winter fishing, too, and usually fish in different places than Bobby fishes.

Jackson Lake

Jackson is one of our oldest lakes and has changed over the years. The illegal stocking of spotted bass in the lake means you are likely to catch more but smaller bass there now. Its days of being known for numbers of big largemouth seem to be over. But you can still catch some quality largemouth there and the aggressive spots mean you can catch more fish.

By January the bass have pulled out of coves and set up on main lake points. Rocky points are Bobby’s favorite places to find them now since the rocks hold heat and give the bass a place to hide. Rocks can range from chunk to boulder size, can be found all over the lake and all hold bass. Jackson is small enough that most of the lake is the same in January.

Bobby’s best points are those in the outside bends of the old creek and river channels. He looks for bass holding on them in about six feet of water and feeding at that depth. The colder the weather the better the fishing is on these points for Bobby. A sunny day warming the rocks, with some current moving, is the best.

Tie on a crankbait and a jig and pig and you have what you need to catch winter bass at Jackson. Bobby likes crankbaits like the Rapala DT6, the small Fat Free Shad and a #5 Shadrap for point fishing at Jackson. He will fish one of those crankbaits on the points for more active fish, making several casts across them from different angles.

For clear water choose a shad colored bait and in stained to muddy water go with a bright color. Tennessee shad, natural shad and silver and black are good clear water colors. Chartreuse plugs with orange bellies and blue or black backs, the firetiger color, or crawfish colors are all good when the water is not clear.

If the bass don’t hit a crankbait Bobby will throw an Ol Nelle jig with a Zoom Super Chunk on it. It can be worked slowly in the rocks for the inactive bass. In clear water he picks a green pumpkin jig and trailer and in stained water he goes with a black jig and trailer. He also dips all his jigs in JJ’s Magic clear dip to give them a garlic scent.

At Jackson Bobby fishes crankbaits on 12 to 15 pound Big Game line and his jigs are tied to 25 pound Big Game line. There is always a possibility of a big largemouth or spot at Jackson, and the water is usually stained enough to get away with heavier line.

I like to fish deeper water in the winter and will often jig a spoon or Little George on long points at Jackson. Ride the points from the bridge in Tussahaw Creek to the dam and up the Alcovy River to the Highway 212 Bridge and watch for schools of shad.

The shad are often out over 16 to 20 feet of water, suspended about half way down. If you see fish on the bottom under them, stop and fish. Even if you don’t see the bass they are likely there if the shad are present. Drop a spoon like a Hopkins Shorty or a Little George down, hop it a foot off the bottom repeatedly, and you will find out if the bass are there.
If you see the bass and they won’t hit try deadsticking the spoon or George on the bottom. Let it lay there and barely slide it on the bottom. Don’t raise it off the bottom. That pattern has paid off several times over the years.

I like a short 5.5 foot rod with a fairly light tip but lots of backbone. A fast taper rod allows you to jig the spoon and George easily and feel it but you need the backbone to set the hook and control the fish. I spool up an Ambassadeur 5500c with 15 pound PLine for most of my jigging.

Lake Sinclair

Sinclair has two characteristics that together set it off from all other Georgia lakes. The power plant on the lake dumps warm water into Beaverdam Creek, warming the lake water in that area. And the pumpback at Lake Oconee makes current flow both ways in the lake most days. Both those factors affect bass fishing.

The warm water is so important that Bobby says he always fishes within about a mile of the mouth of Beaverdam Creek in the winter at Sinclair. If he is not in Beaverdam itself he will be on the river near it or just inside the mouth of Rooty Creek, and he fishes Little River up to the bridge. All this area is warmed by the discharge.

On Sinclair Bobby will fish crankbaits on seawalls and docks in shallow water. He stays on the main creek and river runs and does not go way back into coves, sticking with main and secondary points. He is looking for the active bait and bass feeding on it.

Favorite crankbaits are small and Bobby likes a #5 Shadrap, 100 Series Bandit or a DT6. In clear water he goes with Gable Green or natural shad and likes the firetiger color if the water is more stained. He will stick with 12 pound Big Game spooled on a Shimano Calcutta reel on a six foot rod unless throwing the #5 Shadrap under docks, when he will switch to a spinning outfit and lighter line.

If there is some current moving in either direction fishing is better and the moving water will position the bass on the docks and seawalls. Bobby looks for eddies where the bass can hold out of the current and ambush baitfish moving with the current. He says if you run your crankbait by a holding spot, moving it slowly with the current, you should get bit.

If there are several warm days in a row like we sometimes get in January but are more likely in February, Bobby will fish the old dead grass beds. The dead grass holds heat and draws shad to it, and the bass will follow. A spinnerbait run through the grass will draw strikes from those bass.

Jigging spoons work well at Sinclair, too. They tend to be better in clearer water so I will often head to Island or Rocky Creeks at the dam and ride points in them. Long tapering points are best. Watch for the shad down in 15 to 18 feet of water and jig under them for bass.

If there is any brush near the shad, try it, too. You will hang up some but you can usually get a spoon loose by shaking it up and down, working it free. A Little George will not come free so easily. Bass holding in the brush will eat the spoon when it is right in their face even if they won’t move far to chase a moving bait.

On clean bottoms it is hard to beat the Little George. I like a 1/2 ounce George in silver with a silver blade. I drop it to the bottom, tighten my line with my rod tip about a foot over the surface then jig it up and down a foot to two feet.

Move it steadily, not in a jerking motion, and you can feel the blade spin and it rises and falls. Set the hook if the blade stops turning. Most bites will come as the bait falls, so set the hook if the bait does not go back down as far as it should. Keeping your rod tip down near the water allows you to set the hook better when a fish hits.

Lake Oconee m

Oconee is one of our newer lakes and it was dammed in the 1980s. It has become one of our most popular bass fishing lakes, too, with lots of quality bass. The 14 inch size limit with the slot allowing anglers to keep six to 11 inch fish has helped and would be even better for bigger fish if anglers would keep more of the smaller fish.

Since the upper end of Oconee can muddy up fast and the lower lake gets colder water when the pumpback system is running, Bobby concentrates his winter fishing near Brantley’s Marina in the mouth of Lick Creek and the river around it. That area is the most stable on the lake and the bass are easier to pattern and catch consistently.

Most of this area of the lake is lined with nice houses and they all have seawalls. If you look you will see rocks at the water line of many of the sea walls and there are rocks on most others that you can not see. Those rocks are Bobby’s targets at Oconee this time of year. They hold heat and are good cover, too.
Seawalls with deeper water around them, like on main and secondary points, are Bobby’s favorites. He will throw a #7 Shadrap and really likes the jointed version since it is plastic and runs a little deeper, and has a rattle in it. He fishes the crawfish pattern since crawfish call the riprap home and are just about the favorite food of bass.

Throw the Shadrap on 12 pound Big Game line, a six foot rod and Shimano Calcutta reel. Try to bump the rocks as you work the bait across the rocks. If you consistently catch bass very shallow on the rocks, concentrate on making casts right to the bank. If the fish seem to be hitting out on the base of the rocks, make parallel casts to keep your plug in that area longer.

A warming trend at Oconee will pull bass shallow faster than at Sinclair. If you have a few warm days, especially toward the end of the month, shad will move to the very backs of short main lake pockets. Check the pockets if it has been warm and if you see shad activity fish it. Afternoons are usually best, after the sun has had all day to warm the water.

Throw a spinnerbait on the sandy flats in the backs of coves. You will catch bass, hybrids, crappie and even catfish that are back in there eating the shad. You can catch some big bass on this pattern. Bobby likes an Ol Nelle white and chartreuse spinnerbait with one silver and one gold blade for most water conditions. If the water temperature is 55 degrees or warmer in these pockets the shad will be there.

At Oconee I usually head for the dam area this time of year and look for shad on main lake points. Many of them have brush piles on them and the current will move shad across the points. Bass wait in the brush and on clean bottoms to ambush them.

Get right on top of the brush or fish and jig straight up and down. Sometimes bass want a spoon that moves in one place repeatedly. Don’t give up until you have jigged it up and down dozens of times. Try to hit the same place on the bottom, holding your boat in one place and watching your depthfinder. With a transducer on the trolling motor you can often see the fish straight under you and stay on them.

Give these three lakes a try. Fish the patterns in the areas mentioned here and you will catch bass. It it much more fun feeling the fight of a bass on your line than it is sitting at home watching somebody else catch them on TV!

How to Fish New Waters
from The Fishing Wire

Searching for fish

Yamaha Pro Steve Pennaz says finding fish on new lakes is fishing’s greatest challenge, despite today’s great sonar and GPS systems.

The challenge for most anglers today is not catching fish, it’s finding them.

“As the old adage goes you can’t catch a fish that isn’t there,” said Steve Pennaz. “Fishing’s greatest challenge has always been locating fish. That’s true even with today’s superb sonar units and mapping software.”

Pennaz is in a unique position when it comes to locating fish. For the past two decades this Yamaha pro has traveled extensively in search of multi-species fishing action, both as a television host and magazine editor. He has developed an uncanny ability to find fish, a skill he shares each week on Lake Commandos television series.

“It all starts with the fish,” said Pennaz. “The more you know about your target species the better you become at predicting their behavior. Guys like Berkley’s® Dr. Keith Jones have written extensively on fish and fish behavior, and I thank them.

“All fish exhibit behaviors common to their species, yet there are members in a given population that behave uniquely. With bass, you have fish that tend to orientate to shallow cover, but there are also fish that roam open water.

You gotta find them to land them.

“In some cases, larger adult fish act much differently than juvenile fish of the same species. Northern pike are the perfect example. Those weighing 10 pounds or more seek out much colder water (55-60 degrees) than smaller pike (65-70 degrees), which is the reason anglers fishing shallow weeds in mid-summer may catch a lot of pike but may fish a lifetime without ever landing a trophy.

“The second piece of the puzzle is understanding the seasonal movement of fish,” said Pennaz. “The spawn dominates fish behavior either spring (bass, walleye, crappie, etc.) or fall (certain trout, char and salmon). Knowing a fish’s preferred spawning temp and habitat are important clues; they provide clues on where the fish will be prior to, during and after the spawn.

“Water clarity is also a factor in determining fish location. In extremely turbid waters, low light penetration limits weed growth to shallow water. This typically means you find weed-relating fish like bass and bluegills will be shallow as well. In very clear waters, finding fish deep is often the norm.

Predicting fish behavior is a matter of understanding how they migrate with the seasons, and how they relate to cover and water clarity, Pennaz says.
“I’ve come to rely on water clarity on almost a weekly basis when trying to break a lake down quickly on Lake Commandos. The lower the water clarity the shallower I start my search, and rarely has this approach let me down. The deep weed line, when available, is usually the key to determining just how deep you’ll find most active fish.

“Forage is another piece to the puzzle,” said Pennaz. “Every gamefish is a predator, at times they will key on specific forage; other times they feed opportunistically or eating whatever they catch. Knowing what the fish are eating will help you not only narrow your search, but also help you select presentations.

“Trout anglers know better than most the importance of matching the hatch. To a lesser extent, the same can be true with other species, but typically not to that extent. However, if bass are keying on shad, give them shad imitators.”

Pennaz offers one last tip. “Whenever you are fishing with another angler or a group of anglers,” said Pennaz, “I suggest each of you fish a different presentation until you hone in on what the fish want that day. It’s stunning how even little things can impact success.

A smooth, quiet Yamaha is part of the package of many successful anglers whether they’re chasing southern largemouths or northern pike and walleyes.
“Last winter I fished bass on a Texas reservoir. My fishing partner and I were both throwing black/blue Berkley® Chigger Craws on a Carolina rig, yet he quickly went up on me five fish to zero! I was dumbfounded. Our casts were landing just inches apart. He would get bit and I’d get nothing.

“We compared rigs after he released his fifth bass. His featured a fluorocarbon main line, a ¾-ounce sinker, bead, and 15-pound fluorocarbon leader running nearly two feet. My rig featured a braid for a main line, ½-ounce sinker, no bead and 16-inch leader of 15-pound fluorocarbon. I don’t know what made the difference, the weight difference, leader or mainline, all I can say is when I switch up to what he was using the bites started to come immediately.

“Whenever I am fishing with someone else I ask what bait they are throwing and then select something else – a different color, size, whatever. I also play with speed, line type and weight – anything to see if the fish display a preference. I found this approach helps with not only locating fish as quickly as possible, but also helps create a base pattern that can be tweaked as needed.”