STAY WARM, CATCH FALL BASS

Hungry bass and still-warm water temperatures should make for some great action to be had this month on Southern California lakes. (BILL SCHAEFER)

BASS ON THE PROWL

FALL’S STILL-WARM WATERS, FISH FEEDING UP FOR WINTER COULD SPARK GREAT SHORELINE ACTION

By Capt. Bill Schaefer

As I wrote this, the remnants of Tropical Storm Kay passed through Southern California, dropping some much-needed rain.

With that precipitation, maybe the region’s lakes will take in some more water and rise a bit.

The weather has still been very warm with this burst of rain, with temperatures remaining over 80 degrees. That should keep the lakes’ water temps up in the 70- to 80-degree range.

And as water heats up each day, so will the morning topwater bite at most lakes around the Southland. Bass are schooling up into wolf packs, roaming the shallows and eating everything in their path.

Schools of bass fry and shad and bluegill fingerlings will be swallowed up by these hungry fish. A trip down the bank in the gray light of morning could produce some fun action and larger bass. In the shadows and low

light, expect larger bass to venture into the shallows to feed.

BRING THE NOISE

There are so many lures for fishing the shallows and every angler has a favorite offering, but sometimes it takes a noisy bait and sometimes a more subtle presentation. Examples are as simple as a classic Pop-R or a Zara Spook, giving you a popping versus gliding action.

At times you can go with a lot of commotion and use a buzzbait, which calls the bass out of their lair. The type of shoreline will also dictate what bait to throw, but you can be as aggressive as you want in any situation, even if you do have to go in and retrieve your bait by bouncing it off a tree branch.

I personally love throwing a buzzbait, especially if there are stickups and/or young tule growth scattered in the water. Bouncing off those stickups seems to excite bass and call them up to the bait, producing an exciting topwater explosion and bite.

A lot of the time, the best situation can be a little wind ripple on the surface in the morning. It breaks up the fish’s view of what’s above the water and they are not as wary. If there is structure in the water, you want to bounce off of it or pass as close to it as possible.

Author Bill Schaefer caught this nice largie on a buzzbait. “A trip down the bank in the gray light of morning could produce some fun action and larger bass,” he writes. “In the shadows and low light, expect larger bass to venture into the shallows to feed.” (BILL SCHAEFER)

HERE COMES THE SUN

As the sun rises, the topwater bite always seems to drop off, but you just need to fish the right shoreline as long as you can. You still need to think about the structure along the shore. Is it casting shade or is it thick cover for the bass? The fish may just be hunkered down in some thick shoreline grass that you can call them out of with a buzzbait or popping bait.

Think about presentation as you work down the shore. Remember, passing your lure as close to the structure should cause the strike as you enter the bass’s zone.

FROG FUN

Another bait that works well this time of year is the frog. Whether it is a popping frog or a regular-bodied frog, it’s all what you have confidence in. Weeds grow all year and litter the surface with dead growth and the bass lay up under it, waiting for something to fall in and scurry across it. That’s when you throw the frog and that’s when you get that big bass to explode up through the dead weeds and take your bait. There’s nothing like it!

This time of year fish will also chase the shad offshore as well. I know it can be somewhat crazy chasing them around the surface, since they always seem to pop up where you just left.

I like to use a ¼-ounce darter jighead with a small curltail piece of worm on it. I cast beyond the breaking fish and race it back though them. They don’t

A popper fished offshore where young shad are breaking will often get reluctant bass to bite.

(BILL SCHAEFER)

have time to decide on it and they just eat it. Also, a small jerkbait about an inch long or a small 1-inch topwater bait – preferably a popper of some type – will also do well. I feel the spray of water off the front of the lure confuses bass enough to create bites.

HEAVY-DUTY RIGS

Tackle is important too, as you want to be able to pull the bass out of that cover. I use a 7-foot Daiwa Tatula casting rod and reel loaded with either Daiwa or Maxima 50- or 60-pound braided line. If I feel the need for a leader, Maxima fluorocarbon line is the way to go.

You can also go to spinning gear if that is your preference. If so, perhaps drop to 25-pound braid. A Tatula 7- to 8-foot spinning rod with 25-pound braid and a short fluorocarbon leader could do the trick. That allows you to throw light topwater lures a little easier. Now get out on the water and get them! CS