Entry 218-5

Catching Big Bass at White Oak Plantation with Chad Brauer

Part 5: Midwest Bass Fishing Now

Question: Where are you finding bass at this time of year, and how are you catching them?

Brauer: September is one of the tougher months to locate bass, which is one of the reasons I really enjoy going to a trophy-bass lake at this time of year. On the Lake of the Ozarks near my home, where I like to fish, you can find bass moving up to the shallow banks. This lake’s a good place to fish because there are usually plenty of baitfish concentrated there. But will locate a lot of bass holding in deep water, because in September, the water’s still hot. At this time of year, you can catch bass in 1 foot of water with a Strike King Series 1 crankbait or in 20 feet of water with a Series 5 crankbait.

Finding the bass concentrated is difficult. But this is the time of year I like to move to the banks of creeks and fish flat, shallow docks and wood cover. I like to fish either a Strike King jig or a Strike King tube and flip those baits around wood cover. I also like to fish the Strike King Series 4 crankbait. On cloudy days, I enjoy fishing around docks and wood with the crankbait or the spinner bait.

Question: What colors do you like to fish?

Brauer: Generally, in the fall, the water is fairly clear. So, you want your baits to look natural. I like white and shad colors. On dark, cloudy days, I’ll fish a black buzzbait. When I’m fishing the jig or the tube, I’ll switch between a brown, a black-and-blue or a solid white, if I feel like the bass really want to eat shad. At those times of the year, I like a white jig or a white tube.

Question: Most people rarely ever fish a white jig. What advantages does it have?

Brauer: You’re starting to see more people relying on the white jig—it’s quickly gaining in popularity. The key time to fish a white jig is in the fall. I like to fish it at that time of year because the bass are really feeding on shad. I like to flip the white Strike King jig into heavy cover in the fall. I’ll swim the white jig to catch suspended bass.

I like the white jig because you can keep it in the strike zone of the bass longer than you can many other lures. Just about everyone fishing a jig at this time of year is using either black, black-and-blue, Chameleon Craw or brown. So, a white jig is something different, which can be an advantage. Most of the time when you see someone fishing a jig down the bank, he’ll go down the bank the first time with a spinner bait. The second time the fisherman goes down the bank, he’ll fish either a black or a black-and-blue jig. So, if you fish that same spot he’s just fished with a white jig, you’re giving the bass a different lure to look at in another color. Many times you can catch a few bass fishing behind a really-good fisherman, if you’ve got a white jig.

Question: How did you learn to fish the white jig?

Brauer: I just experimented with it. I learned from my dad, Denny Brauer, that many times you can change the color of a jig to a color nobody is using and catch the bass nobody else is catching. I’ve used that philosophy and had some really-good days fishing the white jig. I’ve built a lot of confidence in that bait. If fishing is tough for you this month, try that white jig.

Contents:

• Part 1: Every Fisherman’s Dream – Big Bass and Plenty of Them
• Part 2: Fishing the Tube
• Part 3: Why I’d Fish a Trophy Lake like White Oak
• Part 4: Striper Time in Missouri
• Part 5: Midwest Bass Fishing Now