Targeting fall bass in the south is all about finding and imitating shad. Mark Davis explains when to use these five essential baits based on various weather conditions.
Without a doubt, fall is my favorite time of the year to fish where I live, in Arkansas.
It's all about shad. The bass are wanting to feed on shad, so you will have to think in terms of where the shad are and how deep the shad are. The shad typically start heading toward the back of the creeks in a lot of our lakes, especially in the fall.
I like that the lakes get drawn down because when the water comes down, it condenses everything. The cover, channels, and ditches become shallower and all the structure in the lake really become important.
So, in terms of lures, think about this: You're keying on shad but you always want to consider what kind of day you've got based on the conditions.
If it's a bright and sunny day with no wind, I may be fishing with a drop shot on a light finesse type of Lew’s rod and reel setup. Ideally, a little Dream Shot or anything that looks like a shad.
I love to crank because it is always so important to cover water around shad. A KVD 2.5 Square Bill and a Red Eyed Shad in the half ounce size are great.
When you get a day that is cloudy and a lot of wind is blowing, you want to switch over to a spinnerbait and a Thunder Cricket. I pair these up with a Menace as a trailer.
