If you’re into going toe to toe with high flying super sized smallies there’s probably no better time to do it than right now. When natural forces come together at just the right time seasonal peaks are created, and the late summer and early fall is as good as it gets.
Instead of playing hard to find and even harder to get smallmouth bass really come alive and the action can be read hot. Now you can actually count on them to be where they should be and when they are most likely to posses an aggressive bait chasing, grub munching, tail dancing, bundle of joy.
Instead of a few fish here and a few there; fall smallies bunch up in super schools where they become particularly vulnerable once their location is revealed. The key of course is location and really isn’t all that difficult to put together when you take a look at the big picture. The big picture includes a good deal of rocks, rocks that play host to thousands of crayfish. Crayfish make-up the lion’s share of a smallie’s diet and are the reason for all of the rock bottom attention.
Pro angler and super smallmouth sleuth John Janousek of Nisswa, Minnesota knows the ins and outs of late season smallies and has been keying on a river pattern that has produced outstanding results for quite a few years. According to John: “The upper Mississippi is loaded with big smallmouth that are typically spread out through most of the summer period but by early September they start to migrate downstream and stack up in the deeper pools above the dams. The move seems to be triggered by dropping water temperatures and results in mega schools of smallmouth bass filing into specific structures like current breaks, log jams, and rocks. Current determines where they can be expected to set up with light flows opening up the main channel and heavy flows pinning them closer to current breaking structure like rocky points or log jams. It doesn’t take long to find out if there is anybody home and five minutes or so is about all the time I’ll spend looking for active fish before heading to the next spot. On the other hand I will go back and fish a good looking spot again and again, especially if I think it has the “right stuff” to produce.”
Good presentations include the usual fare like tube worms, grub tails, crankbaits and even top water lures and Janousek uses it all: “During the fall period it’s the warm sunny afternoons that are ideal for working topwater baits like Skitter Pops and Skitter Props.
With cooler water temps a penetrating sun can give a smallie’s metabolism a boost and is what it usually takes to get things going on top. Log jams can hold numbers of big fish but require some special gear to get the job done. Abrasion resistant line in the seventeen to twenty pound range, flippin’ sticks like St. Croix’s 8′ heavy Legend Series, and Texas rigged plastics are what’s required to keep a giant smallmouth from hanging you up when it tries to bury in heavy cover. Productive plastic baits include tubes and 4″ worms like Northland Tackle’s Slurpies Ringworm or the 4 1/2″ Brush Beaver in a crayfish pattern.
Fish holding near deeper rocks can be quickly worked with deep diving crankbaits like the Rapala DT 6 and DT 10. The key is to use a bait that dives deep enough to continually bang into the bottom. Crayfish patterns are again the hottest fall colors and include a good dose of orange and red.”
Rock running smallies can also be worked with an exposed hook and worm rig like the Northland Tackle Rattlin’ Inner-Tube Jig and a tube lure or grub worm. An exposed hook will get hung up occasionally but will also result in more fish hooked.
Water temperatures will determine on how long the good action will last and will slow considerably when it drops into the fifties, although you can still catch fish on the nicer days. In the upper Midwest September and October produce the hottest action but could even last into November. See you on the river.
Ron AnlaufBy: Ron Anlauf
