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Spinnerbaiting Fall Bass 
By Glenn Walker

When the leaves start turning colors, the days get shorter, and the water temperature starts to drop it is time for some fantastic fall bass fishing.  My favorite tactic to catch Mississippi River largemouth bass in the fall is to throw a spinnerbait.

The bass in fall are on a feeding binge; they are bulking up for the long winter ahead of them.  The shad that the bass are feeding on are going to be in the shallow water.  This water will warm as the sun gets up over head, which will attract the baitfish and in turn bring the bass in.

The bass I find will relate to many forms of cover.  Points with moving water on both sides and flats with deep water close by are two spots to find these largemouth hiding.  Shorelines with weeds or wood will also have baitfish and bass next to them.

It is also important to locate water that is close to deeper water.  There doesn’t have to be a huge difference in water depth for it to be considered deeper.  On a recent fishing trip to the Mississippi we found the bass located in an area that had slight to moderate current going through an area that had several forms of vegetation.  Instead of just casting to the visible cover and catching short bass or bass up to 14 inches.  We backed off and ran our spinnerbaits through the 3-5 foot water column.  This produced bass in the 15 to 17 inch range for us.

The equipment that I use to throw a spinnerbait in the fall is a Quantum Tour Edition Burner reel with 17 lb. test Seaguar Inviz X fluorocarbon spooled on it.  I prefer a 7’0” MH action Quantum rod; because it gives me the sensitivity I need to feel the light bites that occur.  But it also gives me the strength and backbone I need to get a big fall bass out of the cover.  A longer 7 foot rod also allows me to make extra long casts when the bass are schooling on shad on the other side of the slough.

Every angler has their favorite spinnerbait that they like to throw and pretty much every tackle company makes one, it is just up to you to find one that you like and learn how that bait runs.

The spinnerbait that I like to throw is a short-arm RC Tackle spinnerbait.  This spinnerbaits arm is about half the length of a regular spinnerbait.  I like this bait in the fall because it is closer to the size of the baitfish that the bass are feeding on in the fall. 

Another feature that I like about this bait is that the weight is centered on the shaft of the hook, so it will not roll when you are reeling it in.  I like this in particular because I like a number four 4 gold Colorado blade on it.  This blade puts off a lot of vibration, which brings the bass in to it.  Since many times in the fall the water has a slight stain do to the leaves and dead weeds in the water.  My favorite color and skirt combination in the fall is white.  I have tried other colors and still have had the best of luck with white.  The flash off the blade and white skirt attracts hungry fall bass from the depths.

If the bass are short striking your bait adding a trailer hook is the best way to hook up on these short striking, just swiping at the bait bass.  Eagle Claw offers both a standard nickel and also they popular red model. 

Fishing a spinnerbait can be as simply as just casting it out and reeling it in, but some days more action is needed.  Sometimes the bait needs to be Yo-Yoed to trigger a finicky bass.  Something else to try is that when your spinnerbait bumps into the cover, rip it out of the weeds this ripping motion may just attract that lunker!

The bite is on now, so grab some spinnerbaits and head to your local fishing hole, 50 plus fish days are common and some of the biggest bass of the year are caught in the fall.  We at FutureBass look forward to hearing how your trip went!