Best All Around Lures For Fall Fishing

Best All Around Lures For Fall Fishing

By Ben Leal

Fall in Iowa brings with it cool temperatures and shorter days. Fishing in general has picked up; fish are feeding and getting ready for the deep freeze that is on the horizon. Fish are moving shallow chasing after their favorite quarry and the action will heat up as the water cools down. This holds true for many of our large bodies of waters as well as some of the smaller gems we have access to along with rivers and streams. Cool weather fishing can be some of the most productive of the year.

So what works best and when? Do we keep our all time favorites tied to our lines or do we branch out, trying other tried and true tactics. Let’s take a look at some of the best all around lures for some of Iowa’s favorite sport fish.

Bass
Let’s talk about water temperature here for a minute; this is a key component to successful cold water bassin. Bass are cold-blooded creatures with their body temperatures governed by the surrounding water. The largemouth seems most comfortable when the water is between 650 and 750 F. As the water chills, their metabolism starts to slow down and in cold water bass are very sluggish.

How many of you have taken a look at a recipe and read the baking time, say for a cake. They always list a “range of times”; best between 18 and 23 minutes, or something to that affect. My rule of thumb is to split the difference. So when it comes to bass fishing let’s say that 70 degrees is the magical number causing fish to move shallow in preparation for the coming winter. As water temps begin to dip below 65 they will begin to move out deeper, though there will be pockets of warmer water that will hold feeding fish. Once we hit that 45 to 50 degree mark or so, fish will take up residence in their deeper wintering holes and bass fishing will be difficult at best.

Like any angler, we all have our go to baits, those that work for us time and time again. As I spend my summer days out on Iowa’s lakes chasing after bass I’ll always have a plastic worm tied to my line. But, as water temps cool and bass begin chasing shad and other small aquatic life down for supper, the plastic worm may not be the best choice of baits. These fish are active and hungry! Look for bass in shallow creek channels that lead to the main lake. A spinner bait will be a great searching tool as you look for active fish. The best thing about these baits is that you can buzz them just below the surface in really shallow water or let them fall and retrieve them slowly to get them deeper. A Colorado blade is a great choice for this type of fishing, double Colorado well help keep the bait up higher in the water column. You can also have a combination of a Colorado and willow blade, this creates a nice “thump” in the water and also gives the illusion of a small bait fish as well.

Some of Iowa’s larger bodies of water have a pretty decent shad population in them and you certainly can match your bait to mimic shad. Bass feeding on shad will be shallow for the most part and if you can find them chasing at the surface, a top water bite can be exciting! Many of Iowa’s bass destinations don’t have shad however perch and bluegill will be the forage of choice in those lakes. These fish are feeding and if you’re sitting over a hump in 15 feet of water where perch or bluegill are present, bass are surly close by. Crankbaits, spinner baits and minnow baits in bluegill or perch colors will work well.

Another great lure that works well in some of the smaller bodies of water is a square bill crankbait. This is a great searching tool as well. “The square bill crankbait is great for covering a lot of water”, said Bassmaster Elite Series angler Dean Rojas. “I have thrown it around docks and laydowns, however you can’t just throw it in and then crank it back. Slow the retrieve, maneuver around and if it stops, slowly increase the tension until it rolls over the stump or cover your fishing.” Rojas also noted that when you’re using these types of baits bass will hit them hard as they roll over cover. The square bill crankbait certainly should be a part of your fall arsenal.

Crappie
Just like bass, crappie will start moving shallow and will feed vigorously as the water cools. A great place to start looking for these fish are in the same areas that you found them in the spring. When using artificial lures it is suggested that you stay under three inches in length. In most areas a one or two inch artificial lure would work the best. It goes without saying that using live minnows will certainly gain results. When you use minnows keep the cool and well aerated. Lively bait will attract feeding fish.

You can catch crappie anytime during the day or night but the most productive times are usually at night. This is because the fish feed more aggressively during the late evening to early morning hours. Using an artificial light to draw the crappie to your position is a great technique used for night fishing. The light attracts insects and bait fish that will in turn attract the crappie and draw them in your direction.

As far as your choice of baits, other than the aforementioned minnows, when you’re fishing stained water crappie will rely on sound to detect food, so small spinnerbaits with Colorado blades will work well. Crappie will be shallower in stained water so fish close to cover. As the water clears fish will move in to deeper water. Use lures such as the Rapala X-Rap, Rebel Tracdown Minnow or maybe small crappie jigs. Small blade baits such as Strike Kings Grubby Spin and Minnow Spin will do the trick as well.

Walleye
No doubt that walleye will follow suit as far as fish habits and cooling water, and this time of year can be some of the best for large walleye. Iowa Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Biologist Ben Dodd mentioned that trolling with crankbaits such as Rapala’s Jointed Shad Rap can be incredibly productive especially along drop offs.

“We use paddle tails in the fall and they are incredibly affective up here in Clear Lake”, said Kevan Paul of Kevan Paul’s Guide Service. “We’ll use larger baits this time of year since the young bait fish from spring have grown quite a bit to this point”. Paul notes he typically casts them right up close to the bank and retrieves back to the boat. “My preference is to use the Berkley Ripple Shad pretty much exclusively for fall walleye”, added Paul.

Minnows certainly are a viable and productive option when looking for walleye in the fall. A jig tipped with a minnow cast in to shallow water along the shoreline will produce well. As Paul noted, match the size of your minnows to the size of the existing forage. There are a variety of lures that will work this time of year, and a few that you should pick up if walleye is your quarry this fall include Berkley’s Flicker Shad, XPS Nitro Dancer, and any of Cotton Cordell’s minnow shaped hardbaits. Grubs are also a good choice too, but are usually three inches at their largest, so keep that in mind.

Musky
We don’t often talk about Musky when it comes to some of Iowa’s sport fish, but these fish grow to, in some cases epic proportions, and can put an exclamation point on your fishing season.

Open Water – Although many new musky anglers always associate muskies to weeds, these fish do roam in deeper water. Note though that just because the water is deep, it does not guarantee that the fish will be on the bottom. Muskies will chase schools of baitfish suspended in deeper water. These open water fish can be caught by using a variety of methods, from trolling crankbaits, casting jerkbaits, or jigging large plastics. When in deeper water look for shoals, reefs and drop offs.

Weeds – Stay away from old dying weedbeds. The decaying weeds will eat up oxygen in the water and will not hold fish. Green weeds are the key to shallow water fall musky angling. Fresh weeds are a hiding place for bait, and muskies will not be to far away. Weedbeds that are located in close proximity to deep water are prime areas for the shallow water angler.

“Early in the fall you’ll find these fish shallow and we like to throw topwater baits out for these aggressive predators”, said Paul. “They will follow the bait fish in to bays as the water cools, looking for warmer water”. Once the water cools off a bit more large musky will be on the hunt for larger forage and move to deeper water. “We’ll cast Musky Innovations BullDawg baits in 12 and 13 inch sizes along submerged rock piles and vegetation”, continued Paul. “We’ve had a lot of success and basically look for areas where the yellow bass are hanging out and we’ll find musky”. For more information on Kevan Paul’s Guide Service visit http://www.paulsfishingguide.com/

Last Chance…
Fall fishing provides you with the last chances to get the boat out on the water. A benefit of late season open water fishing is that many of the pleasure boaters have already put their boats up for the year. Fall is a great time to hit your favorite fishing spots…and as the season rolls on you can take in the beauty of Mother Nature changing her clothes as she prepares for a winters coat.

Tight Lines!