There's Always Time To Fish

 

Fall Favorites 

Wolf Lake, on the East Fork of the Tuckasegee River, Tuckasegee, NC



Continuing our talk about fall fishing in the WNC Mountains leads to my favorite reaction bait, the crank bait.  Bass in creeks and reaction baits go hand in hand. Creeks are full of small points, drop-offs, rock piles, humps, laydowns and stumps. These structure and cover features set up perfectly for crankbaits in mountain lakes.

From late summer to fall, Bass progress from deep summer feeding areas into shallower fall feeding areas and then back into deeper winter holding areas. During this time you can follow the fish with three to four crankbaits and cover all the water they will feed in beginning in the late summer Bass will be deep and this call for bigger, deep diving baits. Baits like a Strike King 6XD, Rapala DT 16 or 20, and a H2O Express CRD+ work very during this time.

As the season progresses into early fall the fish move into the creeks and get shallower. The ends of the first two or so points into the creeks area a good place to start. Humps and bars in the middle of creek mouths are very good as well. Early fall calls for mid-range baits. Baits like a 3XD, DT10 and CRS+ work perfectly this time of year, and can load the boat. These baits have a good size body to attract larger bass and still work well around cover.

 At the height of fall fishing the bass are shallower and chasing forage around the middle to back end of creeks. True fall calls for baits like the Strike King Series 3, DT6, or CRM. You can get away with a little smaller bait right now. Remember to focus on the ends of laydowns and any high spot, point hump, bar or individual stump or rock pile as they block current and create ambush points. If the fish get really shallow or are holding on the ends of laydowns during any fall season you can turn to a square bill. Square bills, like the KVD, Rick Clunn or Excalibur series are perfect for fishing laydowns. Just bang them into the limbs and hold on. They really can be fished in some heavy cover if you are diligent and use heavy line.    

Sexy Shad, the hottest crankbit color

Mixing up the type of bait you throw by using both silent and rattling versions helps keep fishing biting. Color is up to you as long as you start with a Shad base and go from there. Water clarity really comes into play when picking colors. The clearer the water the clearer and more natural the bait, and the more stained the water the more vibrant the bait color. You can get away with just a few colors if you have to. Sexy Shad, Ghost Shad, Tennessee Shad, Blue and Chartreuse and Brown and Chartreuse are all very good and cover clear water to stained water. Bluegill and Crawfish colors work, but I tend to fish Shad colors first.

Rods and reels should be set up for crankbaits and can range from 6’ 6” medium to 7’ 11” medium-heavy depending on the bait and depth your fishing. Longer rods work better with deeper diving baits for two reasons. First, they are heavier powered and allow you to throw heavier baits farther. Secondly, the extra length allows you to move more line on the hook set. Any crankbait that dives less than 10-12 feet doesn’t need a rod longer that 7’ 3”. Square bills actually work better on rods 7 feet. As for reels you only really need two. The first is a cranking reel from 4.9:1 t to 5.8:1. The lower the gear ratio the better for deep diving baits. The low gear ratio helps drive the bait deeper, relieves torque and provides plenty of power to turn fish away from deep cover. Square bills should be fished on a reel in the 5.8:1 to 6.6:1 range. Square bills work better with some speed. They are designed to move fast and crash into cover and deflect off. The shorter rod allows you to roll cast and make accurate casts with a square bill to tight cover.

Line size should match what your wanting to do and where your throwing your baits. Line test from 8 to 17 can be used. The smaller diameter helps you cast farther and gets your bait deep, but abrades quicker and lacks power to move heavy fish from cover. The heavier lines shine around shallower cover. I use 10 and 12-pound for the majority of my crankbaits. Eight pound for medium diving baits with sparse cover and 14 for square bills fished around tree tops, brush piles or laydowns. Any quality line will work as long as its fluorocarbon. Fluorocarbon has significantly less stretch so it’s a lot more sensitive. The lack of stretch also aids with hook sets in deep water. Fluorocarbon sinks and this will add a little depth to your crankbaits, which can be a good thing.

The last thought on crankbaits is this, change your hooks. Unless your bait comes with premium hook, then change them, period. I prefer EagleClaw or Trokar hooks. The Eagle Claw Lazer round bend or Trokar TK300 are super sharp and strong. You’ll catch more fish with better hooks, trust me.



If want to fish and need some advice or a guide then contact my good buddy Austin Neary. He is a serious stick on Glenville Lake and all WNC Mountain lakes. Austin fishes the BASS College Series, and after a third place finish at the Eastern Regional at Watts Bar, Tennessee he competed in the National Championship Tournament on Lake Chatuge. Reach him at Dream Catcher Guides

 

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