Westernbass Magazine - FREE Bass Fishing Tips And Techniques - Fall 2015, Page 35

Westernbass Magazine - FREE Bass Fishing Tips And Techniques - Fall 2015, Page 35

same time next year. That’s a mistake. Both pros rely on these “idiot baits” more than just about any other to find the fish and put them in the livewell as winter approaches.

“When I was starting out in the business, an old-timer told me that you could travel the country and catch fish anywhere, anytime, with just two lures – a quarter-ounce chrome and blue Rat-L-Trap and a clear Tiny Torpedo,” Reehm said. Years later, the Torpedo is generally not a part of his arsenal, but the Trap remains front and center.

“The fact is that they eat it in the fall,” he said. “At that time of year it’s all about covering water. You’ll catch one here and one there. If there’s grass that’s a plus, but you don’t need it.”

DeFoe agrees that it’s fantastic where there’s no cover at all, like on the lakes near his East Tennessee home that feature bare rock and gravel banks. He’ll look for bass ganging up on nearby flats, where instead of relating to grass or wood they’re keyed in on groups of baitfish. “Sometimes you see them on your graph,” he said. “But if you can see the fish feeding, that’s even better.” If it’s a ledge or a 45 degree bank, there might be a better lure choice, but when depth changes are merely subtle, the lipless is almost always a good bet in a wide variety of water colors and temperatures.

Of course, there are a variety of lures that will tempt actively feeding fish. Reehm said that a buzzbait or walk-the-dog topwater will often get him his biggest bites, and a squarebill can be deadly, but a lipless crankbait has the perfect profile, can be cast a mile, and “you can fish it real shallow or much deeper.” Most importantly, it doesn’t require any really tricky or

nuanced retrieves. “Most of the time I just keep it constant,” he said. “The fish are chasing down bait.”

DeFoe dotes on the lipless crankbait over its lipped counterparts in relatively cover-free areas “because a square bill needs to bounce off of something to trigger a strike. He can do the same thing with a lipless lure simply by “popping it on occasion or with a stop and go retrieve.”

While red craw patterns and gaudy chartreuse or fire tiger hues are often best in the pre-spawn, both pros agreed that in the late summer into early fall baitfish patterns are typically preferable. “You can’t go wrong with chrome and blue when they’re gorging on shad,” Reehm explained. DeFoe uses that pattern frequently too, as well as chrome/black and blue steel shad and blueback herring. The key is “that you want a reflective type of side when it’s sunny out,” he said. “When it’s cloudy, I tend to use one with white sides and a darker back.” His go-to crank is the Storm Rockin’ Shad, usually the 2 ½” ½ ounce model, although he also rotates various

sizes of

Credit JD Blackburn

FALL 2015

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