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A great fall afternoon on a local reservoir, and the bass were mostly biting crankbaits - 16 total in just over 3 hours - but the largest coming on Ned. Surface temps at 68 degrees with a nice stain to the water. Expecting cooler temps along with some cloud cover this weekend. Might be enough to break my ‘no weekends’ rule and give it another shot.

I went largemouth fishing three times in October and it may have been the best month in years. It was certainly the best month of my 2024 season. Water temps dropped from more summer-like temps to fall temps, and the fish responded. They were aggressive and hungry. About 65 largemouth came into my boat, plus a few moderately sized accidential northern pike. It went from a spinnerbait bite to a chatterbait bite to a swim jig bite as the water temps slowly dropped from the low 60's to the low 50's. A sizable percentage of these fish were quality bass too - including an all-time second best largemouth I caught on Oct 5. I've posted some of these already in various threads but here's a collection of them together.

Summer and half of October was brutal. Hot, humid, not much action. But it has been heating up! Out for a few hours this morning. Caught 7, lost two. Started with a Zara Spook. Nothing. Used two different jigs (a 1/4 and a 3/8 oz). and the A-Jay Special. Nothing. Tried a Ned (not my favorite bait). Also nothing. Tried a squarebill (also noth…you get the picture). Cut off the squarebill and put on a 1/8 oz. bullet weight, a 3/0 Gamakatsu EWG and a Zoom Z-Craw in California 420. And that’s what they wanted. Most were 1-1/2 to 2 lbs., but one was over 4 lbs. I was using a Daiwa Aird-X MHF (which IMO feels more like a MF or maybe a MHMF) and a Garcia Black Max with 12 lb. Yo Zuri Hybrid. It’s not a top-shelf rig but it handled those bass without a hitch. Fun day! They are really smashing baitfish in the shallows. Right on the bank. I caught the last 5 by casting to where they were actively feeding. The big gal absolutely smashed it!

How to catch a pike... Tie on a brand new expensive spinnerbait. Put the receipt on as a trailer. Cast Retrieve Set hook Fight Bring Pike in boat Unhook and release Cut off ruined expensive spinnerbait and throw it down. Don't repeat

@Mobasser First off, thank you for starting this thread. It offered an opportunity take a little stroll down memory lane. I fish waters that all have pike. The bigger the water and or the less pressured, the bigger the pike. I've caught some decent sized pike from both my canoe and the Pro-V bass. I rarely target them so they are almost always a by catch deal. Sizable specimens are usually a welcome distraction, snot rockets are just a Bait Wrecking PIA . When fishing places that have a healthy pike population, I'll usually use a wire leader. But not always. And that's cost me a few baits, OK maybe more than a few. I've posted pic & video of a few of my pike landings here over the years and I'm going to add a couple here at the end of this post. The first one is one of my favorite battles with a pike. (I'll apologize in advance for the colorful language at the beginning of this clip) I was in the Old Town on a late fall day several years ago. The Pike was just over 25 lbs and came from a fairly small body of water. I towed it to the beach to land it. If you read my comments in this video you can get a little more info as to what happened and why. Good Times. https://youtu.be/gSHOgDGlJGE?feature=shared A-Jay

IME, what is important, regardless of the number of baits an angler may have, is to know & understanding how, when & where to use whatever the collection of jerkbaits (for example) in each type of different fishing situation an angler might come across. If I fished the same lake, that same way at the same time every season, then a bare bones collection of baits would probably do the job well. But fishing a variety of lakes, where I can face an almost infinite number of different deals and conditions, has taught me that these situations require a bit of a bigger tool box. Just for starters, there's deeper baits, shallower baits, different size & profile baits, loud baits, silent baits and then there's the mind boggling number of colors & patterns. Only way for me to know what works in the waters I fish, was to try a bit of it all. Takes some time & effort (and $$$), but even though I'll always still be learning & evolving, a few baits in each location and in each certain situation, on each certain lake have proven themselves as superior to many others I have. That can not happen for me with three baits. Finally, as much as we like to think we can 'pattern' bass, and figure out 'what bait they want that day and how they want it', I do not subscribe to that mantra. In my mind, each & every bass is an individual creature. With it's own like & dislikes, preferences and tendencies, and although they are Schooling fish, that may not mean every fish will bite or wants the same bait in the same way. This seems especially true when it comes to the larger, older bass I seek. One subtle little tweak to a presentation or a color, or a depth, a profile or a sound, can mean the scale goes to a new number not seen by me. A basshead needs time on the water to figure some of this out and it's always changing. The lessons learned come with many fishless days, just like watching 'deep dive' videos. btw, I watched that clip and it's pretty good, however Matt omitted the entire silent bait deal. I'm OK with that though. YMMV A-Jay https://youtu.be/zIqCmH_52IQ?feature=shared&t=1215

I used to deep dive into all that noise and it got way over complicated. I’m in the keep it simple camp. I stick with what works for me.

I never watch that stuff, but based on your example it’s definitely overkill. There aren’t 20 different times, places and actions of anything!! But Hey, why just show the ones that produced the most in the most varied of conditions for the majority of our subscribers, when we can hawk 20 so the video lasts longer to expose our sponsors longer. Or maybe I’m just too cynical. Mike

Install the clip onto the lure then use the lures weight to assist tying the San Diego Jam knot. Tom

I found a deal the Bait Monkey couldn't refuse. I've been fishing it for a few days now. I have it paired with my old 2019 Steez SV. The Daemos is probably the most accurate casting rod I have used. It's pretty sensitive and loads a 3/8oz jig amazingly well. Together with the Steez, it's a deadly combo. Only downside is that it's soft.

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I lose a few lures every season to pike bite-offs, but I land more than I lose. It depends on whether they get their teeth on the line, which they can slice through instantly. A hard hit, followed by an immediate breakoff on the hookset was usualy a pike. Always need to check the line closely after every pike encounter. They'll also mangle plastics, spinnerbait/buzzbait wires, skirts, balsa bodies, etc Smaller pike ("Snot Rockets", "Hammer Handles") are annoying because they're slimy, thrash around like crazy, but larger ones can be pretty exciting -- helpful to have a net in the kayak, but I try to leave them in the water for unhooking if I can. They strike mostly anything you'd use for bass -- spinnerbaits, topwaters, crankbaits, jerkbaits, jigs, any plastics, even ned rigs and drop shots. They like slightly colder water than largemouths, so in many of the lakes where I fish, they tend to stay deeper than the bass in the summer. I don't target them, or even really enjoy dealing with them most of the time, but they're part of the adventure up here and they spice things up.

I’ve caught literally thousands of pike in my life. If you are geared up for them with wire leaders, they are a lot of fun to catch. They aren’t in the least bit line shy. Most bass lures will catch them but they will tear up soft plastics and put holes in soft wooden baits like older Rapalas. One reason I like them is because I can use my bass tackle and are usually found in waters that you’d expect to find largemouth. Many anglers with little experience are rightly afraid to handle them. Once you learn how to avoid the teeth and have the proper tools, it’s no problem. In the states, people often kill them before they have a chance to get big so large pike aren’t very common. Even in Canada, where most of the really big fish live the monster sized fish aren’t common. If you are bass fishing and not using wire or heavy mono leaders, pike can be a nuisance, biting off lures, sliming up your landing net and slicing up your fingers. Most guys who don’t target pike would rather not deal with them but they are my third favorite fish to catch after smallmouth and largemouth bass.

I use 5lb Sunline Invisible FC on a few setups. Great line. No issues with it but you have to remember it's 5lb line. I've caught several 5lb+ fish on this line including this guy last weekend. I also use YGK braid PE #0.8 and Sunline Almight PE #1.0 to a 10lb leader for softplastic and jigs.

It's really tough to go wrong with PE#1 - 0.165-mm dia - this is the trade-off point between small diameter and high strength (20-lb breaking strength in JDM braid). This is the same diameter as 4-lb mono, and Jun Sonada has always recommended as the minimum diameter to avoid line dig. I have two BFS reels that fish smaller, #0.8 and #0.6 to get more light-end distance, two fishing larger PE#1.2 for big-fish toughness, but #1.0 is a reliable go-to for all BFS. I'm also going to add fine braid backlash is tough to deal with. Initially with a new BFS reel, get used to it with 5-lb Ultragreen mono or 6-lb YoZuri Hybrid. After you know you're backlash-proof, make the switch to X-braid.

@Koz: that’s a nice list, but there is just one thing I would change… DODGERS!!!!!!!! lol They were my first MLB team I was a fan of when I was a kid. (The days of Ron Cey and Steve Garvey) Not really a fan of the Dodgers these days but I’m rooting for them in this series and I have no dog in this fight. May the better team win.

Northern Green Bass for the win ~ Nicely Done Congrats. Sort of surprised you allowed yourself to be photographed with a pike. We all know how much you 'love' them. A-Jay

My Last Trip out onto Lake Menderchuck in the Pro-V Bass for 2024 was productive . But more importantly, it was wicked FUN ! A-Jay

@Mobasser good topic; northern pike are a confounding fish for me. They have always been bycatch on my home lake, and for some reason, all the big ones I actually hook seem to come on jerkbaits, spinnerbaits, and spoons. So fighting them seems to be a 50/50 proposition that I'm hooked up with a large and powerful fish on M to ML power bass tackle and they fight hard, especially in cooler water. Had an almost A-jay class bend me out under the boat on a bfs rig after a 3-4 minute battle just the other day. Makes me mad at myself for leaving her with a face full of spoon, and for now not having it tied on to the end of my line. Which brings me to my other point; those fish owe me money. I'd safely say that on average I lose a dozen grass jigs and a half dozen swim jigs and a few jerkbaits a year to those teeth. There's even certain places and times where I start a location off with a spinnerbait or a 8" spoon to kinda clear the way. Too many times I've lost 2 jigs in one stop working the same weed line. Here's my most recent, decent one that got a pic. scott

@gimruisi know your love for pike lol. Basically my side of PA does not have northern pike. You have to go to the western part of the state for them. Every once and awhile you have a fluke one come out of the susky. Probably made its way from raystown is my guess.

I would add that it's very important to release the bigger ones. Anything over about 30 inches is a pretty rare specimen these days. Big pike eat small ones so when you eliminate big ones, you are often eliminating a natural predator of the over populated smaller ones. If you want to keep some, keep the small ones.

Sooo the slippery slope with them is taking too many out and their viability. Up on Champlain the ice fisherman and shooters (yes shotguns, yes it's a thing) take so many breeders out it's hard to catch a good one. They leave them on the ice or just to float and rot. Add in the pickrel spawning with them creating hybrids (yes it's also a thing) and it doesn't take much to damage their population. Final thing, they don't protect beds (none of the pike family do). On Champlain we have this invasive called a Tench, St Lawrence has the gobies... they go in and wipe out entire nests of eggs. Now it's super rare to get one over 40" when a decade ago you would get a teener a year. I caught 2 pure pike all this season which is shockingly low for up here. Yes they're annoying but for those of you fortunate to have a fishery with them, treat them well, they are very important.

I basically never go fishing without my scale, but I went after work the other night. Heart stopping! Without a scale, a little heart breaking. Easily the longest bass I've ever caught, I'm going to measure my foot to above my knee for a length estimate. I think it's going to be my PB that never was, can't verify... What do you think?

I say stick with it best you can, and don't kid yourself. Either you're doing it, or your not. Consistency is a big part of it and IMO, the Secret Sauce. Don't be this guy. A-Jay

Lots of pike up here. The big pike have usually dropped deep come our summer bass opener, but the little pike (<3 lbs) are a common catch when bass fishing. The don't "usually" steal many moving baits, but things like frogs and jerkbaits that usually get hit on the pause are always at risk (especially frogs on braided line). A lot of pike come in fairly easy and then try to roll/thrash at the boat, and that's when the majority get lost so if we don;t have a leader on we try to net them right away and not play around. If we're fishing in areas with a lot of pike, I'll often run a 6" leader made of 50# fluorocarbon. The guy I buy them from calls them "just in case" leaders, and they'd good for expensive things like jackhammers and glidebaits that I really don't want to lose. But, they're supple enough to not affect the lures action much and bass don't seem to notice them even in clear water. Catching pike on purpose is fun, especially in spring/fall when the big ones can be caught shallow. Catching pike while bass fishing can be annoying, especially when you load up the rod and then everything is just gone. lol

My first and only instance of catching a pike was about 4 years ago on a road trip to Maine. I launched my kayak on a lake in hope of catching a smallmouth and ended up with a nice LM, a pike and a SM. Yes I have a picture somewhere. I found out not to lip them. BTW they all were caught on a finesse worm.

@gimruis have at it buddy 😂😂 I have never fished water with pike in them. Musky and pickerel only. I do not have many run ins with musky bass fishing. Ironically fishing some of the exact locations I was target musky and catching them.

Just got back from a 6 day camping trip down in south Jersey. Target fish was Tog, a saltwater bottom fish that live around rocks. Not sure is anyone on here has posted them, they are hard fighting bulldogs. Got 14 one day and 18 another day, we took a break from battling the strong tides that were running and fished a small lake near the campground where we caught some small pickerel. One other day we cut short as there was a strong NW wind 15 to 30 kts, we tried but it was impossible to fish.

Dude, it’s how they make a living plain and simple. But.. they are very good at what they do and if you’re looking for jerkbait line a crank bait line, rod or reel then I’d definitely recommend watching and learning from them. They know their passion..

Well Said Mike

New Article Just Posted! https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/fall-lure-baits.html

Tried all the above and more today, ended up being cloudy and windy. Not sure if a front was moving through but the wind was blowing. I haven't thrown a swim jig much and threw one today, man it was a struggle all day today. In addition to what you have listed today I also threw spinnerbaits, jigs and a pop-r. The only fish I caught which were right at the end of the day was on a jig along the same stretch of bank. I fished the jig in lots of places along with all the other items and nada all day long until right at the end. Just not sure where or what the fish are relating to and not sure how to figure it out, lol.

"I have been trying to make it a habit of retying every trip, as I noticed a couple trips ago the knot had come undone or broken I can’t remember (possibly from aforementioned cold exposure?) Line was relatively new, respooled a month or two ago." Anyone but me think think the OP has defined his issue. Retying every trip won't get it. Big Game is good line. Palomar is good knot if tied correctly. Regardless of knot or line used, if the OP is "trying" to retie every trip, he's is deep trouble. Should be retying every hour or so and trying to spool new line every trip. So to be an . . . hole, but the truth is the truth.

Run all your line out and hand the rod to a friend. Go to the other end and hold hook so the point is in your finger. Have your friend try and set the hook. Take video of the whole thing.

Hope you get back to feeling well soon brother!

I caught a dozen bass like this out of 56 total. More photos in a stand-alone trip report titled "I love it when a plan comes together.":

I fished for the fourth time in six days and am fishing again tomorrow morning at the leaky dam, which I scouted yesterday to see if it's safe to launch beside the dam. It is! Then I'll take a break for a week or so. I wanted to take advantage of our Indian Summer and I have! This morning's fishing fit the fall pattern of schools of bass here and there and long stretches of unproductive water in-between. I caught three in three consecutive casts to begin my morning. Here are two of those three, both 17-inches: I caught more smallmouth that largemouth this morning, but I don't photograph most of the smallies because they're skinny: I fished three lures: a Yum Ned bait, a Yo-Zuri popper, and a Depps 6" fluke. All worked about equally well. Here's a pretty 17-incher: And here's my thickest fish: And my longest bass at 19.25-inches: I'm excited about fishing the river tomorrow above the leaky dam. It'll be our last warm day and it'll be cloudy and foggy, unlike this morning's sunshine. Fingers crossed! I caught a dozen of this morning's bass at the pond's last weed bed. Most of the others have rotted and collapsed. @Glenn taught me that fall bass will cluster at the last greenery and he's right. You can see the weed bed behind the bass in the last two bass pics. I also went an hour without getting a single hit. Fall fishing sure is hot and cold, just like the days of fall. Pretty pic:

Had to find a way to get out on the water as it was just stupid nice for the 3rd week of Oct up here. Paid off too. A-Jay

I'm not surprised. She's got it all: length, belly, and shoulders.

You know it so does everyone else. Every once in a while a decent esox lucious shows up. Yes.

The only time I purposely bomb baits is when I’m in a search mode and the bite is none existent. I do get a a feeling of joy and happiness when the bait caster is dialed in to the max, the bait is flying into the next county, and I’m still hitting the targets. On tough days, it does provide a little joy!

Definitely but there are several places I can start. If I can start where the juice is, why not.

Nice catch

@gimruis: You scored and scored and scored and.... I especially like the fat bass on the bump board. Was she the biggest?

When casting chopping glides, I make alot of cast per hour, so I retie roughly every hour. I also start every trip with a fresh SDJ knot. If I catch a fish or pull hard in a snag, I retie. I fish 20 & 25 BG and 20,25, & 30 CXX.

I was going to say a deep diver being cranked very fast to elicit a reaction strike. It works on Kentucky lake post spawn.. of course be prepared to get worn out doing it 😂

Although I’ll admit I have zero idea when the “real” Oktoberfest ends I figured I better grab at least one more Oktoberfest 12 pack while I can. I’m trying a new one and 2 beers in I’m not sure what I think.

Honestly when I try to bomb a cast, a back lash often occurs. Let the rod do the work. Make it fluid and smooth. Like swinging a golf club. Swing too hard, and a misfire usually occurs. Works much better when you let the golf club do the work.

You could, and it would would work just fine, but it's really not built for that. As an example it has a great big handle on it. perfect for frogs or punching. The 2024 tatula is available in japan now, and is usually 115 or so. It has hyperdrive gears. I have one and it's not a zillion, but compared to all the tatulas that came before it is butter smooth.

This fella?