Do you go big or small in the fall?

[papajoe222]

Just wondering as I know there are a couple of trains of though regarding bait size for fall presentations.  Many follow the line of thinking that in the fall, the young of the year are as big as they'll be until the water warms back up in spring. Others believe that smaller baits produce better in colder water.

Personally, I prefer smaller baits once the water temps drop below 60, for numbers and size. I did an extensive search for smaller than average blade baits and found some that only measure 3/4in. but still weigh in at 1/4oz.  Not only are they slaying the local bass, but the crappie and walleye really like them too. I'll drop down in size even more when the water temps drop below 40, but I ditch the blades for all but vertical presentation.

[Bird]

The more I fish the more I find bass to be unpredictable. 

The only consistency I've found was activity related to water temps and here where I fish,  58* was the start of good bite in spring and the start of slow down in fall. 

 

I can tell you're perhaps more detailed than the average fisherman, probably some good advice you could offer. 

 

For me, simplicity works best which is why water temps dictate baits I throw. 

3/8 spinnerbait is my go to this time of year with water temps near 58*.

 

Big baits in spring and fall and downsize in colder months for me but definitely not holy grail. 

 

Interesting question that I'll be following. 

[Bluebasser86]

Bigger fish are looking for bigger bites in the fall. A 1/2oz spinnerbait with a 4.8" Fat Impact style trailer is one of my best big fish baits in the fall when the water temps drop into the 50's. 

[Catt]

Once again I do not have winter, spring, summer, or fall lures!

 

I have bass fishing lures ?

 

I may upsize or down size any time of the year depending on the bass's mood. I may start out power fishing & end up finesse fishing or vice a versa in a single day.

 

1 hour ago, Bluebasser86 said:

1/2oz spinnerbait with a 4.8" Fat Impact style trailer

 

I'll throw that year round cause I don't fish for tighteyes!

[CrashVector]

I don't change sizes.

 

Ned rigs produce for me year round.  Likewise a Texas rigged pit boss.  I've caught big and small fish on both.

[ironbjorn]

In past years I've gone small. This year I've gone standard and plus size. I've seen more fish, not necessarily bigger fish, although I've caught several 3-4 pounders since September. 

[Hammer 4]

I fish the same size lures regardless of the season.

[the reel ess]

Looks like I should have gone hunting this fall. LOL. 

 

I can't complain. This is my best year EVER for size. I could have stopped fishing in April and it would have been. But the last few trips bites have been very difficult. The ones I got were smaller fish. I zeroed last trip.

 

To answer the OP, I use big bass baits all the time because I want to catch bigger bass.

Spinnerbait, jig, T-rig for flipping, lipless crank. But there are times in colder water where I could get away with two rods. The jig and the lipless crank.

[gim]

I prefer bigger baits as the season wears on.  But I'm also a bigger lure kinda guy, so my strategy may be slightly biased.  I generally believe that bigger lures catch bigger fish (not always of course).  Fall temps in the 50's are pretty ideal.  Once it drops below 50, I'm done.

[Bankc]

Both.  I'll usually try it one way, and if they're not biting, I'll go up or down in size to see if there's a difference.  Sometimes it helps to stand out from the baitfish so the bass key in on your lure.  Sometimes it's best to match them, so you don't stand out.  Every day is different, and you never know what will work until you try. 

 

I have a theory that bass, much like dogs, don't know how big they are.  They'll bite something almost as big as they are, or they'll bite something that's so small, you'd think it would be a waste of their time and energy to even try.  It seems, to me, that choosing the right size is more about their current mood than anything else.  

[Mike L]

The only time I may consider a change of anything is a few days after a cold front passing through.

 

If I do anything at all it may be a small presentation and/or location change from the norm. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[HookInMouth]

I use what's been working until it stops working. This year that's the rage tail menace. 

[Zcoker]

When I first started bass fishing years ago here in South Florida, I only used the smaller presentations, the lighter rods with the dinky lines because, well, that was the general take on things back then. Or at least it was for me. And most all my fish were smallish in size. Anything large was either not caught or broke off. Nowadays, I blast the water with the biggest baits and the heaviest line and the craziest combos imaginable lol. No matter the season. And most all my fish are biggins! My last outing, for example, saw two 7's and one 8 with a few 5-6's in the mix.  I've had days with 10's or 11's. Mind you, all these fish are from the bank! No boat, no yak, no paddle board lol, just two feet and a good truck. So my presentations have to be brutally big with big nasty hooks and my combos have to be absurdly strong to fight these gals in, these everglades giants. 

 

 

[scaleface]

I stay in the middle . There are times where I catch bass on a small blade bait  but thats a last ditch thing for me .  

[Chris Catignani]

It really kind of depends...

 

Lets just dissect a thread fin shad...aka yellow tail shad.

 

Large Bait

It been my experience (rock fishing below tailrace) that fish (rockfish, lmb, smb, drum, hybrid, gar, skipjack) will hit the biggest yellow tail they can find. Why? Its because a thread fin shad is delicate, soft and I'm guessing...taste good. You could put on a large gizzard shad and may not catch anything. This is from countless trips with countless drifts.

 

Small Bait

On the main lake when the water temp gets into the 40's...the juvenile thread fin shad will start to die. Sometime you will see them collected on the shore of a wind blown bank.

When there dying off (before their actually dead)...they just tend to suspend in the water.

This is where a small light weight marabou jig will pay off. 

If you ever get a chance ...take a close look at a thread fin.

Photos do not do it justice. They will have a yellow strip that runs down the side (you may see lures that have this). The end of the tail is yellow...and the belly is snow white.

[Johnbt]

I usually start large. I like 3/8 spinnerbaits and chatterbaits with 3-, 4-, or 5- grubs, etc. Or even larger. Normally with two people in the boat one will try a trailer and will try without. Or we'll try different things entirely at first.

 

I carry these for every depth.

Some are more gray than white depending on the maker, but they also work in our stained water. When it gets some mud in it I might switch to Firetiger. This is a Rapala DT.

Here's my backyard lure that was hiding on the table behind my laptop. One of the smaller ones - 6th Sense.

 

 

[Black Hawk Basser]

I tend to favor larger baits because that usually means you can fish faster to cover more water.  I always follow the formula of starting aggressive and tempering back from there if that's what the fish seem to be conveying to me.  To me, it just doesn't make a lot of sense to be poking around with something like a weightless 4" finesse worm from the get-go.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Once the fish get into the winter pattern the bigger baits will often produce bigger fish, but the smaller bait will produce far more numbers.  I think the fall is a little more complicated because the fishing can be different from day to day.  When it comes to JBs I've found that the smaller baits like the Duo 85 and 110 Jr have out produced the bigger 100s/110s  in mid to late fall.     

[WRB]

If our local lakes with FLMB and Threadfin Shad would die off if the water dropped below 45=degrees.

Use what works.

Tom

[Bankbeater]

Some years I have caught a lot of bass on small baits, and other years I have seen the bass ignore small baits in favor of larger baits.  Sometimes it's not about the bait at all, but about the location and presentation.  You just have to keep casting until a pattern develops.

[Mr. Aquarium]

One of my favorite baits for winter up here in cold Massachusetts is an 8 inch floating hudd rigged to barely suspend under the surface 

[WRB]

The late Andy “Cooch Caccia guide on the Delta would say use the 1 ton jig during the fall. Cooch’s logic was big crusty crawdads are the target of big bass and the 1 ton with big trailer kicked up a mud trail like a crawdad does. Cooch knew stuff and mage the Watts jigs so successful on the Delta

Tom

[Boomstick]

Both, but I do tend to use larger lures often earlier in the fall and later in the fall, I will transition to smaller lures (and use  lot of 1/4oz poppers). But that is more of a generalization than a hard rule as well.

[bowhunter63]

Big early and Small later especially after the first freeze 

[WRB]

Back when Rainbow trout were planted in the fall big trout swimbaits was the lure of choice. Lakes that still have planted trout swimbaits are the ticket.

Tom