26 replies to this topic

[bigt89]

after a long time off from bass fishing i just got back into it in the summer. found that senkos worked very well but had a down side very expensive for a worm that only lasted 1 fish 2-3 @most then i learned about wacky rig style. long story short after i got sick i stopped going out then doctors appts. kept popping up or weather was messing me up. been gettign out a few times this week, and it almost seems dead.

are bass still active? i have heard that a certain time they go dormant but usually in winter when water freezes over if it gets cold. still using works and senkos but no luck. i have no luck with frogs did not catch a thing this year had a few hits but missed them still learning how to properly fish them, and when to set the hook.

what should i bw using this time of the year? i know there are lures specifically for spring that are most effective then. is it the same for this time of the year or is bass fishing just slowing down?

[roadwarrior]

Well, we will see what some of the Jersey Guys have to say, but generally these lures/ baits are effective in the fall:

Jerkbaits, soft swimbaits, traditional jigs and swim jigs, flukes, single tail grubs, soft plastics on a split shot rig and
shakey head.

[MarkH024]

You can get more use out of your Senko or stik baits if you rig them with an O-ring or Wack-O Jig. This will keep it from tearing up as easily. You should get 5+ fish with it rigged properly, perhaps more.

Bass are still active. They're feeding like crazy to fatten up for the winter months (the places that actually have winter).

Try using jerkbaits, flukes, lipless cranks, squarebills. Don't give up on soft plastics, they'll still work. Topwater will still have a shot until the water gets really chilly, under 50 degrees.

[bigt89]

okay i cant use and cranks i fish in stockton i even tryed the shallow think is was only 1 or 2 feet and still kept getting tangled in the weeds pullign them up. i found that june bug and black were the 2 best colors for me but neither are doing what they were a few months ago. i hear you there all though i hear were supposed to get a cold snowy winter this year we shall see. i think most places were getting 70* in the middle on january and February. ill have to try some flukes i thought they were usually best in the spring from what i was told. im running low on senkos i may run out and get some more and hope there are on the rare "buy 1 get 1 free deal". whats the best color/ more popular in new jersey? im down in south jersey.

[scaleface]

In my neck of the woods the bass are thick and hungry in the back 1/3 of creeks.But the water is stained with no vegetation.

[BASSHUNTER1961]

Lipless cranks and spinner baits are the lure of choice, and wacky rigged Senkos.

[bigt89]

okay i do wacky rig my senkos now with a circle yami hook. i dont understand why fish like red but i have noticed i have alot better success with red hooks over silver. what color do you liek to use in new jersey? if they were not so expensive i would buy alot of colors to try as of now i have black junebug green pumkin some kind of green watermelon and black with blue flake.

[McAlpine]

It's fall. Go to the lake with a spinnerbait and your set.

[Vinny Chase]

The colder it gets the more I throw a NorthStar Custom Baits hair jig.
Jerkbaits, lipless cranks, & northstar swim jigs/flip & swim jigs are also great options.

[SAC2]

from a fellow New Jersian, the bass are still biting. ive been catching them on moving baits. ie: spinnerbaits, lipless cranks, flukes on an underspin jig. also have been catchin them deep after a front (not sure of the weather down in your parts, but we got a storm rollin in tonight, looks like post frontal conditions saturday). You dont have to buy gary yamamoto senkos either. try yum dingers, or bass pro knock off senkos. i have great success with both, and they are a fraction of the price. be persistent. keep at em'. itll happen sooner or later!

[Crestliner2008]

Hard & soft jerkbaits will get you bit this time of the year. Also try a couple of chatterbaits with a 4" Fin-S Fish (or facsimile) on the back. And keep tossing those Senkos.

I'm more north than you are and trust me, the fishing is getting better every day.

[USAF-16]

I'm not too far north of you. I fish everyday just about, but haven't been getting any fish in the last two weeks. I try all types of lures and its all the same results. Fall is considered one of the best times of year for largemouth, I hoping the water is going though a transition and the fishing will pick up again soon. I fish alot of dark water so I throw dark colors mostly, and try to match the color of the lures to the color of their natural food source around me(bluegill, frogs).

[bigt89]

thanks ill try some spinners and cranks out. ill have to run back out to dick's and ****** up a few more spinners was just out that way today too bad i did not check th eforum until now.

[Primus]

okay i cant use and cranks i fish in stockton i even tryed the shallow think is was only 1 or 2 feet and still kept getting tangled in the weeds pullign them up.

Unless your weeds are matted up on the surface you can fish a crank in shallow weedy places. Did very well fishing a shallow weeds in a small clear water natural lake a couple of days ago with the wind blowin' app 25 mph. I was catching them on a Sebile Flatt Shad lipless crank in the 3'-5' depth zone keeping my rod up high and rippin' the bait off of weeds. Found some even bigger fish right next to shallow milfoil clumps in 1-2' of water, using the DT Fat crank and slow crankin' on the surface and watching nice fish come up out the weeds to choke on it. The weeds were barely under the surface. As others mentioned a spinnerbait, swimjig and shallow swimbait are other good options for this scenario. Crankbaits were the ideal choice on this day as many of the fish were scattered along the shoreline and the best option is to cover water. I absolutely love fall fishing for the reason that in early to mid fall they are usually more fish up shallow that will take down moving baits.

[SmokeRise1]

Jigs in black/blue or tubes in same color are usually great this time of year. Spinnerbaits and traps work well too as the weeds that gave you grief all summer should have died and opened the water column up some.