Fall Spinnerbait Smallmouth Fishing Tips

With the leaves changing and the smallmouth bass gearing up winter, I thought I’d share some fall spinnerbait smallmouth fishing tips from Blaine Mengel.

Most smallmouth anglers have a special place in their hearts for the “spinnerbait bite”. When it’s on, the smallies will crush the spinnerbait.

It is thought by some that bass think the flash and size of the spinnerbait appears like a school of baitfish and the bass just open wide and plunge into it, figuring they’ll get a nice meal.

Fall Spinnerbait Smallmouth Fishing Tips

Here are some tips to make your time on the water fishing a spinnerbait more successful.

In many instances, water could still be at relatively low levels during the early fall period, so lightweight spinnerbaits with a smaller profile and smaller blades will be effective. And the bass will likely still be in or very near areas where they called home during the summer, with many of these areas being adjacent to fast water.

As water temperatures continue to fall into the 50s, smallies will begin to relocate to areas a bit closer to where they will spend the winter. In no way does this mean they leave current. Smallmouth will use current for feeding in water as cold as 40 degrees in our area rivers.

Anglers need to target deeper areas like flats where forage may have been located during the summer months. Soft to moderate current will hold feeding bass, and many will be larger fish. Use the same color combinations that proved effective earlier in the fall.

When water temperatures reach the 40s, it’s time to slow-roll larger spinnerbaits in slightly deeper water areas nearby wintering haunts. Bass are now searching for larger meals for which they don’t have to work as hard to capture.

Slowly reeling the spinnerbait, and almost never with a straight retrieve but with pauses and light twitches so that it ticks off boulders, wood and other bottom cover, will entice strikes from more lethargic bass. Source

Of coure there are many other lures that will catch smallmouth bass but I hope these fall spinnerbait smallmouth fishing tips will let you experience the trill of a 20 in bronzeback crushing your offering.

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Kevin Van Dam knows his stuff.  To really up your game, this is a must-have book!

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