Fall is a great time to be on local fisheries chasing the line-tightening bass. How and where to catch these often-elusive underwater critters can be challenging. What we have discovered over the years is that fall is a great time to not only enjoy the change of seasons, but also to boat a trophy bass.

Anytime we’ve headed out after Labor Day the last few years we have had at least one rod setup for cranking. As the water temperatures start to drop another rod will be set up for lipless crank.

If the conditions line up well, you can certainly catch big fall bass by deep cranking mouths of the creeks throughout the fall. A more consistent pattern comes by utilizing shallow squarebill and mid-depth crankbaits.

Target shallow flats around Mayville and Lakewood. Most of the bass are going to be shallow this time of year. These flats are natural stopping points anytime you are on the water. With a crankbait they can work quickly or slowly if you get bit.

If the water is stained, fish shallow with a shallow running square bill. In dirty water, bass will be relating to structure and hold close to weed beds, stumps, and laydowns. For moderately clear water, back off and target 6-8-foot water with a little large square bill. Just about any 200 series will work.

Cover water quickly. The key to fall fishing is putting the trolling motor on high and keep moving until you find something worth making multiple casts to. The fish are going to be in groups, so it’s important to move quickly until you find a school of active fish. The quicker you eliminate dead water, the faster you can get on a big sack of fish.

You can catch hundreds of bass on crankbaits throughout the fall, but your biggest fish will move shallow when the water temperature gets into the 50-degree range.

Keep changing it up. Try shad patterns almost exclusively in the fall. We have noticed that in the fall bass can get very picky when they school-up. If you’re getting short strikes, it’s probably not a color issue. More than likely, they want a different action. Try switching between wide-wobbling and flat-sided crankbaits for the best results because every school you find will be different.

Jerkbaits are extremely overlooked lures for catching schooling bass in the fall. Schooling fish aren’t difficult to locate this time of year, which means they get a lot of pressure from anglers. If you run across a wary school, a jerkbait is the way to go.

This is the time of year to be aggressive, force a reaction bite. Jerkbaits are so effective in the fall because their aggressive, slashing action forces a bass to react. Remember, bass feed heavily because they are fattening up for the winter months.

Stick with simple colors. There’s no need to get too fancy with your jerkbait color selection. Keep it simple. On cloudy days, or in lowlight conditions, stick with a matte, shad pattern to allow the fish to get a better bead on it. When it’s sunny, you can’t beat brighter colors like chrome, because its flash will draw bass from a long way away to eat it.

In the fall, if you’re fishing on a windy day, don’t fight the wind, play it. You need to be throwing a jerkbait. You’ll still catch some on other reaction baits, but windy conditions bring the big ones out of the woodwork. Focus on windblown shallow secondary points and gravel bars if you’re looking for a bigger fish. They’ll show themselves quickly, so there’s no need to soak an area if you’re not getting a few bites.

Fishing with swimbaits is an excellent way to catch giant fall bass, while other reaction baits are used primarily for covering water.

When fishing with swimbaits it’s so important to find a swimbait that does two things. You want the tail to produce a lot of “thump” and you also need the body to rock side to side. There are a bunch of good swimbaits on the market, but the Yamamoto swimbait was the best when it was introduced and, in my opinion, it still is the best.

Use a crankbait, jerkbait, lipless crankbait and topwater plug to find schools, but when I find them, I’ll use a swimbait to catch the larger fish. It’s an excellent way to cull through schools in the fall. 1 and 2-pounders can be busting on top, and you can catch big 4-pounders from underneath them with a swimbait. You won’t get as many bites, but the bites you will get will be big.

Each swimbait has a specific cadence that gives it the most action. In a sense, you’re trapped at a certain reel speed, so “reel slower” isn’t the answer to get deeper, but here is a little tip: you have to add weight, so you don’t change your retrieve speed. What I like about the Yamamoto swimbait is they can be fished slow, so I’ll have three different head sizes rigged up a 1/8-ounce head for shallow cover, a 1/4-ounce head for mid-depth cover and a 1/2-ounce head for fishing deeper structure.

If you’re seeing a lot of schooling bass break the surface, it’s always a good idea to throw a topwater before leaving the area. Whether you’re throwing a walking or popping topwater, it’s important to make long casts and fish quickly.

Catching large fish with a walking bait is one of the most exciting ways to catch any fish, but a largemouth exploding out of the water will give you a thrill that will last all winter. Walking topwater baits absolutely catch bigger fish in the fall and I think it’s because they really trigger a bass’ predatory instincts. That big bass thinks something is trying to get away and it can’t help but attack it.

Tired of short strikes on your topwater lures? In order to hook more bass, reel in your lure when it gets halfway back to the boat. Most of the short strikes come while the lure is close to the boat.

If you are looking to get more bites with a popper, you’ll need to start using a small topwater popper, so when it’s tough and a limit will carry you a long way, it’s the way to go. The further you cast it, the more fish you’ll catch, so long casts are essential.

Fall bass is a ton of fun and can be very exciting. This fall before you winterize the boat too early, take a couple more trips to the lake and make a few memories for the upcoming winter months.