In fall, bass begin their seasonal migration toward cold-water haunts that lie ahead. But before that journey sets in, bass (and most species) have one goal in mind: to consume as many calories as possible prior to the lean winter months ahead. Food, food, and more food is a bass’s number one priority as summer water temps begin to fade.

The diet of bass begins to change a bit once they sense these new seasonal patterns. Their bodies tell them they need to focus on higher-calorie food offerings; the bugs and cicada hatches of summer provided some easy snacking, but hardly the diet that will pack on the weight and stored fat necessary to get bass through the upcoming cold-water season. They need some meat!

These higher-calorie forage options come in the form of crayfish and any kind of fish a bass can wrap its mouth around—often, the bigger the better. Fall bass are basically in attack mode, on the prowl, searching various depth ranges to find forage. This time of year may find bass anywhere from feeding on the surface to chasing baits along the bottom—and at all depths in between.

Since bass are in such a feeding mode, I prefer baits that create more flash, more vibration—just more disturbance—probably more so than any other time of the year, to draw bass attention. My other preference in baits cover large amounts of water and work well throughout the depths. This is power fishing at its extreme.

When I refer to the “Blades of Fall” in the title, let me give you my selection of baits for this time of year: basically, anything with a metal blade on it! Spinnerbaits, bladed/vibrating jigs, underspins and buzz baits. Let’s look at each.

Spinnerbaits

These are probably my favorite lures to kick off the fall season. Spinnerbaits have been bass staples for years, and with good reason—they continue to catch fish. There are many to choose from, and on various waters, I use different style baits. Some baits have more flash, such as those with willow leaf blades. Others produce more thump or vibration; that’s where rounder blades come into to play.

The general thinking is, the clearer the water, the thinner blades are more inviting, as they give more of a multiple-fish appearance in clearer water. Some spinnerbaits carry up to four blades on the spinner shaft arm. To a bass, that possibly looks like a mini school of forage, and right now, they’re in “the more food, the better” mode. Just don’t get too hung up on theories with baits and water conditions; nothing is set in stone when it comes to fall bass.

To me, spinnerbaits have a definite advantage: they have the ability to work through all depths, which is critical for locating active fish during this time of year. They’re great power fishing tools for sure, as you can cover an enormous amount of water and vary your running depth throughout the retrieve.

As far as spinnerbait colors and blade colors are concerned, once again, there are no sure bets. You need to carry a few blade variations and just a couple of skirt/body colors, depending on your waters. Mimicking the natural forage is your best choice. You can certainly get by on a white/shad pattern or a greenish-blue with a touch of orange/yellow to match darker forage, such as bluegills or perch.

Don’t hesitate to try some larger in-line spinners. I’ve had great success with these baits. They’re kind of a forgotten bait these days, but they still produce awesome catches.

Vibrating jig

Often just labeled as chatterbaits, the vibrating jig has pretty much replaced the spinnerbait with many anglers today. I do use them, and while I’m certainly in the minority here, I still like my old-style spinnerbaits just as much. Similar to spinnerbaits, vibrating jigs are great power bait choices, as you can cover tons of water. These baits put out an insane amount of vibration and are certainly very productive in murkier water. And like a spinnerbait, they can be run just under the surface down to scraping along the bottom—a perfect bait when maximum vibration output is necessary. For colors, much like spinnerbaits, just match the water’s forage patterns.

Underspins

Lately, these have been awesome producers— especially as the water begins to cool. If you’re not familiar with underspins, they are basically swim-type jigs with some type of spinning blade attached to the bottom. These baits have been around for years. Roadrunners have been catching fish for many seasons, but lately, as with so many baits, tweaks and different versions from the original designs have produced some exciting, bass-catching patterns.

Fished with some type of swimbait, or any other plastic you might choose to swim rather than bottom crawl, they have been crushing the bass for me. Normally, I simply throw them with a paddle tail type of swimbait or a soft jerk bait; the small addition of the blade producing the under-side flash has bolstered my catches with the already popular soft swimbait. If any of your waters have stripers or white bass, you’re in for an experience.

I work these baits in two ways: One, just as steady search retrieve; the other, I’ll rip these jigs then let them fall back—a great retrieve if you know bass are schooling forage. The bait color is more determined by the plastic you install on the jig head, so jig head color seems rather unimportant to me in most circumstances. You may find them with various blade designs; for simplicity, the willow leaf design seems to produce very well, but always experiment.

Buzz bait

Unlike the others mentioned, buzz baits are limited to a surface approach only, but can sure wake up fall bass and produce some amazing strikes. They cause the most disturbance, and can draw strikes from bass well below the surface or at a distance away from the bait. While not as versatile for covering various depths of water like the other three baits, this is an outstanding bait when you know bass are focused on chasing forage on the surface.

Buzz baits, like spinnerbaits, come in many variations and blades styles and configurations. Today, you can get them in skirtless versions; add your own choices of a trailer that best suit your needs. These have become my favorites, as I can pick trailers that fit the forage or help with the floating capabilities of the bait. Many anglers limit their trailer choices to the obvious toad or frog selections; instead, get a little crazy: Swimbaits, thick worms, creature baits, and one of my favorites as of late, a larger craw trailer, have been extremely successful when used with buzz baits.

Sometimes I’ll throw a buzz bait as somewhat of a teaser approach, like saltwater rigs. I’ll churn up the surface with a few casts before using my other baits. I think all commotion on the surface gets the bass in kind of a feeding mode, searching the surface and depths for available forage. Yet they still often attack the buzz bait as well.

While the temps may be on the downhill slide, the fall bass fishing is becoming as hot as ever with these “bladed bait” options. Grab a few of your favorites and head out for some of the best bass action of the entire season!

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