Cranking Late Summer and Fall Bass
Crankbaits are some of the best lures for catching bass in late summer and fall. To help you make the most of your fishing in natural lakes and rivers in Canada, here are some can’t-miss crankbait tips for smallmouth and largemouth bass.
CRANKBAIT SELECTION
Having an assortment of crankbaits will prepare you for a variety of different bass fishing scenarios. Your collection should include lures with various actions, profiles, running depths, and both rattling and silent options.
COLOUR CONSIDERATIONS
Matching a crankbait’s colour to bass forage is important. You’ll need baitfish patterns, such as shad, shiner, smelt, sunfish, and yellow perch. Crayfish-coloured crankbaits are also essential in autumn. Bone, along with hot patterns like FireTiger and Chartreuse Shad, can be more effective than natural baits on certain days, especially for smallmouth.
SQUAREBILL SECRETS
Cranking shallow cover with a BX Brat, OG Rocco 5, or OG Big Rocco 6 will catch scores of smallmouth and largemouth in the fall. Cast one of these squarebill crankbaits past stumps, logs, boulders, riprap, and submerged weeds, then retrieve it over, or through, the cover. You’ll trigger more strikes from bass when a squarebill bangs into and deflects off these obstacles.
OG Rocco 5
OG Big Rocco 6
CRANKIN’ WEEDS
Rapala’s DTs and Storm’s Original Wiggle Warts are excellent crankbaits for fishing weedbeds and grasslines. These lures have a wide, wobbling action, which enables them to swim through vegetation with fewer foul-ups better than other crankbaits. Still, snags come with the territory when cranking around weeds. When this happens, pull the rod aggressively to free the bait and then leave it still for a two-second count before retrieving again as this often triggers bass strikes.
HARD-BOTTOM PATTERNS
Grinding a DT, Harvest Shad, Shad Rap, or Fat Rap across sand, pea gravel, granite chunks, and boulders creates commotion, attracting bass from far and wide, and triggers reaction strikes. Experiment with different casting angles: parallel, perpendicular, and at a 45-degree angle to rocky areas.
BURNING LIPLESS CRANKBAITS
Loud rattling, lipless crankbaits are ideal for quickly covering water, appealing to aggressive bass, and triggering bites from inactive fish. Long casts and brisk retrieves with a Snare 50, Rippin’ Rap, or Rattlin’ Rapala will catch giant smallmouth and largemouth from shorelines, shallow flats, sandbars, points, weedbeds, and weed edges from late summer to mid-fall.
RIVER BASS NUANCES
As temperatures cool in autumn, largemouth and baitfish migrate from shallow back bays out to the main river. Time it right, and you’ll catch a ton of bass swimming a crankbait past weediness, wood cover, rocks, and points found around the mouths of river bays. The OG Big Rocco, Havest Shad, Shad Rap, Snare 50, and Original Wiggle Wart are all great choices for this approach.
RETRIEVE SPEEDS
In late summer and early fall, fast retrieves with crankbaits are a reliable tactic for catching bass. Later in autumn, when the water cools, using moderate to slow retrieves can be critical for getting bites.
REEL GEAR RATIOS
Having a few casting combinations with reels featuring different gear ratios will improve your cranking efficiency and precision. For fast tactics, use 8.1:1 to 7.3:1 gear ratios, and for slower retrieves, use 6.3:1 or less.
LINES FOR CRANKIN’
Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon in 12- or 14-pound test is an excellent, versatile choice for cranking autumn bass. Excellent alternatives include Defcon (a fluorocarbon-coated copolymer) and Advance Monofilament (a blend of HMPE and Hyper Copolymer).
Some anglers prefer using braided line for specific crankbait applications, like using Sufix 832 Advanced Superline 30-pound for lipless crankbait presentations.
CRANKING-SPECIFIC RODS
There are many advantages to using a technique-specific rod, such as the 13 Fishing Oath Cranking Rod. These include longer, more accurate casts, enhanced lure action, improved hook-sets, and better landing ratios when fishing a crankbait. Read this blog to learn more.
SPINNING GEAR STRENGTHS
While many bass crankbait tactics favour using casting outfits, spinning gear can be effective when fishing a light, shallow-diving lure for bass in open water areas, such as wing dams and sand flats in rivers. A medium-light 7’6” Oath or 7’4” Myth spinning rod can effortlessly cast a DT6, OG Tiny, or Original Wiggle Wart (5/16 and 3/8 ounces, respectively) when using 10- to 12-pound Sufix 832 braid with a long leader of 10- or 12-pound Advance Fluorocarbon or Advance Monofilament.
SUSPENDOT SYSTEM
Storm SuspenStrips and SuspenDots make it easy to adjust the buoyancy of a crankbait. Applying enough of these adhesive weights will change a floating lure into a suspending or slow-sinking one, letting you fine-tune your presentation and catch more fish. A strip placed under a crank’s lip alters its pitch, resulting in faster dives and, potentially, deeper running depths.
STAY SHARP
Banging a crankbait into rocks and other obstacles can dull the hooks. Inspect the trebles frequently, and sharpen them with a hook file as needed.
EASY, SNEAKY MOD
Swapping out one of a crankbait’s treble hooks for a VMC Bladed Hybrid Treble adds subtle flash and vibrations to the lure. Putting the Bladed Hybrid Treble on the front (belly) of a crankbait often prompts bass to grab the entire lure, which improves hookup ratios.
USE A CRANKBAIT SNAP
VMC’s Crankbait Snap makes changing lures quick and easy. The snap’s wide, teardrop shape also optimizes a crankbait’s action.
MORE CRANKBAIT TIPS
Check out the following blog links for more great tips for catching bass on crankbaits in late summer and throughout the fall. Also, be sure to visit rapala.ca to stock up on everything you need for crankin’ big smallmouth and largemouth bass.