One of the best parts of fall bass fishing is the fact that no matter where you are located, or what time of day it is, you can throw a topwater bait and have a great chance of catching a bass on it.
The reason, bass all across the country are putting on the feedbag to fatten up before the winter ahead.
Having the ability to work your topwater baits properly, and then and most importantly is to hook that bass and keep them hooked all the way to the boat, all comes down to one main item…the rod you are using.
Here are three commonly used topwater baits in the fall and the rod our experienced Witch Doctor Tackle anglers have found works best for that situation.
- Topwater Plug – Walking Style (Spook, Shower Blow, Etc.):
It is no shock or secret that this bait is first on our list, the walk-the-dog cadence attracts hungry bass and these baits can be cast extremely far, so an angler can cover a lot of water. This many times is a common theme in the fall, put the trolling motor on high and look for actively feeding bass.
Rod Choice: Shaman Casting Popping Rod 7′ H – The soft tip of this rod allows you to impart that key side-to-side action of the bait, while the backbone of the rod has give to it, so you won’t pull the hooks out of the bass’s mouth, while still keeping the upper hand on that bass. - Buzzbait:
As bass are cruising and there is any form of shallow water cover present (laydowns, grass, lilypads, etc), you want to be able to put your topwater bait close to that cover and keep covering water. This is when the buzzbait excels, and with the disturbance, it creates on the water’s surface, bass will track it down if they are anywhere near your cast.
Rod Choice: Shaman Casting 7′ H: A pretty standard all-around bass casting rod is our choice here, this way it can be used also for a swim jig, or casting a jig to timber as well. - Frog:
As the year’s vegetation gets matted up, bass will move under it to feed on bluegills. This is where many of the big bass live this time of year and getting them to bite takes one bait, a topwater frog. The frog not only can be retrieved across the matted vegetation, but you can walk the dog with the bait back to the boat, over sparse vegetation.
Rod Choice: Shaman Casting 6’10” H: This stout casting rod, has the much-needed backbone needed to hook a bass after you made a long cast to the matted vegetation, and then get that bass out of the thick stuff and into the boat.
