TAKEOFF
TECHNIQUES
SMALL SWIMBAITS FOR AUTUMN SCHOOLERS
ALEX DAVIS ’ ADVICE ON WHEN TO SHUN THE BIG STUFF AND MATCH A SMALLER HATCH
Big bass chase big baitfish and you catch them with big baits in the fall … right ? In many cases , that classic strategy holds up , but the bigbig-big approach in the transition period of fall doesn ’ t always guarantee a limit , and there are other tactics tournament anglers should consider during their end-of-season events .
For instance , in T-H Marine FLW Bass Fishing League Super Tournaments on Lake Guntersville and Smith Lake in Alabama , FLW Tour pro and guide Alex Davis might spend some time chucking big stuff for kicker bass , but first he targets 12- to 13- pound limits that can get him through the cut . His basic approach is to fish a 2.8- or 3.8-inch Jackall Rhythm Wave swimbait or a small Keitech rigged on a light ball-head jig to go after schooling bass foraging for 2- to 2 1 / 2-inch young-of-the-year shad .
Small Size , More Bites
Big gizzard and threadfin shad are attractive meals to kicker largemouths , but many quality keepers take advantage of clouds of smaller shad that hatched earlier in the season . Davis figured that out a couple seasons ago when he downsized from Zoom Flukes to Fluke Jrs . on his double-Fluke rig .
By Curtis Niedermier
“ I went from catching one every 10 throws to doubling on every cast , one on each hook ,” he says . “ They were schooling on grass edges . That ’ s what clued me in to the whole downsize , match-the-hatch deal .”
The Switch to Swimbaits
The double-Fluke success prompted Davis to experiment with small swimbaits such as the Rhythm Wave , which became his go-to once FLW outlawed the double-Fluke rig in Tour competition . It ’ s perfect for targeting schoolers because it casts far and stays up near the surface .
“ I put it on a 1 / 8- or 3 / 16-ounce ball-head jig with a 2 / 0 hook ,” adds Davis , whose favorite Rhythm Wave colors are prism shad and sexy albino .
Last season , during practice for the September BFL on Guntersville , Davis put the rig to work . Other anglers were chucking big , more traditional ledge-fishing baits with little success . One evening , he figured out those fish would eat the small swimbait , even though they wouldn ’ t touch anything else .
“ I ’ d catch one every cast ,” he says . “ They [ other anglers ] were throwing typical ledge stuff . Nobody was downsizing .”
Big bass eat big baits , but sometimes the better approach is to downsize and match a smaller baitfish size .
PHOTO BY SEAN OSTRUSZKA
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FLWFISHING . COM I OCTOBER 2017