Fall From North To South
PHOTO BY CHARLES WALDORF
Bradford Beavers doesn ’ t fish the Tennessee River in the fall without a topwater rod on the deck .
PHOTO BY ROB MATSUURA
JOSH DOUGLAS
Location : Natural Northern lakes Species : Smallmouth Pattern : Big jigs on deep reefs
If you ’ re about to barely eat for months , would you rather have a snack or a giant meal ? You go big , of course , which is exactly what Douglas does when he ’ s fishing on lakes like Mille Lacs in Minnesota in search of smallies about to hunker down for the winter .
“ After throwing drop-shots and spinning gear all year , come fall , I beef everything up ,” he says . “ These fish are about to get froze out , and that time of year , the crawdads are the biggest they ’ ll be . The fish are looking for big meals .”
For Douglas ( and the big smallies he ’ s chasing ), nothing looks more like a hearty crayfish than a 1 / 2- or 3 / 4-ounce Outkast Tackle football jig . Oranges and reds mimic the rusty crayfish in a lot of his Minnesota fisheries , but he says you can often get away with the old green-pumpkin standby .
As for setup , he swaps the spinning rods for G . Loomis NRX 873 rods , Shimano Curado reels and 15-pound-test Seaguar InvizX flourocarbon line .
“ Basically , the same stuff you ’ d use to fish ledges down south for largemouth ,” he explains .
Attacking the School
Speaking of ledges , Mille Lacs is loaded with rock reefs , some coming up so shallow they top out a foot beneath the surface . And , just like their Southern , green cousins , the smallmouth group up in massive schools come fall on these offshore structures – the lone difference being that smallmouth are notorious for grouping up so tight on such small spots that it ’ s like mortar to a brick . If you ’ re not landing your jig right on them , they ’ re not going far to go get your offering .
“ Usually , they ’ ll hang deep off the sides of the reef , but if the sun is out , they can get up right on top of the reef ,” Douglas says . “ But usually they ’ ll hang on the vertical edge , where they ’ ll want to stay most of the winter .”
As aggressive as smallmouth can be , this is a perfect opportunity to use that bellicosity to your advantage . Once you locate the school , fire that big jig right into it and let it fall as fast as it can to the bottom to hopefully elicit a reaction strike .
“ You ’ ll actually feel it bumping the fish on the way down ,” Douglas says .
Douglas estimates that more than half his bites come on the fall , so be aware . If you don ’ t get bit on the fall , give it a couple hops , or sometimes Douglas will just reel it back in along the bottom , which can get a smallmouth ’ s attention just enough to commit .
BRADFORD BEAVERS
Location : Mid-South reservoirs Species : Largemouth and smallmouth Pattern : Topwaters on shallow flats
Bradford Beavers hails from South Carolina , but when it comes fall , his favorite technique is one he employs on Tennessee River fisheries . Of course , winning a Toyota Series Championship on the technique probably explains why he ’ s so fond of it .
“ I have so many patterns I enjoy in the fall , but my favorite has to be fishing shallow flats with a walking topwater ,” says the Pro Circuit pro .
That ’ s exactly what he employed on Kentucky Lake during the 2017 Toyota Series Championship on a pair of shallow flats . The flats were no more than 4 feet deep , but one of the biggest things that made them so good was their proximity to deep water ( the main-river channel ). Gizzard shad were coming up from the depths to search for food on the flats , and the bass were waiting there to ambush them . Of course , the bass weren ’ t just anywhere . “ Sometimes these flats are massive ,” Beavers explains . “ You ’ ll want to cover water , but usually , the bass are going to hang around something . On Kentucky Lake , it was some key stumps . They wouldn ’ t be on the stumps but more around them , because the fish move around so much in the fall . It could be a high spot , stumps , a ditch , laydowns – something around them to make them feel comfortable .”
Once the location is determined , the technique is simple : Just tie on your favorite topwater in a shad pattern and go . For Beavers , that ’ s typically a Heddon Spook , which he ’ ll throw on a Dobyns 734C rod with 30-pound-test braid and a 15-pound-test monofilament leader .
Adapt to the Conditions
Don ’ t overthink the model of topwater , but don ’ t be afraid to try different ones depending on the conditions . Beavers usually starts with a rattling or one-knocker version , but if the conditions are calm and the fish seem shy to the noise , he ’ ll go with a silent model . Or , as he did on the final day of the Toyota Series Championship , he may forgo the topwater altogether and throw a Zoom Magnum Super Fluke , working it fast across the surface almost like a topwater .
42 FLWFISHING . COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020