Fall From North To South
Topwaters and fall fishing in Florida go together like peanut butter and jelly — if you can find the right vegetation .
PHOTO BY KYLE WOOD
BOBBY LANE
Location : Vegitation-filled Southern lakes Species : Largemouth Pattern : Frogs and topwaters around deteriorating vegitation
Three rods with three baits ; that ’ s all Bobby Lane needs on his deck in the fall . That , and some dying vegetation . For him , that ’ s one heck of a successful recipe .
“ Once that water dips below 70 degrees , the vegetation starts deteriorating , and really when it gets down toward 60 ,” says the MLF pro from Lakeland , Florida . “ When it does , you ’ ll see the grass either matt up really well and get some big holes in it , or you ’ ll see where it dies off so much it no longer reaches the surface . Both can be great with a topwater .”
Lane really doesn ’ t care where the deteriorating vegetation is – pockets , points , shallow flats , islands – just so long as it ’ s begun to thin enough either on the surface or beneath it for bass to roam around more freely and for him to more easily get a topwater through and around it . Even then , don ’ t expect every grass patch to hold fish . “ I may hit 10 or 15 spots before I get a bite , but when I do , with this pattern , it ’ s usually a good one ,” says Lane .
Pick Your Poison
As for the topwaters he chooses , if the grass is matted up but with big holes , he ’ ll reach for a Berkley PowerBait Buzz ’ n Speed Toad or Berkley PowerBait Beat ’ n Paddle Frog , which allow him to fish fast and cover a lot of water . He ’ ll throw them on 7-foot , 3-inch medium-heavy Abu Garcia Veracity rod , 10:1 Abu Garcia Revo Rocket reel and 50-pound-test SpiderWire Ultracast braided line .
If the holes have switched more to lanes or just patches of emergent vegetation , he ’ ll switch over to a buzzbait with the Buzz ’ n Speed Toad on it . He ’ ll throw that on the same setup as the soft-plastic frogs .
Finally , if the grass no longer ( or only sporadically ) hits the surface , Lane goes with the Berkley Cane Walker or J- Walker topwaters . He ’ ll throw those on a 7-foot , 3-inch medium-heavy Abu Garcia Veracity rod , Abu Garcia Revo EXD reel and 30-pound-test SpiderWire Ultracast braided line .
Fish Like a Pro .
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PIT CH IT .
Protect our lakes and rivers by recycling your worn-out soft-plastic baits at every FLW tournament . Just look for the FLW Foundation , Keep America Fishing Pitch It recycling container . It ’ s a simple action with a big impact .
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44 FLWFISHING . COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020