River2Sea Pro Tuned Rover of other potential meals . If the fish are swirling through the baitfish or slashing at your bait without committing , it ’ s time for Plan B .
Your next move should be a soft jerkbait like a Zoom Super Fluke – a bait that can be snapped and popped aggressively and worked both above and below the surface . Schooling bass can ’ t resist this erratic action . If the activity cools off or the bass disappear , that ’ s when we like to turn to subsurface presentations like an underspin , a squarebill crankbait or a glide bait . Depending on the depth of water , the size of the baitfish , and how much cover they ’ re around , we adapt each presentation for best results .
tools of the trade
We always pair an underspin with a swimbait like a Keitech Swing Impact FAT or a Storm Largo Shad . The bait should be sized appropriately to match the baitfish ( our most common sizes are generally between and 3 and 5 inches ). Rigging these swimbaits depends on how much cover you ’ re fishing around . If the baitfish are in grass , brush or other snaggy cover , we go with an Owner Flashy Swimmer , which allows our bait to be fished over , around and through any debris . In open water , we rely on a Blade Runner Spintrix . The Spintrix , in our
River2Sea Tactical DD 75
PHOTOS BY BRANDON ROWAN
Evergreen SB 105
experience , often gets the biggest bass because we fish it slower and closer to bottom where the biggest bass in the school typically lurk .
A squarebill is a search tool . You can use it with an aggressive stop-and-go retrieve and quickly probe the edges of a baitfish ball , especially if it ’ s moving down the shoreline attempting to evade hungry bass . The key to success with a crankbait is matching the bait to the depth of water you ’ re fishing . If the baitfish are right on shore , we turn to a Spro Baby Fat John 50 . If the water isn ’ t quite so shallow , a 1.5- or 2.5-size squarebill will suffice .
The final tool in the shallow arsenal is the glide bait . While this presentation could be a whole column itself , for this situation , we keep it very simple : If the bass are chasing larger baitfish , the glide bait is king .
In the world of glides , you still want to focus on the smaller end of the spectrum . Smaller , more aggressive glide baits are what we call “ cover glides .” These baits
Megabass Deep-X 300 swim with an S-motion in the water but can be popped and worked aggressively around visible cover to elicit aggressive strikes . The two baits that immediately come to mind for this presentation are the River2Sea S-Waver 168 and the Storm Arashi Glide . Match the color of your glide to the baitfish you ’ re imitating and spend your time swimming it around the outer edges of baitfish schools .
an even bigger barrel
When targeting bass chasing schools of baitfish in deep water , the overall concept is exactly the same , but the baits and equipment needed to reach those bass ambushing bait in 15 to 50-plus feet of water are completely different .
First , electronics are going to make a huge difference . We rely heavily on our electronics in the fall as we side-image creek channels , cove mouths and bluff walls in search of schooling bait . Side imaging cuts your search time dramatically and has been a life saver for us in recent years . ( If electronics aren ’ t in play for you , the best bet is to watch the birds : Keep an eye out for loons and other deep-diving birds that rely on these same deep-water schools for food .)
Once you ’ ve found the bait , it ’ s just a matter of changing up your presentation . For us , topwater baits are replaced with spoons . You can catch these fish on both jigging spoons and flutter spoons , depending on depth . In less than 20 feet of water , the Nichols Flutter Spoon does a great job imitating a dying bait fish and often gets a ton of bites . At deeper depths , the jigging spoon is key . We rely on the Blade Runner Duh Spoon ( 1 3 / 4 ounce ) to get down quickly . This spoon has a unique shape that still has a great flutter on the fall , unlike many traditional narrow-bodied spoons .
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