LUKE CLAUSEN: Fall fishing is fun fishing
Mercury pro stays on the water during the tournament offseason
Fishing is always fun, whether at a Bass Pro Tour event or fishing close to home in Washington or Idaho during the offseason. The excitement of catching bass led me into this world of tournament fishing in the first place. It’s why I still fish every chance I get.
I’ve had plenty of time on the water this fall. It’s been great to cash in on some of the best fishing of the year, experiment with different techniques and gear and work to stay on top of the latest trends in fishing.
New ways to catch ‘em
Bass fishing in the Pacific Northwest is incredible (and still a well-kept secret). When someone finds out I live in Washington state, I’m still asked about salmon and steelhead much more than I am about bass fishing, and I’m OK with that. While the bass fishing is always great, things kick up a notch when the colder weather sets in every autumn.
The fall and early winter bite can be phenomenal just about everywhere in the region. Those fish know their time is limited before the heart of winter arrives, and the fishing can be very good for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. It’s also one of the best times of year to catch your biggest bass of the season – and since the bass generally bite well, it’s also an excellent time to experiment.
When I get on a good bite, it’s a perfect time to try different baits: color, how you fish or rig a bait or something else entirely. It can be hard to put down that “hot bait” catching so many fish, but it’s also the perfect time to test different lures.
Some days, they’ll bite just about anything, but it can lead to discovering something that works even better. This has happened to me a bunch, and usually by the end of the day, the bottom of the boat is littered with all kinds of ideas I had along the way. Some worked and some I’ll never try again, but each bait change was a lesson.
It’s also an ideal way to gain confidence in a technique or new bait. The jighead minnow has been hard to beat this fall, both while watching my Lowrance ActiveTarget or just fan-casting it around. I’ve been experimenting with different jigheads as well as some non-traditional minnows, such as the Z-Man plastics that were designed for inshore saltwater fishing like the Big BallerZ or Swimmin’ Trout Trick or the Razor ShadZ, which is intended for use on the back of a ChatterBait. I’ve discovered that all three are great on a jighead, and I’ve gained a ton of confidence in them.
Never stop learning
This year’s fall fishing has also allowed me to stay sharp, not just with different baits and testing out new gear but also with forward-facing sonar. Even though we’ll be limited to using it for just one period per day next year, I’m still trying to get better every chance I get. It’s an essential part of our game now, and I want to understand it the best I can.
That’s not the only way I’ve caught fish this fall, but I’ve done it plenty and learned quite a bit about bass behavior and how they react to different baits and retrieves. Seeing how much their mood changes daily (even on the same fisheries and spots) has been eye-opening. That’s been one of my biggest takeaways from fishing this fall, and it’s a good reminder that no matter how much you know about bass, you can never know it all. Bass fishing is a puzzle; you can never stop learning how to get the next bite.