Palaniuk’s Prime Picks for Late Fall: Glide Bait, Jig, Drop-Shot

Brandon Palaniuk's trio of late-fall options include: A glide bait, a jig and a drop-shot. Photo by Tyler Brinks Angler: Brandon Palaniuk.

November 9, 2019 • Dave Landahl • Bass Pro Tour

While many bass anglers are spending time up in treestands or in a duck blind during the fall months, there are still an awful lot of opportunities to bag big bass as the water cools down.

MLF pro Brandon Palaniuk spends plenty of time hunting as well, but he also likes to hook big bass whenever he can. Check out his picks for chasing bass during late fall.

The STORM Arashi Glide Bait

Palaniuk is a well-known aficionado of oversized swimbaits, and the fall represents one of the most productive times of the year to throw a big glider.

“I love fishing big swimbaits, and the fall is the perfect time to use them,” Palaniuk confirms. “The largest bass prefer cooler water, and that’s true even when it’s warmer out. During this time of the year, they get more active since the water is cooling and shorter days trigger them to feed more. Big bass are very efficient at eating an easy, large meal. They usually won’t waste a lot of energy chasing something down.”

One of Palaniuk’s first swimbaits of choice this time of year is the Arashi Glide Bait, which he favors because it allows him to fish at different depths.

“Its slow side-to-side motion has a drawing power that will pull fish out of deeper water and cover, like submerged brush piles or bluff ends,” Palaniuk said. “But, the bait is also good around shallow cover. At 7.5 inches long and 3 ounces, it’s a big bait that presents an easy opportunity for bass: a lot of bang for their buck. It’s a two-piece hard bait. You can fish it fast or slow with 3/4-turns and a pause which allows it to glide slowly. Definitely a big fish bait.”

Palaniuk emphasizes the need to use the right gear for this style swimbait.

“You have to have the correct rod and reel for this bait,” Palaniuk advised. “I use the Alpha Angler Wide Glide rod. It’s 7-foot-9 in a mag/heavy action. I pair that with a Daiwa Tatula 150 spooled with 20-pound Seaguar Tatsu line. I use this line because you want some shock absorption when fishing this bait.

Molix 1/2-ounce Pinto Jig

Palaniuk always has a jig rod rigged in the fall as well, for plinking at isolated cover.

“A jig is always a great tool for catching bigger bass,” Palaniuk said. “I use the Molix Pinto Jig, usually a 1⁄2-ounce model in Wild Craw or black and blue colors, with the craw/green pumpkin colors in cleaner water and the black and blue in dirtier water.

“Big fish are usually in the back half of creeks and pockets at this time. I especially like to fish flatter pockets that still have a decent channel running through them. Fish the jig in isolated cover, it’s usually visible stuff. Those types of areas typically have some big fish.”

Drop-Shot

It’s hard to beat a drop-shot almost 12 months a year, and Palaniuk certainly adds a drop-shot rod to his arsenal for late fall.

“The great thing about a drop-shot any time of the year, but especially now, is how versatile it is to fish,” Palaniuk advised. “You can fish it shallow around isolated wood, then quickly shift and fish deeper ledges and rock, and switch again and fish up shallow.

“I like to use the Z3 Edge Zoom Trick Worm. It’s a green pumpkin hue with fine red flake and a blue laminate on the bottom. I rig it weedless with a VMC No. 1 Finesse Neko Hook. To me, this is the best hook you can use for the style of fishing.”

Palaniuk uses an Alpha Angler DSR rod and a Daiwa Exist 3000 reel spooled with 20-pound Seaguar Flash Green braid and a variety of leader choices.

“I use the Seaguar Tatsu line as my leader in 6-, 8-, or 10-pound test,” he said. “The leader strength depends on the cover I’m fishing.”