There are many ways to target bass during the late summer and the fall transition. Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time acquainting myself with the Berkley Gulp! 5-inch Jerk Shad. While this bait isn’t the newest bait on the market, I’ve been trying to work it into my repertoire. During this season I was able to figure out some great ways to catch bass in the spring and summer with the Gulp! Jerk Shad. Now that fall is around the corner, I’ve come up with two more applications.

But first, back to this whole concept of a bass fall transition. There are lots of theories as to why bass make major movements in the fall, but I’ve always considered two things to be the most important reasons. The biggest factor is the shortened daylight period. The second and more variable reason is the cooling of the water temperature from cool nights, cold fronts, rain and other reasons. Bass are like a lot of creatures in that they tend to be more active feeders in the fall with the approach of winter. Plus, this year’s shad crop, by now, has reached bite-sized stage. This year’s sunfish hatch is also growing and likely to venture away from the shoreline and into deeper water, making them easy bass targets.

Like they do during the rest of the year, bass will make their fall transition movements along contour lines and structure. But not all bass begin this shift at the same time. The two things that I am looking for when determining where the bass will migrate is the presence of shad near the top of the water column (either seen with my eyes or on my electronics) and the presence of structure. These two elements are the keys to successfully using a Gulp! Jerk Shad in the fall.

There is probably no better bait to use on schooling fish than a Jerk Shad. So when I find bass busting the surface on shad (or other baitfish), it’s the first thing I throw. My set up for schooling fish includes a 6 ½-foot medium-heavy Fenwick Techna AV rod and a high-speed Abu Garcia REVO STX spooled with 12-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (in open water) or 15-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon (near cover). Using a 5/0 extra-wide gap superline hook, I rig the Jerk Shad either Texas-rigged with the hook barely piercing the bait or with the hook exposed – depending on the amount of cover in the water. Most of the time I throw it weightless, but if wind or other conditions call for a weight, I use lead tape on the hook to give me the extra casting distance and a little quicker fall. The lead tape allows the bait to fall horizontally instead of nose first, like it would with a bullet weight.

For color selection, I use bright colors in the early morning or on overcast days to give fish the contrast they need to see it. The Gulp! formula is spreading through the water, giving them a scent to key on, but it never hurts for them to see it, too. If the day is bright and sunny, I will go with more natural colors like Watermelon. I just cast the bait in or near the schooling fish; let it fall for a second and being twitching the bait back towards me. After a few twitches, I let the bait fall again to simulate a wounded and dying fish. The big 5/0 hook gives me better hook up ratios and the scent of the Gulp! Jerk Shad can make a schooling situation like this very fast paced and intense.

When the schooling bite goes away and the water is clear, my other go-to fall tactic with a Jerk Shad is skipping docks. If water clarity is more than three feet, this tactic works well. The shape of the Jerk Shad and the prey that it represents is ideal for skipping. Using 10-pound Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon with an Abu Garcia 803 spinning reel on a 6 ½-foot Fenwick HMG rod, I rig a Jerk Shad weightless on the same 5/0 extra-wide gap superline hook.

Wooden docks, metal docks, floating docks, boat slips – any area that bass might be holding to as they migrate along the lakes contour lines on their way to deeper channels will be a good place to skip the Jerk Shad. Just

skip it like you would any other bait and use the same method of alternating between twitching and sinking until you get a strike. With normal lines, you might want something bigger than 10-pound test, but the Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon is super tough and abrasion resistant, plus the smaller diameter gives the Jerk Shad more movement to entice a big strike.

Early fall can be a great time to catch bass. For the most part, the weather is still comfortable for those of us sitting in the boat all day and the lakes aren’t as crowded with pleasure boaters and personal watercrafts. Plus, these seasonal bass migration patterns give us a great starting point to focus our fishing efforts. With a bag of Berkley Gulp! Jerk Shads, there’s no reason why you can’t go catch your biggest bass of the year in open water or around structure.

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Anguilla rostrata

ETYMOLOGY:
Anguilla means eel.
Rostrata means long nose.

CHARACTERISTICS: The American eel has a snakelike body covered with tiny embedded scales (and a thick slime layer). On the head are paired eyes and nostrils. The mouth has movable jaws with many sharp teeth. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins are fused into one long fin extending around the posterior of the body. The upper half of the body is olive green to brown, grading from pale yellow to white on the venter. Eels resemble lampreys, but the former are distinguished by their hinged jaws with well-developed teeth, paired eyes and nostrils, paired pectoral fins, and single gill slit on each side of the head. Pelvic fins are absent on this species. See Lesueur (1817a) for original description.

ADULT SIZE: 2.9 to 4.9 ft (0.9 to 1.4 m). The state angling record (5 lb, 8 oz) was caught in Lake Shechi in Chilton County in 1989.

DISTRIBUTION: Recent records of American eels in the Tennessee River of Alabama are rare. Lee (1978b) included one record from a southern tributary. Feeman (1987) reported a specimen from the Paint Rock River downstream of the junction of Estill Fork and Hurricane Creek in Madison County. In 1993, we collected and released American eels at two stations in the drainage, one in Estill Fork of the Paint Rock River and another in the lower reaches of Cypress Creek in Lauderdale County. American eels have been collected from every river system in the Mobile basin as well as from several coastal drainages in southeastern Alabama. Although eels are known from downstream, none were collected in the Escatawpa River system in Alabama, probably due to limited boat access and insufficient sampling with proper gear. Inland distributions of American eels and several other fish species may have declined in recent years because of their inability to navigate over or through high-lift locks and dams. The greatest eel concentrations occur in the southern half of the state, particularly in the Mobile Delta. Angler reports supplemented by sampling efforts indicate a progressive decline in abundance with each upstream dam.

HABITAT AND BIOLOGY: Most individuals of this species have been collected around aquatic vegetation and from undercut banks in rivers, reservoirs, and large streams. American eels are common in rocky shoals of tailwater areas below Jordan and Thurlow dams on the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers, respectively. During our 1992 and 1993 sampling efforts in the Mobile Delta, we saw many American eels of all sizes around beds of aquatic vegetation and along undercut mud banks. Wenner and Musick (1975) reports that American eels feed on small fishes, crayfishes, and insects in fresh water and on small crustaceans, bivalves, and polychaete worms in coastal areas.

Called a catadromous species, eels spend six or seven years of their lives in fresh water but move out to sea to breed. As they reach adult size in the fresh waters of eastern North America and are stimulated to spawn, they begin a long, one-way migration that takes them downstream into the Gulf of Mexico, around the tip of Florida, and into the Atlantic Ocean. Actual spawning occurs sometime during mid- to late winter but has never been observed.  Opinions differ as to the exact spawning area, but judging from field studies, ichthyologists speculate that it is near the Sargasso Sea and the island of Bermuda. Robins et al. (1979) report that a possibly gravid female American eel was photographed off the Bermuda Islands at a depth of about 6,000 feet.  The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, resembles the American eel and is believed to spawn in the same general area, perhaps at a different time of year.

After the eels spawn, they die. The pelagic eggs float in the water column until they hatch into what are called leptocephalus larvae.  The aimless voyage of young eels lasts from 12 to 18 months, during which time they undergo successive physical changes to become “glass eels” and finally “elvers.” Most elvers reach the estuaries along the Atlantic Coast and in winter and spring begin ascending the major rivers to begin their freshwater existence. Some, however, continue their voyage into the Gulf of Mexico and are delivered (via the Gulf Stream and nearshore currents) to the Choctawhatchee Bay system and other coastal areas east of the Mississippi River, where they migrate inland during winter and spring.  Vladykov (1971) suggests that American elvers may return to the same rivers that their parents occupied.

1. Plastic Worms
Plastic Worm – Plastic worms have probably accounted for more bass than any other kind of bait. They are very versatile and can be fished from the top to the bottom. You can get any size needed from tiny three inch worms to monsters over 10 inches long. And the come in all colors of the rainbow – and hundreds more. Rig them Carolina style, Texas style, on a jig head, weightless and any other way you can imagine and they will catch bass.

2. Crankbaits
Crankbait – Crankbaits look like baitfish or crawfish, two of the favorite foods of bass. Crankbaits come in all sizes, shapes and colors. They are easy to cast and work in most kinds of water. You can fish fast and cover water to find active bass. Learn to fish a crankbait and it adds to your arsnel of effective lures.

3. Spinnerbaits
Spinnerbait – Spinnerbaits catch lots of bass and they are a good bait for covering a lot of water fast to find fish. They tend to catch bigger bass, too. They come in a wide variety of sizes, colors and blade configuration to help match the hatch. They look like baitfish and bass eat a lot of baitfish.

4. Jig and Pig
Jig and Pig – A jig and pig is one of the best big bass baits available to fishermen. Lots of tournaments are won with a jig and pig because they catch bigger bass. Resembling a crawfish when worked on the bottom, they attract bass looking for an easy meal and bass love crawfish.

5. Bucktail Jig
Bucktail Jig – A bucktail jig is a very basic lure that is so effective in catching fish it is included in survival kits. Variations include plastic tails either straight or curly. All work well under varying conditions. Not just a bass lure, they do catch bass under a wide variety of conditions.

6. Topwater Plugs
Topwater Plugs – No bass bite is more exciting than what you get with topwater lures. The smashing splash of a bass hitting on top will make your heart stop, but even the gentle hit of a big bass sucking a topwater plug under as it eats it is thrilling. You can get a lot of colors, sizes and actions in topwater baits and you can make them work in a huge number of ways.

7. Tail Spinners
Tail Spinners – When bass are deep a tail spinner is an excellent way to catch them. Little George lures made Mann’s Bait Company famous and have caught many bass. They are great in cold water when bass are inactive and don’t chase baits very far.

8. Spoons
Spoons – Jigging spoons catch a lot of bass but a weedless spoon with a trailer is an excellent bait in grass and heavy cover. In some cover a weedless spoon works better than any other bait. They flash and wiggle and attract strikes.

CHARACTERISTICS: This fish’s long, paddle-shaped snout accounts for about one-third of its total body length. The snout helps to stabilize the fish as it swims, and it also contains specialized cells that assist in detecting the plankton swarms upon which this species feeds. The skin is smooth. Small individuals are pink on the back and white on the venter; for larger individuals around 10 to 12 inches, the body color changes to bluish gray on the back and cream on the venter. The eyes are tiny compared to the rest of the head and body. On the underside of the snout are two minute barbels in front of a large, toothless mouth. When viewed through the mouth, the gills are large and show the many closely spaced filaments that trap microscopic food. On each side, a gill cover extends posteriorly, ending in a long, pointed flap. The skeleton is composed of cartilage rather than bone. The end of the verterbral column extends into the upper lobe of the heterorcercal tail, much as a shark’s does.

ADULT SIZE: 3.9 to 5.9 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m). The state angling record (52 lb, 12 oz) was caught below Wilson Dam on the Tennessee River in 1982. Currently, paddlefish caught in Alabama must be immediately released unharmed.

DISTRIBUTION: Paddlefish occur primarily below the Fall Line in the Mobile basin. They are absent in our coastal rivers. Due to overfishing, this species has all but disappeared from the Tennessee River. On 9 September 1994, we received a photograph of a 19-inch-long paddlefish that was caught and released below Wilson dam near Florence, Alabama.

HABITAT AND BIOLOGY: Paddlefish are generally found in open water, but we have collected individuals as long as 3 to 4 feet in relatively small streams, such as Isaac Creek (Monroe County), Chickasaw Creek (Mobile County), and Three Rivers Creek (Washington County). A migratory species, paddlefish congregate below dams to spawn during March and April. Spawning between one female and several males is believed to occur in open water. Floating downstream with the current, eggs drift to the bottom and stay there until hatching. Newly hatched individuals grow rapidly, reaching 12 to 14 inches by the end of their first year. Paddlefish are long-lived. Examinations of growth rings on the dentary bones indicate life spans of 20 to 30 years.

Answer: The fins of baitfish like bluegill look chartreuse when the sun hits them.

Have you ever looked at the array of colors of bass plugs and worms available to a fisherman? Walk into any sporting goods store and the walls are full of bright splashes of color ranging from red to chartreuse and all kinds of combinations of colors. And those are just the plugs!

Brown plugs look like crayfish, and those with red in them look like crayfish at times in their life cycles and also can remind fish of the red gills of bait fish. But what in the world does the color chartreuse look like to fish and why do they want to eat it? I have wondered about that for years.

At my pond several weeks ago I had that question answered. I throw out floating catfish food and the bream have learned to come running when I put it out. Watching them swim around when the sun is bright, I see flashes of chartreuse in their tails. It looks exactly like the tail of a worm that has been dipped in chartreuse dye as it waves and wiggles as they feed.

When bass see an artificial bait flashing that color, I bet it looks just like a bream, one of their most common foods, swimming by. Their natural instinct has got to be to eat it.

I have a lot more confidence in chartreuse now, and dye the tails of my worms anytime I am fishing where I think the bass might be feeding on bream. It has worked the last two tournaments for me.

Watch for bream swimming around the next time you are on the water and try to see that chartreuse color. I have seen it three or four times at my pond now, so I am sure it is not my eyes playing tricks on me.

• Alligator Gar Description – This long streamline fish has a head that is flattened and looks much like an alligator. The tail is wide and rounded and there are two fins on top and bottom just in front of the tail fin. There are two more bottom fins, one about half way up the body and another just behind the head. They are similar in looks to a pike in body shape. Their teeth are sharp and protrude on either side of their bill-like mouth.
• Alligator Gar Size – World record on rod and reel is 279 pounds but they get bigger – some have been reported up to 350 pounds and 10 feet long. Most caught by fishermen and bow fishermen now is around 100 pounds.
• Alligator Gar Distribution – From the Florida panhandle up the Mississippi drainage to the Ohio and Missouri Rivers where they enter, west to Mexico. The natural distribution is a crescent covering that area of North America.
• What Alligator Gar Eat – Anything they can get into their mouths! They tend to prey on other fish.
• Alligator Gar Spawn – In the spring a female Alligator Gar will swim along with two or three males swimming in formation with her. As she releases her eggs the males release sperm and the fertilized eggs fall to the bottom and stick to debris there. The female carries an average of 138,000 eggs.
• Alligator Gar Attraction to Light – They often are seen on top of the water on bright days but come to light at night to find smaller fish attracted to the light.
• Alligator Gar Life Cycle – Grow slowly and take a long time to mature. Females mature at 11 years old and live up to 50 years. Males mature at age six and live to at least 26 years old.
• Alligator Gar Problems – Although they look scary and ugly they do not hurt people and do no damage to game fish populations.

• Atlantic Sturgeon Description – Long heavy body coverd with five rows of big heavy bony external plates. Big bony gill plates on either side of the head. Underslung protrusible mouth with four barbles. Small eyes and a single dorsal fin far back on the body. Upper fin of tail is longer than lower fin and it is sickle shapped. Bluish black to green on top and light to white on the belly.
• Atlantic Sturgeon Size – IGFA does not list a world record but they grow up to 15 feet long and over 800 pounds.
• Atlantic Sturgeon Distribution – Native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US, sturgeon run up rivers like the Mississippi River drainage and other big rivers to spend the winter and spawn.
• What Atlantic Sturgeon Eat - Sturgeon use their shovel like noses to dig around in the bottom of rivers and other waters to find mollusks, insects, crustaceans and small fish. Their barbles help them locate the food.
• Atlantic Sturgeon Spawn – Atlantic Sturgeon run up rivers to spawn and the young stay in the rivers until about six years old before going back to the ocean to spend part of their lives. They do not die after spawning. Males stay up the rivers longer than the females. Females lay huge numbers of eggs, up to 3.76 million at a time.
• Atlantic Sturgeon Attraction to Light - They are not attracted to light and do not come to light to feed since they are bottom feeders.
• AtlanticSturgeon Life Cycle – Hatched in rivers, the young live in them for about six years before going back to the ocean to mature. They may live up to 100 years old. When mature males and females run back up rivers to spawn and males stay in the rivers until the water gets cold in the fall. They do not die after spawning and may spawn many times.
• Atlantic Sturgeon Problems – They are endangered but in some rivers they can jump out of the water and injure boaters.
• No one really knows why they jump.
• Share your info on sturgeon in are forum area.

Atlantic Sturgeon are endangered and it is illegal to catch or keep them in most states. They are good to eat and produce fair caviar where it is legal to catch them. In Florida they are protected because they are endangered and it is illegal to catch them for meat or caviar. Florida is trying to find a way to determine if caviar comes from commercially raised sturgeon rather than wild fish so they can develop a commercial farming system for sturgeon.

Where Shad Spawn

Shad spawn in very shallow water on hard surfaces. They especially like rocks, wood and metal but will spawn on clay and plants, too. The best spots are near deep water. So bridge riprap and pilings, seawalls and bulkheads on points and even grassy points are good places to find them spawning.

Watch for shad rippling the water right where the water meets the edge of the hard surface. You will usually see shad jumping completely out of the water onto the bank when they spawn. The school of shad run down the bank and the females lay eggs that stick to the rocks and other hard surfaces. The male are running with them and releasing sperm that fertilizes the eggs.

How To Fish The Shad Spawn

A spinnerbait is the best bait for catching bass during the shad spawn. Silver willowleaf #4 or #5 blades with a white skirt imitates the shad. Use a light one, 1/4 or 3/8 ounce, since you will be fishing very shallow.

Get your boat in close to the bank and parallel the bank. Try to position your boat behind the shad so you won’t spook them. See which way they are moving and get in close. Cast your spinnerbait right on the rocks or against the sea wall. Bass will be amazingly shallow and will be looking for shad almost out of the water. You can’t cast too shallow.

Start your retrieve as soon as your bait hits the water and be ready to set the hook immediately. Bass will often hit as soon as the bait hits the water.

After The Activity Stops

You will often see swirls of bass as they eat the shad so cast to them, too. When the surface activity stops the fishing can get very tough. Try to slow roll your spinnerbait on the rocks, working from very shallow out to about six feet deep. If you see shad following your bait you know they are still in the area and bass should be nearby.

Find the shad spawn on your lake and you can be in for some fast bass action.

• Green Sunfish Discription – Larger mouth than most sunfish and thicker, longer body, more like a warmouth than other sunfish. Dorsal fins are connected and there is an extended gill cover edged with ligh red, pink or yellow. Body is brown to olive green with bronze to emerald green sheen, yellow-green on lower sides and yellow or white belly. Bright green or blue spots on the head and often wavey lines of those colors there , too. The mouth is larger than most sunfish, again more like a warmouth, and has small but visible teeth.
• Green Sunfish Size – World record is 2 pounds 2 ounces caught by Paul Dilley in 1971 in the Stockton Lake in Missouri.
• Green Sunfish Distribution – Native to the US west of the Appalachian mountains and east of the Rocky Mountains, has been introduced in most other areas, too. Not found in the Florida pennisular and most of the northeast US.
• What Green Sunfish Eat - Worms, insects and small minnows are the Green Sunfish’s main sources of food.
• Green Sunfish Spawn – In shallow water in late spring and summer. The males guard the nests after the female lays the eggs.
• Green Sunfish Attraction to Light - They will come to a light source to feed on insects and minnows there.
• Green Sunfish Life Cycle – Spawned in late spring to eary summer, fry feed on microscroptic animals and plants until big enough to eat worms, insects and small minnows. They grow to four to six inches long and start reproducing. They are often the first fish to repopulate a dried up stream and tolerate low water quality.
• Green Sunfish Problems Green sunfish are very aggressive and tend to overpopulate a body of water. They usually are small with fish four to seven inches long most common.

Green Sunfish are not a preferred species for ponds or streams. They are good to eat with white, flaky meat but tend to over crowd a body of water and don’t get very big.

• Flathead Catfish Discripton – Squarish, not forked tail, long head with wide distinctly flattened head and eyes are flat and oval shapped. Lower jaw protrudes past upper jaw. Color is shades of mottled browns and yellows.
• Flathead Catfish Size – World record is 123 pounds caught by Ken Paulie in 1998 in the Elk City Reservoir in Kansas. Fourty to fifty pounders are caught often in rivers and lakes where they are established.
• Flathead Catfish Distribution – Native to the Mississippi River drainage in big rivers, it has been transplanted to waters all ofer the US.
• What Flathead Catfish Eat - Flatheads eat anything they can get in their big mouth but prefer fish. Bream are one of their favorite foods.
• Flathead Catfish Spawn – Flatheads spawn in the summer near logs and other protective cover. Females lay between 4,000 and 93,000 eggs that are sticky and adhere to the bottom or cover. The male guards the bed.
• Flathead Catfish Attraction to Light - Flatheads feed a lot by sight and feed during the day as well as at night. They will come around lights at night to feed on baitfish that come to the light.
• Flathead Catfish Life Cycle – After hatching small catfish grow quickly. They are mature when 15 to 19 inches long and can live over 25 years, growing throughout their life.
• Flathead Catfish Problems – Flatheads can decimate the population of some kinds of sun fish, especially in smaller waters or where they are not native. Some smaller rivers in Georgia have lost almost all their redbreat sunfish after flatheads were illegally introduced.

Flathead catfish are great to catch and eat but they cause problems when introduced into non-native waters. They grow big and fight hard so they are a popular gamefish as well as a food fish. Best baits for them is live sunfish. ]]> http://main.reeltaleslodge.com/2010/07/19/flathead-catfish/feed/ 0