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Autumn Edge Bite Bass Fishing
By Ryan Fogg
For me, there is nothing better than working your way along a weed edge loaded with lily pads and reeds, with growing anticipation of a scaled predator breaking the surface in the hunt for an easy meal. As the water cools impoundment bass instinctively migrate toward the dam walls in preparation for spawning. Whilst anglers tend to change focus and target bass in the basins during the cooler months there is still some fantastic edge fishing to be experienced.
This year in Southeast QLD we have endured an extended wet period that has many of the local dams overflowing their spillways. This has impacted Australian bass numbers, with plenty of fish escaping to live out the rest of their years in the creeks downstream.
Fishing in Autumn means shortening days and less variation between the high and low temperatures. Impoundment or ‘stocked fish’ can be very sensitive to change and the smallest drop in water temperature and or a wind direction change can result in fish behaving very differently. Whilst this can be frustrating at times, it just makes the chase to get that reaction bite even more interesting.
In recent months I have focused on fishing my local impoundments in the lead up to some fishing tournaments that I plan to fish. This started with doing an inventory of all my rods, reels, and tackle, while also going over past notes that I had written to familiarize myself with what has worked and develop a plan and goals.
Most of the setups that I take on my kayak comprise of spinning combos, with maybe one baitcast setup included if I plan on throwing some bigger swimbaits. A mix of 1-3kg and 2-4kg spinning outfits, rigged with between 6-12lb braid and 10-12lb leader, cover me for all situations. If I plan on throwing some topwater presentations I will run a long monofilament leader as it floats the presentation better and allows for longer pauses between pops. For any sub-surface presentations, I run a similar length of fluorocarbon leader, which allows the presentation to get to the desired depth more efficiently.
With the cooling water, I like to slow my retrieves right down giving the fish the maximum amount of time to decide if they like what I am offering them. This year, when updating some of my reels, I have researched the gear ratios of the reels to see if there was a reel that would enable me to slow my retrieve down further. Whilst this wasn’t the deciding factor before purchase, if all other factors were similar, it could be an advantage.
ZMan soft plastic are extremely buoyant in both the salt and the fresh and a 1/4oz jighead is my go-to weight when flicking plastics along the edges. Early on in my exploration sessions, when I am searching for fish, 1/4oz allows for nice long casts to cover plenty of water and provide the ultimate stealth from my target species.
Lately I have found that the weed towers had grown when the water levels were high and now that the levels have normalized there is only 0.4-0.8m of water above the weed. To combat this, I changed my jigheads to a 1/8oz or 1/12oz, as this allows me to just clip the weed towers, without getting stuck in them. This has allowed for a more natural presentation of the soft plastic, gliding it through the weed banks. I have been using the new TT HeadlockZ Finesse UV jigheads and found them to be very strong and provide awesome hook penetration with both the soft mouths of the bass and bony mouth of the saratoga.
To complete the presentation, I attach a TT Jig Spinner in a Size 1, with a brass (Gold) Colorado blade, which adds some flash and vibration, whilst also making the jighead more resistant to weed catching on the hook. I was then able to run standard jigheads, rather than running a weedless setup.
During the last handful of sessions, the topwater bite just wasn’t firing, while the addition of a light jighead brought the plastic down just subsurface and seemed to tempt the fish into striking. I found that a 1/12oz jighead on a ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ had a great natural fall rate when flicked in tight to the edges. This is where a nice light spin outfit allows super accurate casts and allows me to fish every little variation in the bank profile. I found that both saratoga and bass were tight into the edges or hiding in the shadows created by the lilies.
The great thing about spending some concentrated time on one waterway is that you start to understand the different patterns of various species and where they go during certain times of the day. Baitfish may hold near a particular bank during the first few hours of daylight, then move off the banks as the sun rises. They seek shelter around sunken structures, along with the shadows created from overhanging trees or branches that have fallen but are retaining their leaves.
Water temperature for the most part has been hovering around the low 20 degrees Celsius, with some areas reaching 23 degrees after the sun has been up for a few hours. The afternoon bite has been more predictable and with warmer water the fish are more active. I have had some great eats on the TT Vortex spinnerbaits in the White Bony colour. If the bass aren’t totally committed to the strike they may eat the stinger hook, however on these occasions they ate the primary hook, and this was followed by a solid run back toward the structure or edge.
I like to throw a mixture of soft plastics, from paddle tails to creature baits, and alternate between a few small hops at the start of the retrieve, followed by a nice slow roll, and a faster roll trying to trigger a strike from a nearby fish. In areas where there has been some run off and the water is muddy or discoloured, I have been changing to the ZMan 3.5” Trick SwimZ. I fish this on the same Size 1 TT HeadlockZ Finesse jighead, even though the plastic is 3.5” long. The extra length of the plastics creates some added body roll and gets the tail thumping when slow rolled back toward the kayak. Having a ribbed under body creates water movement and vibration that can be sensed by the fish along their lateral lines. This combined with a healthy coating of scent gives me confidence in my presentation.
Another plastic that has fast become a favourite is the ZMan 2.5” ST GrubZ. The long finesse tail profile snakes along on a slow roll, encouraging a bite. Dirty Oil and Houdini colours have worked well for me at this time of the year.
The ZMan Slim SwimZ is a great profile to imitate the small baitfish that I have found on my sounder. I have been finding plenty of bass and saratoga on recent trips, with most coming off deeper edges that have the wind blowing along them. Darker colours, with a strong silhouette, have been most fruitful. My top 5 colours in the Slim SwimZ range are:
- Green pumpkin.
- Dirty Oil
- Blue Glimmer
- Gold Rush
- Pearl
With a few months left until we dive into winter, get out there and explore your impoundments and do some edge fishing. Remember to mix up your presentations and retrieves to better understand what is going to get your target species to bite.
Bent Rods and Taut Lines.
Cheers, Foggy