Fall Clear Water, There is an Answer
Often in the fall of the year you find that the water is very clear, and it is generally a time when we see gobs of baitfish and always wonder what can I do to get a bite. Clear water can be your best friend if you pick baits that create motion and sound in the water.
One bait, that most folks have not yet tried has been referred to as a wake bait, it's basically like shallow running crank baits that are really wide bodied except it moves the water around it. A good analogy is like watching a boat create a wake the faster it goes and the more you raise the bow the less water it displaces. If you drop the nose of the boat and slow down it will displace more water, hence the movement of a wake baits. You accomplish the same with using the tip of your fishing pole, the higher you raise the tip the less water it moves.
Today's wake baits are ideal in clear water; the water displacement creates the motion needed to get the attention of a bass. The movement across the top, in clear water, filters the sun and hence causes the bass to look up and strike your bait. You will find that a bass will come from a good distance away, follow and strike your bait, and the clearer the water the better. If you find that the followers are hesitant to strike slow your bait down let the nose drop and your line go slack and more often than not the bass will strike it! If slowing down doesn't trigger a bite, start jerking it to create a side-to-side movement imitating wounded baitfish. This presentation is hard for a bass to turn away from.
Lastly wake baits are ideal baits around hidden current free pockets, running wake baits along a rocky ledge where the bass and bait are hiding in the current free pockets can be deadly. You see the bait in the clear water generally try to get away from sun; wind and or current and you can bet in the fall that the bass are moving with them. So small pockets along with the movement of these wake-producing baits can land you some great fish. Clear water patterns can be friendly you just have to choose a bait that works with it!
Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
Email: bassguide@comcast.net
256 759 2270
Captain Mike Gerry