Fall Texas Rig Bass Fishing Tips with Mike McClelland

So, hi everyone. When you talk about Texas rigging in the fall, I mean, in my opinion, the opportunities become a little bit slimmer in the fall to really utilize a Texas rig. Still a great way to catch fish but there's a lot of other different things that are working as well. But when it does come fall time, and we're talking Texas rigging, one of the first things that comes to mind is the fish are gonna start transitioning. The bait fish, the shad start generally migrating to the backs of creeks up into the rivers and the fish really try to follow that shad migration. So, one thing that I really again focus on, and this is just almost a year-round staple for me, is a Tour Series Swim Worm. I mean, this is a bait that I feel like you can throw just about 12 months of the year if you have the right conditions and situation. The Tour Series Swim Worm in my opinion works in a number of different situations. Number one, if you're fishing in lakes with vegetation, you can't go wrong with the Tour Series Swim Worm. But if you're fishing lakes that have a lot of boat docks, a lot of lay downs, rock, riprap, things of that nature, you can go to shad colored, you know, swim worms, something that resembles a shad or a bait fish more so than it does anything else and you've increased your opportunities in my opinion in the fall anytime you start fishing more shad pattern baits. So, you would just simply wanna change your color to more of a shad color. I mean again on the weight, I'm gonna start somewhere with a quarter, three-sixteenths, maybe up to a three-eighths ounce weight. I'm gonna be focusing on those transition areas, creek channels, drains that go up into the back of creeks, and pockets. Any place that there's a migration route for those fish to follow is where I'm gonna be throwing a bait like a Texas Rig Tour Series Swim Worm.

The other thing that really stands out in my mind in the fall, especially when those fish really start chasing bait is a jerk bait. I mean a big bait, five-and-a-half, six-inch soft jerk bait worked around those shad, Texas-rigged, generally in a weightless manner is gonna be a great way to catch fish and this is more of a situational bait. It's a bait that when you see fish visibly chasing shad on the surface or when you're watching fish on light scope chase bait, that's when you wanna implement a bait like the Big Bite Soft Jerk Bait. Again, when it comes to the line, my setups aren't gonna vary a lot when it comes to the line and the rods that I use. I mean generally, it's gonna be a five to six power rod on the Tour Series Swim Worm, I'm generally always gonna be throwing a sniper shooter in the warmer months of the year so I'm definitely gonna be throwing sniper shooter anywhere from 14 to 18-pound test on my jerk baits, on my swim worms. Those are gonna be the keys. High-speed reels in the fall. Generally fish are really aggressive that time of the year, they're really chasing. So, I want a 7 to 1, 8 to 1 gear ratio, Johnny Morris Signature Series reel, and a falcon rod is going to be my go-to's.

There are some occasions in the fall where you might run into a flip and you know pitch and bite if you've got the right vegetation that's still green, still plush and there are those situations where you can get into flipping a bait in the fall. And again I kind of pattern my baits more towards shad, you know, I'll go to baits that mimic a shad more so than they mimic a crawfish or something of that nature.

One other thing that you really wanna keep in mind when you're fishing in the fall is you can't ever rule out the drop shad. And I mean just like I said when you're fishing in brush piles, when you're fishing in vegetation, a Texas rig drop shot is definitely the way to get it done.