By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan
(Editor’s note: This is part one of an occasional two-part series on how various pro anglers target spotted bass in the fall at different lakes around the country.)
The Coosa River in Alabama is a renowned spotted bass fishery and Elite Series pro Russ Lane has been plying those waters for years. Even though daytime temperatures can still be hot during the fall, the shorter days lead to slowly cooling water temperatures, which can trigger a wild spotted bass feeding frenzy.
Why is the Coosa chain so good?
“We always have current flow, it has a really hard bottom with lots of gravel and feeder creeks which is good for the shad population,” Lane said. “The shad population is huge.”
The shad run toward the backs of creeks and the big spots are willing followers.
“You might find a few wolf packs of five or six together,” Lane noted. “For the most part, the big ones are going to be by themselves or with one another. I’ve seen them cruise down a stretch almost hunting like a shark.”
Lane looks for flat, gravel banks 1 to 5 feet deep with deeper water close by. The sweet spot will be vertical cover, such as a couple of stumps, a big rock, or a sea wall that the fish can relate to. As they chase shad, Lane’s bait selection is critical.
When they’re feeding on the surface on a flat, a Buckeye Buzzbait with a 3-inch Big Bite Baits Cane Thumper swimbait threaded on is key. The added bulk of the trailer offer the bass a good target. White blades and skirt are key.
Over a target like a rock or a stump, a Buckeye Lures Custom Painted Super Spook calls them up. Once past his target, he might give the bait a quick pop or “do something different” in case a fish is following. A little chop on the water means he’ll fish it aggressively.
Lane uses the same combo – a medium-heavy 7-foot, 2-inch Denali Kovert casting rod paired with an Daiwa Tatula R casting reel (7:1 ratio) spooled with 50-pound Sunline FX2 braid – for both topwaters.
To cut down on missed fish, he relaxes his grip on the rod and reel slightly.
“I lay that rod in the palm of my hand and point it directly at them,” he said. “It gives them a chance to get it and suck it in. If you’re holding the rod real tight, because you feel the bite quicker, you’ll set the hook quicker and miss that bass.”
When the reaction bite isn’t happening, he’ll throw a tilapia-colored Big Bite Baits Coontail worm on a ¼-ounce Buckeye Spot Remover jig head on Sunline TX1 braided line while running an 8-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluoro leader. If he were fishing a skinnier worm, a 1/8-ounce head works best.
Targeting the bigger spotted bass does require a measure of discipline, Lane said.
“Maybe an angler will pull up on a flat gravel point and only fish one side of it or two or three in a row and not get bit,” he said. “They might have got bit on the next couple if they’d only kept going.”
For anglers not worried about size and just want to chase numbers, Lane suggests fishing the main lake and targeting the windy side. The most dominant cover is probably what they’ll position on. Yes, they’re easier to catch, but they’re smaller, too. Lane says there are more variables to contend with as opposed to heading into the creeks.
“If the water has just a little bit of color to it, they’re going to be set up on those dock posts,” he said. “If the water is really clear, they are going to get up under those docks and suspend,” he said.
On the main lake, Lane suggests throwing a SPRO McStick 110 jerkbait and a SPRO Fat Papa 55 crankbait in natural colors like Nasty Herring, Nasty Shad. When the water is super clear, he opts for Natural Shad.
Davis Heads to the Dams
Where Lane targets the shallower spotted bass on the Coosa Chain, Elite Series pro Clent Davis, also an Alabama native, likes to hit up the dams.
“They’re there year-round but late September it really turns on behind the dams,” Davis said. “You’re targeting structure in current looking for big rock because they’re current breaks.”
Interestingly, those bass tend to be in front of the boulders waiting for bait to come to them instead of behind the rock where they can hang just out of the current and conserve energy.
With the strong current, Davis puts his trolling motor on 100 percent and he’ll try to sit in the current breaks, or slack water, outside of the current.
On a 7-foot medium-action Okuma Helios casting rod and matching Okuma reel with 7:1 gearing spooled with 30-pound Yo-Zuri Duel Hardcore Super 8 Camo braid, he’ll start off targeting aggressive fish with a bone, sexy shad, or ayu-colored Yozuri 3DB Pencil walking bait.
If they aren’t committing to the topwater, he’ll switch to a Texas-rigged Mister Twister RT Slug on a 4/0 or 5/0 hook on 17-pound fluorocarbon. If the spotted bass are active, he’ll work the bait and if not, he’ll cast it out and let the current work it along.
On a sunny day, rainbow shad or alewife work great whereas white is best on cloudy days. Yo-yoing a ghost/bluegill Yo-Zuri Vibe lipless ratting bait can also trigger bites from reluctant fish.
