PowerTeam Lures Soft Plastics for Late Summer / Early Fall Bass

A simple way to pattern fall transition bass is to remember where you found spawning bass in the spring when the water temperature had not yet warmed up.  The upper lake creeks and pockets containing cover and current can be the best place to locate the bass that are preparing for the fall transition. Summer patterns may still be holding on lower ends of the lake. This is where keeping a journal or record of water temperatures and weather patterns on good days on the water will pay off.

Many bass anglers know that the water temperatures control the activity of bass and not the calendar. It is a common belief that when the water drops down to seventy and below to the sixty-five degrees is the magic temperature range for the fall migration to begin.  However a rapid change of water temperature dropping eight to ten degree can stimulate early fall migration activity in the bait and in the bass.  This transition can begin to happen when the water temperature is in the upper to mid-seventies. I larger lakes this can occur in the upper end of the lake  several days even weeks before it happens in areas near the dam at the lower end of the body of water. Several anglers miss some prime bass fishing waiting for the temperature to reach 70 throughout the lakes they fish. Again, it is the condition, not the calendar that anglers must learn to fish.

Late summer and early fall rains affect this trend along with cooler night time temperatures and wind.  The days getting shorter as we move closer to fall also affect the activity of bass. The moon phases and shorter days associated with solstice and equinox are the basis for calendar years, and their influences do affect fish, but it is water temperature that has the most drastic effect on their behavior. That is not to say that we could have a warning trend that will heat the water temperature back up into the upper eighties, but I for one will be on the water this weekend rain or shine fishing with both late summer, early fall tactics.

There are a number of successful lures that can be used in the summer to fall transition. Lures such as spinnerbaits and crankbaits are among the most popular and there are those top water anglers who live for the early fall top water season. In times of low light, buzzbaits, poppers, and walkers all have their respected place in fishing for this in between season.  Early fall bass will begin to move along the migration routes between the deep water and the shallow areas feeding upon every opportunity. Rising water from seasonal rain will send the bass into grass and brush to feed. The bass will begin to follow the bait fish toward the new water from the rain making these areas great for flipping and pitching soft plastics.

Soft plastics such as the worms, grubs and food chain tubes by PowerTeam Lures can now be fished much shallower than in the previous weeks before. These are a good choice as bass tend to be shallower for longer periods in a now much wider strike zone. The five inch “Sick Stick” on a weighted wacky head gives anglers the ability to control the amount of action needed to trigger strikes in the early transition areas. This neutrally buoyant stick bait is comprised of a square core encased in round rings which gives a better visual stimulant and flash to the bait along with a controllable shimmy as the bait falls. When rigged on a 1/8-3/16 oz. weighted wacky head for a wider and faster fall for the aggressive bass. This bait can also be rigged on a shaky head, Texas rigged or Carolina rigged for the active late summer, early fall bass.

Another good quality of the PowerTeam Lures soft plastic baits is that they can punch through heavy shallow cover. In late summer and early fall the mats and grasses are there thickest.  The bass transiting from the deep water to the shallow areas will use the grass for cover in the sun and to remain shallow on colder nights. Heavy wood and grass provide not only cover but ambush locations for the bait that is moving shallow as well. The mats and grasses of this season are difficult to fish with any other lure making a Texas rigged soft plastic the best choice to penetrate the cover.

PowerTeam Lures offers many different shapes and sizes from craws to creatures in a continually growing color selection that gives anglers a variety of soft plastic form these days. And with the perfect blend of salt and scent to them, known as Sow Chow, bass cannot resist engulfing these baits. Scent becomes more useful as the seasons change and seasonal rains may cloud water from run off.

The large variety of soft plastics that can be rigged weedless offer anglers an effective arsenal for both largemouth and smallmouth bass in this early season of change. A weedless rigged food chain tube can swim imitating a bait fish, or pulled across the top of thick grass beds for a reaction strike. These tubes have a unique design that provides action that can simulate a crayfish when fished on a Carolina rig. Just as the 3.5” Craw D’oeuvre and PowerTeam’s other creatures and craws can be cast upstream into current and allowed to flow back into eddies for some moving water action.

The change in water temperature means that the bass are moving. Their aggression is heightened as competition for food becomes more abundant. In a world where big fish eat small fish size is important. Eating to maintain size through the coming winter is nature’s way of ensuring survival.  The sudden and constant drop in water temperature is telling the bass to prepare even if the calendar is telling anglers it is still summer.

PowerTeam Lures offers anglers some of the best soft plastic baits on the market today. Their unique designs, scent and colors offer anglers an advantage at a very affordable price. In this season of change, as the bass change, and the leaves hint of change, try changing your late summer, early fall tactics to include shallow soft plastics.

Happy Fishing!

Mark B.

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