Air and water temperatures have radically changed here in Indiana. We look like we're in for an early Fall. How did this effect smallmouth bass fishing in our creeks and rivers? First time out, we stumbled on a late bite, fish going nuts in the last half hour before dark.
I headed out this Saturday and got splashing and casting by noon. Quickly had a 16" bass on a buzzbait, a good sign. Unfortunately, this sign didn't pay off in further buzzbait fish. Absolutely spooked by any finess lures, I discovered a WakeCrank bite and soon had a couple more 16" smallmouth bass.
Spent a lot of time observing the bass swimming in pools and how they reacted to my senko. Neat to see.
Finally managed this hella thick 18"er and a few more 14.5"-15" thick smallmouth bass. Ripping that wake was the answer. Almost no activity from smaller fish. Towards the end of the day, bass had moved into the riffles.
Only got 9 SMB in 4 hours (18", 3-16", 2-15",14.5") one dink.
I know you like to fish with the Lucky Craft wake crank, but I've never tried one. Does it only stay on top and produce a "wake", or will it dive below the surface if you reel faster. Thanks, JQ
ReplyDeleteWith rod tip down and cranking hard, you can get a WC about 8-10" beneath the surface with braid. Probably deeper with flurocarbon line.
ReplyDeleteA quick follow up--do you find the wake crank most effective fished as a topwater, or as a shallow running crank a few inches below the surface? Thanks for your reply. JQ
ReplyDeleteLots of impact strikes as the lure sways or twitches in the current. Causing an actual wake doesn't seem as important as the wide 's' wobble. Changing speeds, does matter. Make it flee suddenly from imaginary predators. Retrieval speed is fast after ten count on splashdown.
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