Fall Wake Bait Secrets

As the leaves start to change color and the air turns crisp, it's time to break out the wake baits for some exciting fall bass fishing. Wake baits are excellent lures to use when bass are in a transitional feeding mode, not quite committing to topwaters but still feeding  for winter. 

Here are some tips for fishing wake baits in the fall:

- Choose wake baits in shad or baitfish patterns like silver/black, bone, perch or black/chartreuse. Select a pattern that matches the hatch with the forage species in your lake. Go with a smaller profile wake bait in the 2-3 inch size as the water continues to cool.

- Work wake baits over points, humps, grassy flats, and rocky banks; basically anywhere baitfish visit and get ambushed by hungry bass. Focus on wind-blown shorelines first since wind pushes plankton, baitfish follow and the bass do as well.

- Vary your retrieve speed to trigger reaction strikes. Sometimes a slow steady retrieve is best, other times working the wake bait quickly will get bit. Also try stopping it abruptly and letting the bait suspend motionless for a time and then continue the retrieve. 

- Try different rod angles on the retrieve. Holding the rod tip up makes the wake bait sputter side to side enticingly. Lowering the rod tip helps give it a tighter wobble. 

- Stay alert on the hookset. Bass will often swirl on a wake bait then actually eat it seconds later. Don't set too early so not to pull the bait away from them before they fully commit.

Wake baits are one of bass pro Edwin Ever's favorite fall lures, especially when bass are chasing baitfish such as shad. Take a few moments and watch as EE provides some great on the water insight and tips on his approach to using wake baits in the fall...

Wake baits can be a go-to lure for fall bass, especially when the bass are reluctant to eat a topwater bait. Follow these tips and you'll get exciting near-surface strikes when other anglers struggle to get bit on traditional topwaters.

Waking Up Bass

Did you ever encounter a day on the water and you felt like it was time to "wake up" the bass? 

Now I don't mean those days when it seems the bass need an alarm clock to get them going but situations where the bass are holding in submerged cover (grass, brush, etc.) and show signs of surface activity!

Though there are a number of different topwaters that may work, retrieving a wake bait with its wide wobbling motion and clicking of internal and external hardware is often the key to drawing bass up from their submerged haunts to explode on the bait...

Want to learn more about drawing bass to the surface to slam a wake bait? 

Take a moment to watch this short tutorial video on fishing wake baits over shallow, submerged cover:

In the previous video they demonstrate wake baiting using a fat-body crankbait style of lure. 

In addition, there are several different body styles available to bass anglers today including one of oldest, the Arbogast Jitterbug, shad shaped wake baits like the 6th Sense Speed Wake and rat-shaped versions like the Bull Shad Bull Rat!

Check out these and other wake bait options by clicking on the link if interested in seeing more!

Wake Bait Selection

Surface Cranking for Bass?

Do you ever have moments when you're looking for a different power presentation around shallow or  submerged grass?

I know I have and there is one type of bait that I have never even thought of using even though it's been around for decades. 

The wakebait is one lure that can definitely "fit the bill".

And since you normally fish it on a steady or slightly erratic retrieve, it's almost like you're surface cranking for bass :)

Take a moment and listen to bass pro John Cox explain how he uses a wakebait to trigger explosive strikes as he probes the grass flats...

Ready to try the wakebait for shallow cranking?

Rig one up on your favorite rod & braided line, cast around shallow cover, start cranking and hold on!