Hollow Bodied Frogs: One thing is for sure- you will never have to twist my arm to get me to pick up a frog rod in the Fall! Though there are plenty of other times of the year that a hollow bodied frog can be productive, October and November is by far my favorite time to pick up a Z-Man Leap FrogZ. The reasons the Fall can be so froggy, is because throughout much of the country, lakes with plentiful submergent vegetation-like hydrilla and milfoil- has had all of Spring and Summer to grow into a dense canopy on the surface. Once these grass beds create these mats, the growth of a layer of algae, and the canopy itself, start choking out the supply of sunlight to the root systems, and as they break down it creates tunnel-like access for bass to navigate through. To take advantage of these prime frogging conditions, it is important to cover water until you start getting bites, or find an area with lots of bluegill activity. The fish will group up in some very small, and unassuming, grass mats, so it’s important to pay attention to details. As far as tackle, this is a heavy duty tactic that requires some sturdy gear. I start with a Z-Man 2.75 Walking Leap FrogZ (can’t go wrong with the Black Knight color!), and tie that to 65lb Seaguar Smackdown braid, spooled on a Fitzgerald 7.2:1 VLD10, attached to a Fitzgerald Okeechobee Rod.
Small Chatterbait: It seems like it’s always Chatterbait season! Despite the fact that there’s always fish willing to eat a Chatterbait, the new MiniMax brings a whole new level of effectiveness to fishing in the Fall. During the Fall, in lakes with populations of threadfin shad, these baitfish make a mass migration to the backs of creeks. Many of these baitfish are of a smaller size-class, and the bass feeding on them will likely pass up any presentation that doesnt closely resemble the same size of these shad. This is why the MiniMax is such a great choice in the Fall. I like the 3/8oz version of the MiniMax (Pear Ghost is a great Fall color) paired with a MinnowZ trailer, and I fish that on 12lb Seaguar InvizX, a 7’MH Vursa Rod, and a 7.2:1 VLD10 reel.
Small Swimbait: Once again, across the South, many of the lakes will have fish keying in on very small shad as they venture into the backs of creeks. It has been a very common occurrence to pull into a creek that is packed with these small baitfish, with bass aggressively crashing through these bait-balls- while they ignore your traditional sized shad imitations. Though this used to be a frustrating situation, it is now something I look forward to because I have a secret weapon! While the MiniMax certainly is going to be a great mini-shad imitator, there’s really nothing better than swimming a MinnowZ swimbait on a Finesse EyeZ jig head through a school of these picky Fall shad-eaters. My favorite color is the Pearl/Blue Glimmer 3” MinnowZ on a Pearl 1/4oz Finesse EyeZ jig head. I fish this on a simple spinning setup with a 20lb Seaguar Smackdown mainline, a 10lb Gold Label leader, on a 6’10” MH Vursa spinning rod and a Stunner S4000 reel.
