In bass fishing, the prespawn is analogous to the rut, but the mid- to late fall can be as good or better for numbers of trophy bass. Wired2Fish’s McKeon “Keys” Roberts demonstrates this by sliding his fishing kayak into a known “small lake” and catching several big bass out of an isolated grass bed on spinnerbaits and jigs.
TACKLE USED (additional kayak links below)
- Terminator Pro Series Jig, 1/2-ounce, color: Black Blue Purple
- Z-Man Turbo CrawZ
- Team Lew’s Pro Ti Speed Stick Casting Rod, 7’3″ MedHvy
- Team Lew’s Pro-Ti SLP Speed Spool Casting Reel
- Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon, (spinnerbait – 14lb, jig – 17lb)
- Terminator P1 Pro Series Double Willow Spinnerbait, 1/2-ounce
- 13 Fishing Fate Black Casting Rod, 7’6″ MedHvy
- 13 Fishing Concept A2 Casting Reel
- Sufix 131 G Core Braid, 40lb
- Z-Man Giant TRD
- Z-Man Mag ShroomZ
- ARK Reinforcer Casting Rod, 7’3″ MedHvy
- Daiwa Tatula Elite Casting Reel, 7.1:1
Keys explains the concept of “managing inventory,” that is, saving special lakes for the late fall when bass are near the maximum size and heavily concentrated in relatively small areas. Mapping out grass beds and dropping waypoints during peak summer growth allows Keys to return to prime spots after the bulk of weeds die off in the fall.
Once you contact bass, it’s important to slow down and thoroughly fish the area with a mix of vertical and moving baits. While pitching a jig is always a go-to, slow-rolling a spinnerbait and colliding it against stalks of grass proved the most productive. Kayak fishing offers a great way to fish small grass lakes without big access points.
