Fall is here, and if you know, you know — this is the bite we wait all year for. As we move through September, the days get shorter and the water starts to cool down, and that shift kicks off one of the best feeding windows bass fishing has to offer. Bass start grouping up and pushing shad into the backs of creek channels, and when you find one of those feeding wolf packs, you can fill your livewell fast.
My whole game plan this month is built around finding those fish and giving them something they can't refuse. That's exactly what I packed into this month's Tackle Box — the baits I'm actually tying on right now to make the most of the fall feeding frenzy. Here's what's in it.
Locate First, Then Load Up
Before we get into the baits — the name of the game in September is location. Those feeding wolf packs aren't scattered all over the lake, they're stacked up in specific spots: the backs of creek channels, where cooling water and baitfish activity draw them in. Find that, and you can cover water fast and put a lot of fish in the boat in a short window. The baits below are all picked to help you do exactly that.
My Favorite: The Freak Buzz
There's nothing better than a fast-moving topwater blowup, and this time of year the Freak Buzz is the bait I reach for first. It's built with premium components and a squeak that's loud enough to call feeding bass in from a distance — when they're actively feeding, that extra bit of commotion makes a real difference.
The best part of fishing the buzz this time of year is how much water you can cover with it. When you're hunting for those wolf packs in the backs of creek channels, you need to search fast and stay efficient, and the Freak Buzz lets you do exactly that while still putting a bait in front of fish that are ready to eat.
Follow It Up: The subBLADE Elite
When they blow up on the buzz and miss it, or when I want something that stays down but still covers water just as fast, I'm tying on the subBLADE Elite. It's built off our subMission swim jig, but the blade adds real thump and rattle underwater — every wobble knocks the blade against both sides of the head, so it's calling fish in with sound as much as vibration. That extra draw matters when you're trying to pull a whole school out of the back of a creek channel instead of waiting for them to find you.
Rigged with a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook and a barbed keeper that holds your trailer through repeated strikes, finished with a hand-tied copper skirt in our Reptile Living Rubber blend for a natural profile once it's down in the strike zone.
Match the Forage: The TC Minnow Underspin
Fall bass are locked onto shad, and the TC Minnow Underspin is built to look like exactly that. We tested this one hard before we ever released it, and the diamond-finished blades throw the kind of flash that gets noticed even when fish are keyed in tight on baitfish. I fish it on 3"-4" swimbaits and let the blade do the calling.
Available in 1/4oz and 3/8oz, silver or gold blades — I like silver on bright days and gold when it's overcast.
Work the Cover: The Water Wolf Arkie
Once I've found the school, this is the jig that stays tied on. The Water Wolf is about as versatile as a bass jig gets — skip it under docks, swim it through the school, flip it into wood, drag it or bounce it on bottom. In the backs of creek channels this time of year you're dealing with laydowns, brush, and hard bottom all in the same stretch, and this jig covers all of it without a rod change.
Heavy Gamakatsu hook, screwlock keeper, and a copper hand-tied living rubber skirt. Available from 1/4oz up to 3/4oz.
Get This Month's Box
Everything above is packed into the September Tackle Box — my picks for the fall feeding frenzy, ready to go. Grab it, find those creek channel wolf packs, and go fill the livewell.
Tight lines, Dan