The fall fishing season can often bring trophy bass catches, but for many, it brings a struggle to even find the fish and adequately target them. With the bass transitioning from feeding in shallow waters to being stagnant in cooler waters, it can often leave anglers confused and frustrated on how to target them. Luckily, there is one lure that seems to be very consistent in regards to catching bass in the fall; the lipless crankbait. Today we will be looking at the lipless crankbait and going over our four most useful fall fishing tips when wetting a line with one of the best bass lures on the market.

Lipless Crankbait Tip #1: Match the Hatch

It’s no secret that by now, many anglers know that matching bait or other forage in your waters is one of the easiest ways to increase your chances of landing a bass. After all, if there are crawfish in your waters, chances are the bass eat them. This means throwing a lure with a crawfish pattern is a lot more likely to get bit compared to other colorways. For the lipless crankbait, there's a colorway that mimics just about any baitfish or creature in the water you can think of. By doing research on the bait in your waters and matching the hatch you will be a lot more likely to land a fish no matter where you are throwing the lure.

Lipless Crankbait Tip #2: Retrieval

Oftentimes anglers will get stuck when throwing the lipless crankbait because they are steadily retrieving without any bites. This is common in the late fall because it’s common for bass to be on the bottom of the water column which means if you are steadily retrieving near the surface, the fish likely won’t even see the lure. We often encourage anglers to try different retrieval tactics if they aren’t getting bites from the regular retrieve we just mentioned. In particular, the “Yo-Yo” retrieve has worked best for us when we know that bass are in deep waters. With the Yo-Yo retrieve, you let the lipless crankbait sink to the bottom and continuously rip it up, and then let it sink back down. This can cause a reaction bite from the bass on the bottom especially if it happens to sink right in front of them. This retrieval may not work every time, but it is important to experiment with how you are retrieving the lipless crankbait depending on where the bass are located and whether or not they are actively feeding.

Lipless Crankbait Tip #3: Fishing Line

Another issue that anglers struggle with when tossing the lipless crankbait is what line they should choose to pair with it. For us, we have seen the most success with 10-17 lb fluorocarbon depending on how deep you want to go with the lure. Being that heavier fluorocarbon tends to sink faster it is often used when fishing deeper waters in the fall with the lipless crankbait. The best anglers in the business such as Kevin Van Dam attest to using fluorocarbon line with the lipless crankbait and we can’t help but agree!

Lipless Crankbait Tip #4: Weed inspection

One of the most underlooked parts about throwing the lipless crankbait in the fall is that it can help you find where to fish. Because the lipless crankbait has two treble hooks, it’s typically a magnet for any vegetation in the water, if there is any present. We suggest steadily retrieving the lipless crankbait until you get vegetation trapped in the hooks. If the vegetation is brown, that means you should keep moving and search for the good stuff. If it’s green and healthy, chances are there are some big bass prowling the shallows in search of a meal!

Fall fishing can be tricky, but with the lipless crankbait tips we provided today, you should be able to get out there and catch some fall-time bass in no time!