Fall is finally here and the bass are HUNGRY!
The countdown to winter has begun. Less than 100 days until ice starts forming on many lakes in the northern parts of the United States. And it’s during this time, when hungry bass start moving from offshore rockpiles, reefs and other structures into the shallows to gorge themselves at the fall buffet before winter sets in.
In his latest video, Crankbaits Catch All, Sam “Sobi” Sobiek, a well-known YouTube fishing personality from Minnesota with more than 59,000 subscribers across the country, hits a Wisconsin lake in search of early fall bass (and whatever else might bite).
Sobi’s 1-2 Fall Punch
Starting in early September, as the leaves start to change, the nights cool off, and the water starts to cool down, Sobi likes to head out in early morning or early evening to his favorite bass lakes for the start of this fall fishing bonanza.
Using his fish electronics, he looks for small rock piles, reefs, and outside weedlines where bass are stacking up in preparation for feedbag time.
Throughout September and into early October, Sobi’s go-to approach is the Rapala Dives-To Series. Sobi likes to go with a larger lure at this time of year – a size 14 – because bass are looking for larger baits to stuff themselves full. His go-to color pattern is Parrot.
“At this time of the year, I use the DT-14 because fish are chasing baits and they want to eat bigger baits,” said Sobi.
The Rapala® DT®-14 is the 1 in the 1-2 Punch that he uses to score more and bigger bass each fall. Sobi uses the DT-14 to search for fish and get them fired up. When he finds fish, such as on a rockpile, he make multiple casts from multiple angles to put fish in the boat.
But he doesn’t stop there. When the bite slows down on the DT-14, he moves in with his 2 punch – spinning rod/reel outfitted with a softbait, such as a 5-inch trick worm, on a VMC® Finesse Neko hook and another spinning/rod reel set up with a VMC Stand-up Shaky Head Jig and a longer trick worm.
“I pull these out after I’ve found some fish and have worked over an area with a crankbait and I need to fish real slow,” said Sobi.
Get Down to Where the Fish Are
When fall fishing for big bass, Sobi likes the Rapala DT because it dives to an exact depth. The size 14 dives to 14 feet. However, Sobi also likes the size 14 because he wants to put a bigger lure in front of hungry bass and he has no problem casting it into 7, 8 or 11 feet of water. “I like to upsize my lures and grind the bottom for big fish.”
“I want the lure to get down deep fast, but then I crawl the lure nice and slow to give fish a chance to eat it. Once I get the lure to the bottom, I slow down my retrieve. If I hit a rock, I might stop and let the lure float up a bit before I continue the retrieve,” said Sobi. “At times I’ll drag the lure, then reel in the slack, drag, reel, drag, reel.”
Critical to this approach is his rod and his fishing line. For deep cranking, Sobi recommends an 8-foot rod with an excellent parabolic action. “I want a rod that, even in the wind, I can make nice long casts with my crankbaits.”
“I strictly run Sufix® Advance® 12-lb. Clear Fluorocarbon fishing line,” said Sobi. “It doesn’t matter if I’m throwing a big crankbait, like a DT-14 or DT-16 or DT-20, or a small crank, like a DT-6, I like the 12-lb. test. It’s what I have confidence in. It’s strong but it’s light enough that it lets the crankbait get down to where it’s going and it doesn’t mess up the lure’s action.”
“The key to fall fishing is to really feel it out – find out what the fish want,” said Sobi. “Every lake is different. Every day is different. Weather can play a huge factor. If the fish are hitting on a fast retrieve, keep doing that. If they’re hitting when you’re barely ticking the bottom, then slow it down. Slow it down.
Rapala is proud to sponsor Sobi, the next generation of Rapala anglers. To watch more Sobi videos, check out his Sobi YouTube channel.