Pro bass angler Edwin Evers credits his first national fishing tournament win to a shallow-diving crankbait. He discusses when and how to fish wakebaits and shallow-diving crankbaits to catch scattered fall bass. Cooling water temperatures often pull baitfish and bass into the shallows, where they disperse across flats and points. A shallow-diving crankbait is an excellent tool for combing expanses of water quickly while fishing cleanly over grass and other cover elements that snag or fowl deep running lures.
TACKLE USED (retail links)
- CRANKBAIT – Berkley Wakebull (discontinued)
- SHALLOW CRANKBAITS @ Omnia Fishing
- WAKEBAITS @ Omnia Fishing
While topwater bass fishing can extend well into the fall, they tend to fizzle when water temps drop to a certain point. Bass will still feed up near the surface, however, where the right combination of sound, profile, and action triggers big bass to eat. Evers shares his favorite all-around shallow-diving crankbait color and why he fishes these baits exclusively using 14-pound test fluorocarbon.
As with any moving bait, you must experiment with different retrieve speeds to determine the best cadence. While burning can be a trigger, Evers usually employs a somewhat steady and slow retrieve speed to trigger bass when water temperatures descend into the mid-50s and below. The bottom line — don’t overlook these shallow-diving baits during the fall cool down.
