Fall Bass from a Tournament Titan | Bass Angler Magazine
BEMIDJI, Minn. (September 28, 2023) – Biblical Noah had an Ark. Bass fishing’s Noah has four. Or more accurately, four new Skeeter/Yamaha packages he’s trailered home after winning four of the last five Classic Bass Champions Tour finales. An unprecedented feat.
This Noah is Bagley pro Noah Schultz of Waseca, Minnesota. His most recent victory was seizing the 2023 Tour Championship on Minnesota’s East/West Rush Lakes, where he took the podium and a new Skeeter ZX200 outfitted with a 200 Yamaha – the fully-rigged package valued at $70,000.
So, where are all those boats? Wisely, Schultz fishes the new ones and sells the one-year-olds
The late summer championship saw Schultz picking apart massive flats, zeroing in on small patches of shallow eelgrass. “I used two baits,” said Schultz, a father of seven who operates a thriving Amazon-based business with his wife. “Bass were relating to those weeds and hitting either a ChatterBait or Bagley Balsa Wake Bait. With the wake bait, I’d slow roll it inches below the surface and just above the grass.” Interestingly, Schultz knew precisely where to cast, too, his Humminbird literally revealing the direction bass were swimming. Brilliant…
FALL FISHING TIPS
With autumn just getting its grips, water temperatures are on the gradual decline and late summer fishing transmogrifying into early fall patterns. Tournament season might be over, but that doesn’t keep Schultz off the water. In fact, we’re getting into his favorite months of the year.
“It’s a trend every year,” said Schultz of the big bass wallowing to shoreline areas. “The cooler nights really trigger the big fish. They start moving up to the bank. You’ll still find schools of fish offshore and along the weedlines, but the big fish definitely move up.”
Schultz hitches his success to locating premium, isolated shoreline cover. “I’m fishing docks, pads, and laydowns,” said Schultz. He peppers those targets with crankbaits, too, squarebills specifically His first choice is a Bagley B1. The time-tested, 2-inch balsawood bait runs from 5- to 6-feet and presents a lively wiggle. Its squared bill is also famous for deflecting off the cover Schultz fishes, severely limiting snags.
When asked about color selection, Schultz said he keeps things elementary. “It’s pretty simple. I fish bright patterns in dirty water and natural colors in clear water.” His favorite for colored water, bar none, is Baby Bass, which sports a bright yellow belly and dark bass-looking back. He also keeps a combo ready with a Bagley B1 in Red Crawdad tied-on.
As stated, clearer conditions call for something natural. That translates into colors such as Black Back/Silver Foil, Blue Olive Shad, and maybe Tennessee Shad/Orange Belly. Regardless of color, he works the B1 with 7-foot crankbait rod with a medium-heavy action. All his fall cranking is done with straight 15-pound fluorocarbon line.
As fall progresses, temperatures falling even further, Schultz focuses on shallow rock and any remaining green vegetation, placing an emphasis on coontail. On his home waters in southern Minnesota most lakes feature stained water and limited vegetation. And what vegetation does exist dies in the fall, subsequently pushing bass to the rocks. On lakes to the north with clearer water and more substantial vegetation, he’s more apt to concentrate on green weeds.
Schultz also fishes the modestly larger Bagley B2 in late fall, sticking with the same pattern-to-water-color preferences. He pairs each with a 7-foot, medium-power rod with a soft tip.
His fall doesn’t end there. In fact, Schultz launches his Skeeter until the weather no longer permits, boat landings freezing up. With water temps in the 40’s, gravedigging into the 30’s, you’ll find him throwing a jig and pig or tempting sluggish fish with a Ned Rig powered by Northland’s new Nedster Jig. With water that cold he often mobilizes to natural lakes that still maintain healthy coontail.
ABOUT Northland Fishing Tackle
In 1975, a young Northwoods fishing guide named John Peterson started pouring jigs and tying tackle for his clients in a small remote cabin in northern Minnesota. The lures were innovative, made with high quality components, and most importantly, were catching fish when no other baits were working! Word spread like wildfire, the phone started ringing… and the Northland Fishing Tackle® brand was in hot demand!
For 40 years now, John and the Northland® team have been designing, testing and perfecting an exclusive line of products that catch fish like no other brand on the market today. Manufactured in the heart of Minnesota’s finest fishing waters, Northland® is one of the country’s leading producers of premium quality jigs, live bait rigs, spinnerbaits and spoons for crappies, bluegills, perch, walleyes, bass, trout, northern pike and muskies.
ABOUT Bagley Bait Company
The personality of any company comes from its founder. Jim Bagley was an inventive, fun-loving, passionate fisherman who became one the most respected legends in the fishing tackle industry. In late 2010, Jarmo Rapala and a group of investors bought Bagley Bait Company.
As an admirer of Jim Bagley for his attention to quality and of his product ingenuity and innovation, Jarmo initiated significant changes in operations, enhanced production processes and quality control. Now in 2020, Northland® Fishing Tackle, along with Jarmo as its Chief Lure Designer, maintain the legacy of creating premium balsa crankbaits and topwater lures, as well as jigs and spoons for both freshwater and saltwater anglers.
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