Swimbaits for Fall Lake Erie Smallmouth

Posted byTyler KaenthongrathPosted inFish Species, Fishing Techniques, Ontario Fishing SeasonsTags:, , , , , ,

While most people are putting their boats away in storage, many anglers know that the fall season can offer some of the best smallmouth fishing. Whether it’s catching a new personal best, having your biggest 5 fish limit or just catching a load of fish.

Spencer and I were fortunate enough to have glass calm conditions in the morning and then wind picked up slightly from the South/Southwest later in the afternoon. Water temps were 54-55 degrees Fahrenheit.

I had a few places in mind to start after looking at the lake mapping on Navionics WebApp. We started to side scan a ledge with a 22ft flat on top and a jagged drop off to about 33ft. Marking rock piles and what appeared to be bait on my Humminbird Helix, we decided to drop the trolling motor and just fish.

It took all of three casts to boat the first fish weighing 4.6lb. The next two fish were 4.98lb and 5.89lb. These three fish were caught within the first 20 minutes of fishing. Our top five for the day weighed 5.89, 5.45, 5.70, 5.53 and 5.93 pounds.

Critical to our success was using Spot Lock on the Minn Kota Ultrex. As we’d catch a fish, Spot Lock would maintain our position and we’d continue casting to the same school of fish. The Ultrex also allowed us to set our drift speed and direction as the wind picked up.

The Baits of Choice

The baits of the day were 3.8″ paddle tail swimbaits on a 1/2oz football head.

Jackall Rhythm Wave

Keitech Fat Swing Impact

Mustad Football Heads

We experimented with various weight jigheads, size baits, colours, and a multitude of different baits. Not a single fish was caught on a lure other than a swimbait. Creeping the bait along the bottom, slowly reeling compared to dragging proved to be the most successful.

Rod & Reel Setup

Both Spencer and I were using G. Loomis NRX baitcast rods paired with Shimano Digital Control reels for better hook sets and long casts. I personally went with a 30lb braid to 15lb fluorocarbon leader line and Spencer chose 15lb fluoro mainline.

Shimano Metanium DC and G. Loomis NRX 893C Casting rod. Football Jig and paddletail swimbait rod and reel setup.

G. Loomis 893C NRX Casting Rod – (7’5″ Medium Heavy)

Shimano Metanium DC 151XG

30lb Seaugar Smackdown Braid

15lb Daiwa J-Fluoro Leader

Immediately releasing fish after catching them from deep water reduces the need to “fizz” their air bladder and reduces their overall stress. Releasing these big fish is critical in maintaining a healthy fishery and ensuring we’ll continue to be able to catch fish this big and even bigger in future years to come.

Published by Tyler Kaenthongrath

I’ve started Tie1On Fishing to share my fishing experiences and spread some of the knowledge I’ve gained so that more people can be successful fishing. There’s many different opinions on “how to fish” and hopeful you’ll find some useful information that you can apply to your next fishing trip!

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