At our last trip to the river mid-week we found the water temps coming down pretty good. 8 degrees in two days. We also noted that our old stand-by, the 4” Ripper, showed less promise. After an hour of short hits I decided to hang a Pro Blue/red pearl Qualin Shad on a lighter weighted hook and that switch was met immediately with results. Nothing huge for fish but 1-1/2 to 2 pound bass, a couple pike and a. Perch about 13” smacked it. After an hour we both were tossing the Qualin number in three different color combos seen in the picture.
With the cooler water we checked to see if the crappies were moving back into the area but the water is too warm for them yet plus we need rain to spark some current in the backwaters.
Fall is a great time to fish but conditions change so fast it can be tough to stay abreast of what’s working. Thankfully I had those Quakin baits to make the shift. All three colors shown got fish with the blue glitter getting the larger bass and pike.