A Binsky blade shines

As fall progresses, the shallows get colder and aquatic plants die providing fewer places for baitfish to hide, the bass’s food moves deeper, and so do the largemouth bass. That’s not to say you can’t catch them on shallower flats. Some of the best fishing of the fall happens when wolf packs of largemouth bass move up and hunt on expansive flats that still have enough vegetation for bait to relate to. A Binsky blade shines here with a long cast and a hopping retrieve that makes the lure vibrate, but not burn too quickly through the strike zone. The objective is to keep the blade north of the bottom, but not dredging the bottom and picking up weeds in the process.

You can also use a Binsky blade at a consistent depth across large flats with a retrieve just fast enough to make it vibrate and stay off the bottom. When you feel resistance it will be either a fish or a weed, and in either case, a sharp jerk of the rod will either set the hook or rip the blade free of the grass. Lots of strikes seem to come right after you rip the lure free and let it settle toward the bottom.

A second place to look for bass with a Binsky by Fish Sense Lures is on sharper drop-offs where weeds are present. Fish tend to hang on the outside edge of the vegetation, and positioning your boat so you can work your lure parallel to the weed bed edge can get your string stretched. Normally, a crankbait would be a better choice, and certainly easier to use. A Binsky blade shines when the water temperature dips below 50 degrees, largemouth bass seem to prefer a blade bait more in direct proportion to how much colder the water gets.

When the water gets real cold with surface temperatures below 38 degrees, you can sometimes find bass outside of the weed edges, right in the basin. That’s where the warmest water in the lake will be. The largemouth’s aren’t very active, but you can have a pretty good day by positioning your boat in the shallower water, right over the remaining weeds and casting into the basin and moving your bait just fast enough to feel it vibrate a little bit and let it touch the bottom. It’s difficult for many veteran bass anglers to get their heads around this, but bass sometimes inhale a blade when it’s lying right on the bottom. You’ll be working that bottom area, pulling your rod back just fast and far enough to feel the blade “thup-thup-thup.” Let the blade settle, and after it’s assured it’s on the bottom, you’ll feel that “tick.” Other times, the fish will just “be there” when you lift the rod again.

Always use a snap (not a snap swivel) on the end of your line for attaching the Binsky. With the way the hole is punched through the metal on these lures, tying any kind of line directly on the blade will result in instantly frayed line and a lost lure.

If you haven’t tried blade bait fishing in fall’s coldwater bodies, give it a shot. It’s a great way to catch numbers of good-sized bass.