Rattlebaits: Different Retrieves for Early Fall Bass Success

Now that fall is starting to roll in across the country, tactics for bass fishing are going to start changing. Your trusty topwater lure might not work as well as it did in the heat of summer, since bass are starting to gear up for winter. When these changes happen, it’s a good idea to start throwing rattlebaits for a great day on the water.

There are a few reasons why a rattlebait is going to work so well this time of year. When fall hits, the bass start to act a bit differently. Instead of escaping the heat by going into deep holes in the body of water you’re fishing, they’re going to start feeding aggressively in shallower water as they prep for winter. Baitfish are going to act differently too. Shad and other sources of food tend to school up together in shallow flats and along weed edges, which draws in tons of bass.

A rattlebait is great for this scenario because they are designed to match both the size and color profile of these baitfish. Fall is also great because the weedlines start to thin out as the vegetation starts to die, making it much easier to work a rattlebait through areas you couldn’t during the summer.

There are a few different features that rattlebaits have that make them so effective for bass this time of year. The first is that their sinking design allows you to fish anywhere in the water column. Just by simply letting it sink down, adjusting your retrieve speed, and moving your rod angle, you can hit anywhere in the water a bass might be hiding out.

These baits also create a ton of sound and vibration as they move through the water, perfect for calling bass in from a long way away. 

With a rattlebait, you’re also able to cover a lot of water really quickly. Cast and retrieve in an area, then move on if the fish aren’t there, which is perfect during this transition period when the bass are constantly moving around the lake and hard to find concentrated in one specific area.

When it comes to fishing a rattlebait, there are a few different retrieve styles that are going to work really well for these late fall bass.

Let’s start with the most straightforward retrieval method for a rattlebait: the steady burn. You’re going to cast your rattlebait out as far as you can, and immediately reel it in fast. This is a great option to use when you know the bass are actively chasing food. If you can get a glimpse of bass chasing after schools of baitfish, you’ll know it’s a good time for the steady burn.

You can also mix up your retrieval speed with this method. Reeling in fast can be great for getting a reaction strike out of bass, while slowing it down might be better if they need a little extra time to fully commit to the bait. If you’re fishing in an area with lots of hard cover, don’t be afraid to deflect your rattlebait off of it to generate a strike as well.

If you’re fishing on a lake with a ton of vegetation, the rip and fall through grass retrieval is going to be your best friend. As the vegetation starts to die off and thin out this time of year, your rattlebait is going to be perfect to work through these areas.

Cast it out, and let it sink down into or just above the vegetation. Then, pull the rod tip up to rip your rattlebait through the cover, before reeling in the slack as you let it sink back down to repeat the process. This is a perfect combo that adds a ton of sound and flash on the rip-up, and plenty of opportunity to strike on the fall. It’s going to be most common to get a bite right at the top of the rip or on the fall, so always be ready at these points.

Don’t be afraid to mix up your cadence with this either. Instead of one big rip-up, you could do a couple, then a longer pause, and repeat. Mix up your cadence to figure out exactly what the bass are interested in with this one.

A similar but less aggressive option is to use for bass the yo-yo retrieve. With this one, you’re going to cast out to the spot you think the bass are holding in, and let the rattlebait fall to the bottom. Then you’re going to lift (not rip) your rod tip up so the bait comes up a few feet, and slowly let it sink back down. Just like the previous method, you're going to notice most of your bites happen on the fall.

This method is best used when you notice that bass aren’t chasing your bait as aggressively, and need more time to investigate before spending the energy to strike. Think of times when bass are becoming more lethargic and when water temps are approaching their winter levels rather than their hot summer levels.

Another great retrieval method to use is the slow roll (but you need patience to do it). With this one, you’re going to cast towards your target, let it sink a bit, then reel it in extremely slowly, just fast enough so that the bait isn’t dragging along the bottom.

This retrieve is best used along points that bass are staging on, deep flat edges, and channel breaks. This method is going to keep your rattlebait in the strike zone the entire time, and will be slow enough that the lethargic bass are going to be able to eat it.

It’s not a bad idea to try this if you’re marking bass and they aren’t responding to something like the yo-yo or steady burn. You may be grabbing their attention with other methods, but not getting strikes because they’re moving too fast. When the bass = aren’t biting, try the slow roll.