Buzz and I decided to head out to the lake after work last week when the temperatures reached close to 65 degrees. We headed to a local East Metro lake with the hopes of catching a few more bass before the boat is winterized for the season. We started our search on a wind blown shoreline, casting into and through the remaining vegetation along the shore. We came across two remaining docks on this shoreline, both of which held some nice fish earlier in the season. When we came to the first dock, I pitched my trusty All Terrain green pumpkin stickbait at the post on the corner of the dock. Instantly, the fish grabbed the enticing bait and the fight was on! As most of my regular readers know, I fish this bait on my ultralight, 6lb flourocarbon set up. Most guys will tell you to use braid or heavy line while fishing docks. I have found that braid and heavy line is great when I'm pitching into boat lifts or using jigs. I like to use this light set up because the line is light enough to allow the stickbait to fall naturally, with that slight side-to-side fall, similar to a leaf falling from a large oak tree. Also, being that the line is 6lb and flouro, it is virtually undetectable visually by the fish, thus resulting in a more life-like appearance. One tip I can offer is that I always put some form of scent on my plastics. Whether it be from a spray bottle like YUM, or the type you apply by hand like Megastrike, adding the extra scent will create more strikes and the fish tend to hold onto the bait longer for a higher percentage hook up. 
After we landed my 17.5 inch fish, we moved on to the next dock. Buzz pitched his lizard at the dock and immediately hooked into a great fish. His lizard was junebug with a chartreusse tail, rigged Texas style. After a nice fight, we measured him at 20" and 4.5 lbs. It was a fat fish, and we are reluctant to accept that our scale only put him at 4.5lbs. This fish was one of our best of the year, so not a bad way to finish up the season. Buzz ended up catching a few more chunky bass, using the same bait and catching fish holding to sporatic clumps of vegetation left over from a pad and reed bed. Overall, it was a great 2 hrs of fishing, with 5 fish caught, and our largest being a solid 20 inches. Hopefully, we can get out a few more times before the boat is put away. As they say, the fall is a great time to catch some of the biggest fish of the year, even though numbers tend to be fewer.Thanks for reading!
Team BassAckwards..."We're the one's hooked!"
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