Fall Smallmouth Fishing on Lake Simcoe: Tips for Big Fish and Successful Strategies
Fall smallmouth fishing on Lake Simcoe is a truly special time of year, offering the potential to land some giant fish, often pushing six pounds or more. As water temperatures drop and the days grow shorter, smallmouth bass begin to move toward their wintering locations and feed heavily, making them easier to locate than in the summer months. During this season, fish school in larger groups, especially when compared to the summer, where smaller packs of one to three roaming fish are the norm. However, the fall bite also presents unique challenges—particularly the bass' increasing wariness toward boats overhead in late fall. These challenges can be overcome with techniques like longlining, long casting, and vertical reaction strike presentations.
The Fall Smallmouth Migration on Lake Simcoe
As the days shorten and water temperatures begin their first real sustained drop, smallmouth bass undergo a transitional period. In early fall, they will move off shallow structures (5-15 feet) and begin gathering on deeper areas (25-40 feet), with one being flats adjacent to shoals and points. This movement typically occurs about a month before huge schools of juvenile perch migrate from deep main lake areas to arrive on those same flats. As the juvenile perch eventually move into the bays for the winter—smallmouth will shift again, moving to even deeper points, boulders, drop-offs, and other hard structures.
Targeting Smallmouths During the Fall Transition
One of the most exciting parts of fishing the fall transition is the aggressive feeding behavior of smallmouth bass. During this transition, they can be chasing baitfish upward, making swimbaits a highly effective tool. In 2024, this transition period almost perfectly coincided with the month of September, as water temperatures dropped from the 70s°F to the mid-high 60s°F.
Here is the best day of swimbait fishing I had using the exact technique I describe below in mid September during 2024:
Here’s the swimbait technique that proved successful for me during this period in 2024 and got me the 26lb bag above:
LiveScope becomes invaluable during this time, allowing you to pinpoint smallmouth bass relating to the bottom and cast directly to them. Once your swimbait sinks to within 5-10 feet of the bass, begin reeling steadily, matching the speed of their chase. It’s similar to how you'd fish a swimbait vertically for a lake trout that has engaged with the bait. Often, the bite is aggressive on the first cast, but the profile of the swimbait can make a big difference. At times, a fish may hit after the third or fourth profile of swimbait is presented to them.
Key Gear for Finesse Swimbait Fishing:
7’ to 7’6” medium or medium-light spinning rod
10lb braid mainline
7-8lb Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon leader
Tips for Success:
Long casts and thin line diameter help prevent spooking fish.
Retrieve the swimbait gently, reeling steadily without jerking, and ‘catching’ the bait as it reaches depth to maintain natural movement.
On tough days, smallmouth may short strike, so give a split second for the rod tip to load up before setting the hook.
Swimbait sizes matter—start with a 4.5-5 inch swimbait like the Jackall Rhythm Wave and downsize incrementally on each subsequent cast until you get to 2.5-inch baits like the Great Lakes Finesse Drop Minnow or Critter Assassins Tracer Shad.
Use 1/4 or 2/7 oz heads like the Nishine Smelt Head.
I don’t often add trailer treble hooks to the longer 5+ inch swimbaits, although this is a popular and effective swimbait modification and can be a difference maker when fish are negative and nipping at the tail of the bait.
Tip: If a fish doesn’t bite after 3-4 casts, move on. Continue working your way upwind along the deep flat, scanning for new marks on LiveScope. This is peak video game fishing, it’s an effective—and sometimes frustrating—way to fish that certainly isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. It’s certainly a far cry from my roots of chucking senkos at laydowns exclusively as a youngster!
Here’s an example of the swimbait technique during the fall transition:
Quick Tips:
Out of frame, I close the bail of the reel early - once the bait was within ~15 feet of the fish on this day as it was calm and I didn’t have extra wind blown slack line out. I start to reel in slack slowly, and I steadily drop my rod tip to ‘catch’ the fall of the bait as it gets to within 5-10 feet of the fish at which point I begin to reel it away.
On tough days, determine the fall rate of your bait so you can precisely count down to when it will reach 5-10 feet from the fish, so that you can turn the LiveScope beam away once your bait hits the water. Ask me how I know the beam of the transducer can give you a headache - fish must be feeling the ping of the sonar as well, especially in shallower water!
The Mid to Late Fall Period: Deep Water and Hard Structures
As juvenile perch migrate from shoals and the mouths of bays well into the bays, and surface temperatures dip below 60°F, smallmouth bass will also shift into their true fall pattern. During this phase, they will congregate on deep, hard structures and drop-offs in 30-50 feet of water.
During this period, I focus on bottom-contact baits such as:
Three-way rigs with live minnows
Swimbaits dragged along the bottom
Blade baits ripped off the bottom
Barotrauma Management: As smallmouth bass move to deeper waters, barotrauma can be a concern, especially for fish caught at depths below 25ft. Carry a fizzing kit and use it when needed to help release fish safely. There are also pressure sensitive descender devices which are another alternative you can carry on a spare rod spooled with high pound test line.
In the fall I love to go to local creeks to catch live minnows for bait. Minnows between 4-8 inches are ideal, and smallmouths can be quite particular about their preferences for size and species, often bouncing between chubs, shiners, dace, and suckers. Tackle shops in the area like Trombly’s carry a great assortment of various sized minnows during the fall. If you prefer to D.I.Y. your standard wire minnow trap with bread or cat food can get you minnows, but i find there’s no substitute for putting in the time wading the creeks with a small 1/8 or 1/16oz jighead and a piece of live worm. Try to find a local Simcoe creek that’s between 20-30ft across and look for eddies or corners where minnows can get out of the current. Stay tuned for another blog post detailing the minnow tank setup I use in my shop and truck bed to keep them fresh.
Three-Way Rig Setup
For three-way rigs, I use a 7’6” medium to medium-heavy spinning rod with 10lb braid. Here’s how I set it up:
20 feet of 15lb fluorocarbon from the braid to the three-way swivel
3-4 feet of 12lb fluorocarbon from the swivel to the hook
A 1/0 or 2/0 Owner Mosquito Hook secured with a snell knot
For the sinker (1/2oz to 3/4oz), use a fluorocarbon leader around 8-10lb test. This tapering of leader pound test will minimize tackle loss on snags
To maintain bottom contact while dragging behind the boat, you will need to let out several hundred feet of line, so it can be helpful to briefly speed up the boat with the trolling motor while letting out line, then slow down and close the bail once you’re drifting at 0.4-0.8mph. On gusty days a large drift sock attached to the boat cleat at mid-length of the boat, with the boat perpendicular to the wind direction can be a huge help. You may need to upsize your sinker to 1oz if you are fishing deep with the wind screaming on a particularly rough day!
This was one of our biggest bags in 2024 using the three-way rig setup with @gta.anglers :
Artificial Baits for Mid-Late Fall
A huge thank you to Adrian Pisano, who taught me the power of natural-colored blade baits in 1/2 to 1oz. When ripped sharply off the bottom, they can provoke reaction strikes from otherwise lethargic smallmouths. They are particularly effective in areas with a rock cobble bottom, as the bait can dart up from between and behind rock, while having less chance of getting snagged that being fished around large boulders. Another effective technique is dragging larger swimbaits (5-7 inches) along the bottom using 1/2oz to 1oz swimbait or football heads. I particularly like the football heads on days with wind or chop, as they keep the swimbait more upright on the bottom when the line goes slack.
Final Thoughts
I hope these tips help you make the most of your fall smallmouth fishing on Lake Simcoe! If you enjoyed this post, please share it with fellow anglers and drop a comment—I’d love to hear about your experiences and try to answer any questions!
Stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll be diving into the build of my smitty sled for the 2025 ice season. I’ll definitely need to keep my cardio up to haul all 150-200 pounds of gear!
If you’re interested in a smallmouth bass trip on Lake Simcoe, give me a call or text at 647-857-7085. I guarantee you’ll catch fish or your next trip is free! Check out what my clients have to say about their experience on google maps
Tight Lines!
