I stood at one end of the dock’s T-face, tossed the plug at a 45, cranked back toward the structure, and barely reached the far corner when something knocked a chip in that chartreuse/blue paint job. The cool fall evening certainly made “largemouth bass” a reasonable guess, but mine was a speckled catch—black crappie, nearly a pound.

Autumn is feasting time for every fish that senses winter’s approach. And since that’s all of them, you gotta know those shad have more than bass to worry about. Fact is, crappie grab their fair share, as well, so those fleet-footed hard baits meant to …read more