October fishing at Bogue Homa

Try these lures and techniques for boating bunches of bass

From October to December, Bogue Homa is one of the most productive Mississippi bass lakes. 

The vegetation is dying off, and you can fish many of the areas close to the bank that you’ve not been able to fish when grass has enveloped the lake. Also, this time of year is when the bass are feeding heavily on shad to build up their bodies for the winter and to get ready for the spring spawn.

The lures I’ll use in October include a bladed jig, a swimbait, a Mann’s SpringR worm and a Mann’s Super Frog. The bass will be near the banks in shallow water and holding in or on the edge of the dying grass or under the cypress trees. My main target in October is the dying grass. As nights become cooler, the baitfish will move in even closer to the bank and into the dying grass. The bass then will follow.

In the fall, you’ll also spot numbers of schooling bass.

The Jig/Swimbait

The first two lures I’ll fish on the east side of the lake are a white bladed jig and a white swim bait. I like white because that’s the color of the shad the bass are eating. I prefer a 3/8-ounce bladed jig and fish it on a 7’6” FX custom cranking rod with a 7.3:1 gear ratio Bruin ELS reel and 14 pound test White Peacock fluorocarbon line. I’ll reel the bladed jig fairly fast to keep it out of the grass and rip it off the dying grass. I’m primarily looking for bait and bass chasing that bait.

I like to fish the back 1/3 of the lake where I’ll locate coontail moss and patches of lily pads. When I identify a spot where I can cast my bladed jig, I’ll start retrieving it as soon as it hits the water. These places will also be where I’ll fish a white swimbait.

A Super Frog 

Once I see the bass chasing shad back into the shallow grass on the lake’s east side, I’ll switch to fishing the Super Frog. I’ll start off with a white Super Frog because the shad are white; however, if I’m not getting as many bites as I think I should, I’ll switch to a black frog. I always let the bass show me what color of frog they’ll most actively attack.

I’ll fish both Super Frogs on a 7’3” FX custom rod with a 7.3:1 Bruin reel and 50 pound test bass braid. I’ll walk the frog over the tops of the grass and stop it in an open pocket or an open hole. I’ll also be casting to the lily pads and stopping the frog in any openings in the pads. I like this tactic for bass that are chasing bait in the grass and the pads.

A Spring® Worm

I like to fish this lure in a Junebug color that I’ve wacky rigged with a weed guard hook around the cypress trees on the east side of the lake. I’ll skip the worm under the cypress trees and attempt to get the worm as close to the trunk as possible where there’s shade. On most of the grass lakes I fish, the Junebug color gets the most bites in October.

I’ll fish this worm on a 7’4” medium action FX custom rod with 15 pound test bass braid line and a 12 pound test, 6 foot long fluorocarbon leader. I’ll tie the fluorocarbon to the braid with an Alberto knot. Once the worm hits the water, I’ll let it fall all the way to the bottom, shake it, move it a short distance and allow it to fall to the bottom again. 

I’ll also fish the SpringR Worm around cypress knees and the cypress trees’ root systems.

After I’ve moved the worm two or three times, I’ll reel it in, make another cast and fish the worm all the way around a tree. I’ve found that most of my bites usually occur right after I skip the worm to the base of a cypress tree, and the worm begins falling. On most Mississippi grass lakes, you can fish these techniques and these baits successfully until December. 

The rules

Bogue Homa has a 15 inch size limit on bass. You may catch and release 15 bass in a morning or an afternoon of fishing with seven or eight of those 15 inches long or longer. But Bogue Homa has some very nice-sized bass in it too, and you may hook up to an 8-9 pounder. 

Bogue Homa is home to a number of 3-5 pound bass.