Posted 12th May 2023
How to Catch Autumn Yellowbelly
By Josh Kopp
Autumn is a great time to catch yellowbelly in impoundments, with the weather starting to cool down and the fish becoming more active on bait after a long hot summer now is the time to get out there.
In the autumn months yellowbelly will often go more to hard structure like standing timber and flats and set up on the thermocline, if you are wondering what the thermocline is a distinct change in temperature in the water. This can be easily found using standard 2D sonar looking for a thick line across the screen.
Once you identify the thermocline this will be a good depth to target across the lake, look for flats around the same depth as the thermocline and the fish will be hanging around that depth on the timber.
Soft plastic grubs and 1/4oz jig heads such as the Bait Junkie range are a great technique to use on standing timber, these can be dropped down and slow rolled back up. Remember slower is better when using this technique. The use us forward facing live sonar is great for this but you can use 2D sonar or even just measure out the depth on your braid and mark it with a texta so you know what depth you are dropping to if you don’t have electronics on your boat.
Soft vibes such as the Steez Soft Shell are a great lure to fish on the flats, these can be cast out and let hit the bottom and worked back to the boat using a shake and wind with paused or small hops off the bottom. Work these lures right back under the boat as fish will often take them at the end of the retrieve. Removing the trebles and adding the retro fit assist hooks is a great way to get less hang ups and increase hook ups.
The TD Black Paddlefish is my go-to rod for these two techniques as it’s a perfect all-rounder, matched with a 2500S Revelry FC MQ and 8lb J-Braid X8 with 8lb X-link FC leader you are set to go.
I hope this helps you out catch a few more goldens this autumn and enjoy the great weather while it’s still here.