Metal jigging spoons and vibrating metal blade baits are effective lures throughout the year.

Come fall, though, when fished vertically in the season’s cooling water, they excel at catching both gamefish and panfish that are foraging on tightly-schooled baitfish.

Though a wide variety of spoons can be fished in a vertical/jigging manner, ones that perform best in this application are compact models like the Hopkins Shorty, Cotton Cordell C.C., and Swedish Pimple. Jigging spoons are available in many painted and taped-on exteriors, but it’s hard to beat a hammered metallic finish in either silver or gold.

Anglers also have a variety of vibrating blade baits to choose from, including the Heddon Sonar, Reef Runner Cicada, Silver Buddy, and Vib E. As with spoons, there are many color options to pick from, though chrome and gold are traditional favorites.

Expect to lose a few lures when vertically fishing with spoons and blade baits. Serious fall anglers that use these baits a lot often make their own by purchasing the generic components in bulk from tackle craft companies, and then assembling the lures over the winter. Baits in the quarter- to three quarter-ounce size range suit the occasion for most late fall applications.

Vertically-jigged spoons and blade baits work well during the fall because gamefish and panfish tend to be concentrated in certain types of areas at this time. Frequently, this is a response to location shifts of baitfish at this time; in the case of flowing waters current is also a significant factor.

Spoons and blade baits are both fished vertically, but there is a slight difference as to how to work the lure. The spoon needs only a fairly subtle twitch to lift it up a foot or two, after which it flutters back down. Use a more aggressive “snap” when fishing a blade bait so it vibrates on the lift.

With both spoons and blade baits, be sure to pause the lure for several seconds between jigs. Many strikes — especially with the spoon — occur at this time. Also, every so often permit the lure to touch bottom, an action that not only tells you you’re fishing the bait where it needs to be, but one that often produces extra strikes.

I like to fish metal jigging baits on a six to six-and-a-half fast action, medium power spinning outfit loaded with 20-pound-test braid. A three-foot 10-pound test fluorocarbon leader is tied to the braid. Always use a snap to rig a blade or spoon; don’t tie direct. Otherwise, the jigging motion coupled with the sharp line tie will saw through the knot.

Crawford County’s Pymatuning Lake is a classic example of a good fall blade bait lake. The gizzard shad is one of Pymatuning Lake’s many food -fish species. Shad don’t fare well in rapidly dropping water temperatures and will migrate toward the lake’s warmest water. In the case of Pymatuning this is usually the southern end of the lake, which has the deepest water and cools down slower. During a typical fall, over the course of several weeks shad will migrate to the lake’s southern basins, with walleyes in tow.

Finding walleyes means locating baitfish schools, something made easier by the presence of seagulls and terns which are also keeping close track of the food source. Look for baitfish in close proximity to sharply breaking shoreline points and off-shore rock humps. Walleyes use structure of this type to ambush schools of shad that hover above.

Walleyes will be feeding consistently, but your bait will be competing with a huge glut of shad. A minnow-tipped jig will likely be ignored. But a metal bait that combines flash and vibration will often generate a strike.

While walleye is the species that gets most anglers out on Pymatuning during the late fall, last season the lake produced outstanding catches of outsized yellow perch. A partner and I enjoyed several December trips where metal baits yielded big catches of jumbo perch along with nice numbers of fat walleyes.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle.