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Fall Freshwater Fishing

The cool evenings of fall signal water temperatures dropping in the lakes. That means fishing will go through another transition period. The lakes are turning over and the oxygen is getting mixed back into the deep water. The shallow water cools first, and this moves the baitfish and the gamefish up into areas where a crankbait or light jig will work effectively.

A lot of people love fall because they make the transition and adjust their tactics to suit the situation. Others still insist on using the techniques that caught fish all summer, and sometimes these anglers can get very frustrated. One example would be the angler who uses his sonar in the summertime to locate a big school of walleyes, and then backtrolls through them with a live-bait rig and catches a limit of fish. After the lake turns over, this won't work as well because those walleyes spread out and you see only a few fish here and there. Instead of relying on your sonar to find fish, drop a lure that can cover some ground like a bottom bouncer with a spinner or a crankbait. Keep moving and pick up one here and there until you get your limit.

Walleyes might move very shallow in the lake you're fishing, maybe as shallow as a couple of feet. Fall is a great time to anchor the boat and toss out a slip bobber to find these shallow fish. If there are walleyes in a few feet of water on a shallow rock pile, they won't hesitate to take a minnow right in front of them. The best way to get it there is with a bobber.

The big pike move back into the shallow water in the fall. You might have been catching those big pike in the spring when the shallow water was cooler and then they disappeared for the summer. They are back. Back in the cooler shallow water where they can feed on all those baitfish. Big pike are feeding aggressively so don't hesitate to give them a moving lure. Big bucktail spinnerbaits zipped over the top of the vegetation work well. Rock piles can be a big pike magnet if there are perch in the lake. Tie on a perch colored crankbait, and get it down to those rocks. There might be a 10 pounder sitting there.

Fishing for big bluegills in the fall can be a lot of fun. These fish will be in that shallow heavy cover. You may have been catching them on the deep weedlines just a few weeks ago, but now you need to pitch those wax worms into the lily pads and around the bulrush beds. The big sunfish will spread out too, so don't get locked into one spot. If you are fishing a big bed of lily pads you will want to make sure to drop that bobber into all the pockets in that bed.

Fall is a great time to be fishing, especially if you want to catch some big fish. Let it be known that the fish are transitioning this time of the year because of water temperatures and lake turnover, so anglers must transition, also.

Dwight Schewe is the author of this article and the owner of harborfishingtackle.com. He enjoys fishing and the great outdoors. You can visit his website at http://www.harborfishingtackle.com.

Walleye Fishing Techniques

Walleye fishing is a fascinating sport, and there is nothing like catching these fish to make a fishing trip enjoyable. The walleye is a species of fish that is native to Canada and the northern United States. The name walleye comes from the fact that the eyes of this fish reflect light, the way the eyes of a cat do. It is olive or gold in color, with the maximum size ever recorded of a walleye being 42 inches long and 25 pounds in weight. Walleye is considered by many people to be the best tasting freshwater fish, and sport fishermen seek it out as well as commercial fishing companies.
Best spring fishing action for walleye is in May and June, just after the spawn. Spawning occurs in water from 42 to 56 degrees. Look for walleyes to gather and spawn in gravelly or sandy bays, off shoreline bars, or in open water gravel flats. Moderate wave action is needed to assist eggs in hatching. Walleyes spawn over a three week period, primarily after dark, in water depths of 3 to 12 feet. On cloudy, breezy days, it is not uncommon to catch walleye in less than 10 feet of water. Walleye prefer overcast days over sunny days. Walleye can be very finicky and downright uncooperative at times depending on weather conditions and what they are feeding on.
Early in the spring walleye prefer live bait over artificial bait. You can do well fishing shallow water with leadhead jigs tipped with chubs or shinners. Make sure you troll or drift along the submerged weed beds. Fishing shallow rock piles and shoreline points can also provide good walleye action. It is a good idea to keep track of the wind direction each day. If the wind is in the same direction for 2 or 3 days you will do well fishing the windy side of the lake. The baitfish will move to these areas and the walleye will follow the bait fish to feed on them.
As the lake water starts to warm up the walleye will go into deeper water. You may do better changing from minnows to leeches. Leadhead jigs can still be used or you can use lindy-rigs. Lindy-rigs are a 2 to 3 foot long leader with a plain hook attached to one end with the other attached to a swivel with a slip sinker above it. You may find fish on tops of sand bars and sunken islands as the water continues to warm up. The tops of these bars and islands may only be good during overcast days. On sunny days you may have to fish the drop offs and edges of these bars and sunken islands. It is important that you add more weight to your line to stay in contact with the bottom. During the warmer days of summer you may want to change to nightcrawlers for bait. This time of year can be called dog days of summer. It can be tough to catch walleye during the summer months.

In the fall of the year as the water cools down again the walleye will return to those same shallow areas of the lake. During this time you will be able to catch them again with the jig and minnow combination. Trolling with crankbaits, such as shadraps can also be good. If you have a lot of sunny days in the fall, you may want to try fishing late in the day or evening. Fall fishing can be more challenging, but at the same time it can be rewarding.

Dwight Schewe is the author of this article and the owner of harborfishingtackle.com. He enjoys fishing and the great outdoors. You can visit his website at http://www.harborfishingtackle.com.

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