Autumn is in the air. The geese are honking and the leaves are starting to change their color. And trophy anglers are getting excited. They know that the fall months offer several good reasons to go fishing. Fall fishing offers variety, solitude, and spectacular landscapes. Fall also offers different types of fishing opportunities. You can chase lots of fish of average size, or you can focus on catching a truly big fish. If we decide that we want to catch big fish we will fish differently than if we just want to get bit.
A very important consideration, probably the most important consideration, is choosing a body of water. Some lakes are big fish lakes, others are numbers waters. If you want to concentrate on catching a really big one, you need to be on water that has a history of producing big ones. Trophy walleyes, northern pike, and muskies typically come from bodies of water that are deep and clear and have oily baitfish like smelt or tullibees that allow fish to grow big.
Bodies of water that grow big largemouth bass often have a good amount of shallow water cover, which is where the bass spend the summer. As that shallow water vegetation thins in the fall, the big guys gather on points on the weedline or along drop-offs and are quite accessible.
Keep in mind that in the fall, fish want to eat. If you can find the fish you can expect them to eat at sometime during the day(or night). If you see what you believe are walleyes on deeper structure, drop them a line. If they don’t eat in a little while, find another school and see if they’ll eat. But remember to try that earlier school again later in the day. Keep revisiting them, because eventually they’ll take your bait.
This is where sonar and GPS become so valuable. The Raymarine Dragonfly 7 that I use draws an outstanding picture of the underwater world. If it shows fish on structure, we try to catch them. But if they don’t bite, we “remember” the spot on the built-in GPS and that spot is saved for a return trip in an hour or two. By saving the spot with GPS, we can come right back to where the fish were. They may have moved a little, but they’re usually pretty easy to find. If they’ve moved shallower, they’re more likely to bite.
If you’re set on catching a true trophy, a really big fish, go with big baits. Last year on Lake Winnibigoshish in north central Minnesota, we were trolling Salmo Sting and Perch crankbaits for northern pike. These are bigger baits than most would think for walleyes, but on this day, the walleyes liked them better than the northern pike did. All of my biggest walleyes and bass have come on larger than ordinary baits.
Autumn can provide a great fishing experience. The weather can be so nice, the colors are spectacular and the fish can be equally memorable. Make some fall fishing memories of your own in the next few weeks.
PHOTO CAPTION-Jim Seuer was casting a crankbait in the northeast corner of South Dakota in October when this nice walleye hit.
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By Bob Jensen