Fall is in the Air by Mike Frisch

Change Is In The Air

by Mike Frisch

As much as I don’t like to say it, summer is nearing the end and fall is just about here. Fall means winter is not long off and, other than enjoying ice fishing; I’m not a big winter fan. However, the onset of fall means some of the best fishing of the entire year is here, especially to anglers who make some adjustments to their fishing game plans. Here is a look at some of the changes anglers need to consider.

Baits Change

Fall Walleye Anglers who fish live bait, especially those pursuing walleyes, will need to keep an open mind when selecting which bait to use. Summer means the use of leeches and night crawlers for many anglers. During fall, those baits will catch fish, but minnows also become a walleye favorite at this time.

Fatheads, suckers, shiners, and redtail chubs are just some of the minnows that will catch fall walleyes. For that reason, this is a good time to have lots of good lively bait selections in the boat to let the fish tell you what they prefer. Frabill offers a wide assortment of bait buckets and containers that do a really good job of keeping live bait fresh and lively.

Speeds Change

During early fall anglers will catch fish on many of the same lures they used during July and August. As fall progresses, however, the fish often become less willing to chase down fast-moving baits. Therefore, bass anglers who threw spinner baits and crank baits earlier in the year may need to focus more on slower presentations like jigs and Texas-rigged soft baits.

Walleye anglers who trolled crank baits and bottom-bouncer/spinner combination s for summer successes, may need to slow up and fish live bait behind slip-sinker live bait rigs or jigs. In fact, a Roach Rig tipped with a lively redtail chub is my all-time favorite fall walleye presentation. In fact, many of my biggest walleyes have come during fall using this particular presentation.

Depths Change

Fall means some fish might move deeper and other might move shallower. For that reason, it is sound advice to keep an open mind concerning fishing depths during this season.

For example, I remember a day in November a few years back when my father and I had a good walleye catch vertical jigging along steep drop-offs in water depths over 50-feet. Another group of anglers on the same lake reported success along remnant weed lines in 15-22 feet, and still others reported good catches on top of shallow flats in 6-8-foot depth ranges. Again, it is sound advice to try various depths at this time when searching for active fish.

The Lake is Yours!

Changes may need to take place in your fishing game plan to insure fall fishing success. There is another change that occurs at this time as well. That is that the jet-skis, water skiers, and pleasure boats have mostly disappeared for the year.

Plus, lots of our fellow anglers who we shared fishing spots with in July and August are now spending their time in tree stands and duck blinds. So not only do the fish feed heavily in the fall, but often we can have them all to ourselves.

Biting fish and nobody else fishing them. Hmm, maybe fall isn’t so bad after all! As always, good luck on the water.