Summer Is Over, But Fishing Isn’t 
By Mike Frisch

Summer is about over and its conclusion signals the end of another season of outdoor activities. Fortunately for those of us who like to fish, there still is lots of fishing season left. In fact, fall offers some of the year’s best angling opportunities. Here is a look at some top-notch fall fishing patterns.

Weed Line Walleyes

Spring and early summer find this angler chasing walleyes. Once mid-summer sets in, my attention shifts to other species like panfish and bass. When fall arrives and the weeds start to die and baitfish populations have been pared down, my focus shifts back to walleyes.

One of my most reliable fishing patterns involves fall walleyes holding along weed lines. Starting about mid-September, give or take a few weeks, an early fall bite starts to kick in on many lakes for anglers who target weed lines.

To fish this pattern, I search weed lines for any points or turns as these areas often congregate fish. Along with looking for these irregularities, I also look for the greenest weeds I can find. If I can find an area of green living weeds along a weed line where other weeds are brown and dieing, odds are pretty good that I have found “the spot on the spot.”

To target these fish, I like to use a slip-sinker live bait rig like a Roach Rig baited with a lively minnow. Leeches and night crawlers will also catch fish, but my best success has come with lively red tail chubs or sucker minnows. I spool a spinning rod/reel combination with a light, smooth handling line like 6-pound XL and fish the slip-sinker rig by working slowly along the weed edge.

Weed Line Bass

Green, living weeds will hold fall walleyes. As fall progresses they also become magnets for largemouth bass. In fact, later in the season as more and more weeds die any remaining green weeds can hold bass in big numbers.

To catch these fish, I turn to a jig worm combination. A jig worm is a light jig head tipped with a plastic worm. I prefer a one-eighth ounce Mimmic Minnow Jig tipped with a worm in the four- to seven-inch size range. The new Gulp! Minnow Worms have quickly become my favorites. They release scents and flavors that the fish really seem to love, plus they’re very durable allowing me to catch several fish on one worm.

I fish jig worms by casting the combination to the weed line and slowly working it back. This presentation is best fished on a medium action spinning rod/ reel combination spooled with 8-pound test line. Regular monofilament lines work, but I’ve developed a real liking for Vanish line when fishing jig worms. Vanish is a fluorocarbon line that’s nearly invisible underwater which can be important, especially when fishing clear water.

Deep-water Walleyes

Weed line areas get lots of my fall fishing attention. During late fall, however, another fishing pattern sets up in very deep water that can also yield dynamite results. Starting in mid- to late October walleyes can often be found holding on some of the sharpest breaks leading to deep water that a lake offers.

A good depth finder is critical in finding these sharp drop-offs and any fish holding along them. Incidentally, I've been very impressed with the structure- and fish-finding abilities of the new Matrix sonar units I have been using recently.

Once fish are spotted, often in depths of 30- to 50-feet, a jig/minnow combination often comes into play. I’ll bait a 3/8-ounce or even 1/2-ounce Fire-ball Jig with a medium-sized minnow and vertical jig trying to keep the bait right in the fishes’ face.

Spinning rods and reels again work well for this fishing. However, I opt for a low-stretch superline like FireLine since the low-stretch characteristic allows me to have good hook-setting power when fishing very deep water.

Whether deep-water walleyes or some other pattern is your preference, fall offers some of the best fishing of the entire year. So even though summer has passed, there is still lots of time to get out and enjoy great fishing action!