Optimize your fall walleye fishing
Optimize your fall walleye fishing
You must have noticed it.
Summer’s familiar clear blue skies have turned turn angry and gray. Gentle southern winds that once rippled the water’s surface have evolved into frigid northerly gales. Bright leaves of crimson and gold now hang perilously from branches, preparing to be driven mercilessly to the ground by brisk winds, and yes, ice scrapers and snow brushes have become must-have equipment to support the morning commute. With all of its bawdiness and urgency, fall has arrived across the northland.
Within rapidly cooling waters, primal forces drive walleyes across the northern states and provinces into a fall feeding rampage. Bundled against the elements, anglers cast, jig, troll and drift with live baits and artificial lures, ready to do battle with biggest, baddest, and smartest fish of the season. Time is running short before the water turns crunchy, so hop in the boat and use these tips to find, catch, and release more braggin’ size walleyes this fall.
Go big or go home. A classic fall technique for oversized daytime walleyes is to fish oversized live baits, especially redtail chubs, along deep structure. This is a tried-and-true midday method on classic walleye waters, like Minnesota’s Leech Lake or Wisconsin’s Grindstone, and frequently works best after the fall turnover has occurred. Look for sharp breaklines leading into deep water, deep saddles between points, or offshore humps that top out at 20-30 feet deep.
Summer’s familiar clear blue skies have turned turn angry and gray. Gentle southern winds that once rippled the water’s surface have evolved into frigid northerly gales. Bright leaves of crimson and gold now hang perilously from branches, preparing to be driven mercilessly to the ground by brisk winds, and yes, ice scrapers and snow brushes have become must-have equipment to support the morning commute. With all of its bawdiness and urgency, fall has arrived across the northland.
Within rapidly cooling waters, primal forces drive walleyes across the northern states and provinces into a fall feeding rampage. Bundled against the elements, anglers cast, jig, troll and drift with live baits and artificial lures, ready to do battle with biggest, baddest, and smartest fish of the season. Time is running short before the water turns crunchy, so hop in the boat and use these tips to find, catch, and release more braggin’ size walleyes this fall.
Go big or go home. A classic fall technique for oversized daytime walleyes is to fish oversized live baits, especially redtail chubs, along deep structure. This is a tried-and-true midday method on classic walleye waters, like Minnesota’s Leech Lake or Wisconsin’s Grindstone, and frequently works best after the fall turnover has occurred. Look for sharp breaklines leading into deep water, deep saddles between points, or offshore humps that top out at 20-30 feet deep.
Gear up with 8 lb test Seaguar InvizX 100% fluorocarbon as your main line. A soft, supple fluorocarbon, InvizX loads on the spool beautifully, and because of its low memory, will not flop off in stiff coils when you’re feeding line to a fish. I use a 6-foot leader of Seaguar AbrazX 100% fluorocarbon on the business end of the rig; AbrazX offers double the abrasion resistance of other fluorocarbon lines, and guards against nicks and scrapes from rocks, Zebra mussels, and walleye teeth.
Complete your live bait rig with a ½ oz or larger walking or egg-shaped sinker to keep your bait close to the bottom, and a sharp, strong Gamakatsu octopus hook that is size-matched to your chub - a 2/0 frequently works best. Dress the hook with the largest redtail chubs or creek chubs that you can get your hands on; these are no ordinary gas-station fatheads, so head to a premium live bait retailer to find the best walleye snacks. Present this offering using a 7’6” St. Croix Legend Tournament Walleye rod (LTWS76MLXF), which offers extreme sensitivity to feel every nervous wiggle of that redtail, long length to move a lot of line on the sweeping hookset, and the power you’ll need to drive the hook home into a trophy walleye’s bony jaw.
Get your troll on. The cooling waters of fall pull large numbers of stocky walleyes back into shallow water to feast on small perch and shiners. This annual movement is accompanied by night-shift trollers that target these marauding gamefish using long rods, line counter reels and hard baits. In early fall, shad-bodied baits pulled close to 2 mph will see the lion’s share of action, while late October and November trollers reduce their speeds and present slender, minnow profile baits like the Yellow Perch or Rainbow Smelt jerkbaits from LIVETARGET. Spool up with 30 lb test Seaguar Smackdown, an ultra-smooth 8-strand braided line, to feel every vibration transmitted by the trolled lure, making it easy to detect small bits of bite-reducing vegetation that may collect on treble hooks. A robust SPRO Twin Lock snap provides insurance against lost lures and broken hearts when a mammoth walleye annihilates your jerkbait in shallow water.
Complete your live bait rig with a ½ oz or larger walking or egg-shaped sinker to keep your bait close to the bottom, and a sharp, strong Gamakatsu octopus hook that is size-matched to your chub - a 2/0 frequently works best. Dress the hook with the largest redtail chubs or creek chubs that you can get your hands on; these are no ordinary gas-station fatheads, so head to a premium live bait retailer to find the best walleye snacks. Present this offering using a 7’6” St. Croix Legend Tournament Walleye rod (LTWS76MLXF), which offers extreme sensitivity to feel every nervous wiggle of that redtail, long length to move a lot of line on the sweeping hookset, and the power you’ll need to drive the hook home into a trophy walleye’s bony jaw.
Get your troll on. The cooling waters of fall pull large numbers of stocky walleyes back into shallow water to feast on small perch and shiners. This annual movement is accompanied by night-shift trollers that target these marauding gamefish using long rods, line counter reels and hard baits. In early fall, shad-bodied baits pulled close to 2 mph will see the lion’s share of action, while late October and November trollers reduce their speeds and present slender, minnow profile baits like the Yellow Perch or Rainbow Smelt jerkbaits from LIVETARGET. Spool up with 30 lb test Seaguar Smackdown, an ultra-smooth 8-strand braided line, to feel every vibration transmitted by the trolled lure, making it easy to detect small bits of bite-reducing vegetation that may collect on treble hooks. A robust SPRO Twin Lock snap provides insurance against lost lures and broken hearts when a mammoth walleye annihilates your jerkbait in shallow water.
Angler's Guide to Sonar Interpretation
We offer unique, on-the-water perspectives to teach you how to interpret Side Imaging, Down Imaging, and traditional 2D sonar. Each lesson is supported by numerous, interpreted screen captures from lakes, rivers and reservoirs, many of which are supported by underwater video from Aqua-Vu cameras. With help from The Technological Angler, you will learn to interpret all of the information that your fish finder provides, so you can have more fun on the water and enjoy more productive trips. Let the learning begin!
We offer unique, on-the-water perspectives to teach you how to interpret Side Imaging, Down Imaging, and traditional 2D sonar. Each lesson is supported by numerous, interpreted screen captures from lakes, rivers and reservoirs, many of which are supported by underwater video from Aqua-Vu cameras. With help from The Technological Angler, you will learn to interpret all of the information that your fish finder provides, so you can have more fun on the water and enjoy more productive trips. Let the learning begin!
To reduce tangled messes of line and lures when trolling at night, I carry a library of St. Croix Eyecon trolling rods in the 7 to 10 foot range. When trolling multiple lines with a boat-full of fall walleye anglers, hand the anglers in the front of the boat a 10-footer, and ensure that rod is held straight out to the side; anglers toward the rear of the boat should use shorter rods, and present their lures off the corners of the transom on shorter lines. This array of rod and line lengths, coupled with slow, gentle turns as you troll, will minimize the amount of time spent picking apart a moonlit mess.
Focus on outside weed edges as you start your evening runs, but don’t be afraid to fish inside weed edges as the moon gets high. Shoreline rocks and even soft-bottomed flats adjoining expansive weed beds will also produce their fair share of moonlit walleyes If you’ve never listened to a World Series game on the radio while battling a trophy walleye under the light of the full moon, you owe it to yourself to try night trolling this fall!
Go with the flow. Large river systems, like the Mississippi, Missouri and Fox, that are famous for pre-spawn walleye action, also host an outstanding, albeit less-pressured, fall walleye bite. With many outdoor enthusiasts trading their walleye boat for a deer stand or a duck blind, fall fishing offers an excellent opportunity to tangle with a true river monster, but without the crowds of spring. Vertical jigging with soft baits is a technique that river rats have had in their back pockets for years, one that is now entering mainstream walleye consciousness.
Tie on a 3/8 oz jig head equipped with a wire bait keeper, and dress that jig with a 3-4” soft bait, like the Z-Man MinnowZ, in a bright color pattern to offset the turbid waters of fall. An exceptionally robust bait like the MinnowZ combats the tendency of short-striking walleye and sauger to surgically remove the bait’s tail, allowing the cold-water angler to catch large numbers of toothy fish on a single bait. I prefer to jig soft plastics with 20 lb test Seaguar Smackdown as my main line; an ultra-thin 8-strand braid, 20 lb test Smackdown has the same diameter as 6 lb test mono, which means that it cuts fall river current better and provides enhanced lure control at depth. I use a 24” leader of Seaguar AbrazX 100% fluorocarbon to maintain excellent feel and high sensitivity, while dramatically reducing line visibility at the lure.
Vertical jig with soft plastics using a short, stout and sensitive St. Croix Premier (PS60MF) or Eyecon (ECS63MXF) rod. Keep in mind the “less is more” approach when vertical jigging with soft baits: the less you move the bait, the more fish you’ll catch. Let the current do the work; hover the bait 3-6” above the bottom as you slip downstream with the flow, and enjoy the results of this emerging technique for river walleye and sauger.
Spring walleye fishing gets all the press, but the fall bite is truly the most enjoyable time of the year to chase ol’ marble-eyes. Pleasant weather, technicolor shorelines, campfire smoke drifting through the air, and big walleyes on the line all go hand-in-hand as nature prepares for a long winter’s nap. Take advantage of these last open water fishing opportunities of the year; you’ll be drilling holes in the ice soon enough!
Focus on outside weed edges as you start your evening runs, but don’t be afraid to fish inside weed edges as the moon gets high. Shoreline rocks and even soft-bottomed flats adjoining expansive weed beds will also produce their fair share of moonlit walleyes If you’ve never listened to a World Series game on the radio while battling a trophy walleye under the light of the full moon, you owe it to yourself to try night trolling this fall!
Go with the flow. Large river systems, like the Mississippi, Missouri and Fox, that are famous for pre-spawn walleye action, also host an outstanding, albeit less-pressured, fall walleye bite. With many outdoor enthusiasts trading their walleye boat for a deer stand or a duck blind, fall fishing offers an excellent opportunity to tangle with a true river monster, but without the crowds of spring. Vertical jigging with soft baits is a technique that river rats have had in their back pockets for years, one that is now entering mainstream walleye consciousness.
Tie on a 3/8 oz jig head equipped with a wire bait keeper, and dress that jig with a 3-4” soft bait, like the Z-Man MinnowZ, in a bright color pattern to offset the turbid waters of fall. An exceptionally robust bait like the MinnowZ combats the tendency of short-striking walleye and sauger to surgically remove the bait’s tail, allowing the cold-water angler to catch large numbers of toothy fish on a single bait. I prefer to jig soft plastics with 20 lb test Seaguar Smackdown as my main line; an ultra-thin 8-strand braid, 20 lb test Smackdown has the same diameter as 6 lb test mono, which means that it cuts fall river current better and provides enhanced lure control at depth. I use a 24” leader of Seaguar AbrazX 100% fluorocarbon to maintain excellent feel and high sensitivity, while dramatically reducing line visibility at the lure.
Vertical jig with soft plastics using a short, stout and sensitive St. Croix Premier (PS60MF) or Eyecon (ECS63MXF) rod. Keep in mind the “less is more” approach when vertical jigging with soft baits: the less you move the bait, the more fish you’ll catch. Let the current do the work; hover the bait 3-6” above the bottom as you slip downstream with the flow, and enjoy the results of this emerging technique for river walleye and sauger.
Spring walleye fishing gets all the press, but the fall bite is truly the most enjoyable time of the year to chase ol’ marble-eyes. Pleasant weather, technicolor shorelines, campfire smoke drifting through the air, and big walleyes on the line all go hand-in-hand as nature prepares for a long winter’s nap. Take advantage of these last open water fishing opportunities of the year; you’ll be drilling holes in the ice soon enough!
Total Boat Control with i-Pilot Link
Unleash the power of i-Pilot Link, so you can find and catch more fish, with this complete i-Pilot Link instructional DVD. Filmed entirely on the water, Total Boat Control with i-Pilot Link provides comprehensive instruction for the Minn Kota i-Pilot Link system, interfaced with Humminbird HELIX and SOLIX fish finders. Instructional details are provided for each of i-Pilot Link's 10 core features and functions, with input coming from the fish finder, from the remote, and from the foot pedal. This is the best, most complete, i-Pilot Link reference work available!
Unleash the power of i-Pilot Link, so you can find and catch more fish, with this complete i-Pilot Link instructional DVD. Filmed entirely on the water, Total Boat Control with i-Pilot Link provides comprehensive instruction for the Minn Kota i-Pilot Link system, interfaced with Humminbird HELIX and SOLIX fish finders. Instructional details are provided for each of i-Pilot Link's 10 core features and functions, with input coming from the fish finder, from the remote, and from the foot pedal. This is the best, most complete, i-Pilot Link reference work available!