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now there aren’t many folks who haven’t heard about or sampled the great
fall fishing in Northern Minnesota. There’s no doubt about it, fishing the
fall runs in Minnesota’s 1000 Grand Lakes Area can be a real bonanza. The
problem is, timing is everything and unless you can take off at a moments
notice on those "perfect fall days", the weather can dish out some really
unpleasant surprises. Some of us who depend on producing fish every day for
our customers have learned that adaptability is the number one key to
success and that this ability to adapt to changing conditions is never more
important than in the fall cold water period. Over the past twenty years as
a professional guide, I’ve learned to watch for patterns in weather and
water conditions that make it easier to decide where and when to concentrate
my effort on the water. Will the fish be deep or shallow? Are they in the
weeds or on the rocks? Will they bite on minnows or night crawlers? These
are a few of the questions that make or break my business each day and here
are some of my favorite fall patterns that I watch for and use to help keep
the fish coming in for my customers. Early Fall
Walleyes Late August until Mid September
Walleyes in transition from summer to fall are
Generally scattered and found not only in the shallow weeds, but also on
deeper main lake structures. Smaller humps that are generally good in
early/mid summer can still hold a few fish, but the larger bars with
immediate access into both deep water and easy
access to the shoreline flats are prime locations. We locate schools of fish
that are moving from deeper water or larger flats as they move toward the
shoreline and vice versa. The huge flats associated with these structures
have room for lots of fish to spread out while they roam around looking for
easy feeding opportunities. There are always a few "false starts" in the
early fall where it begins to look like the shallow water fall patterns have
begun and then without warning, the fish move back out to the main lake. I
believe this is the time of the season when the Walleye action comes and
goes with the wind and fish that move in to the shallows at "prime feeding
times" give us this false impression of a long lasting move to the shallows.
So there are actually two patterns, one deep and one shallow each occurring
at roughly the same time.
In the shallows, playing the wind to your advantage is really fairly
simple. When the wind blows, we concentrate on the shallow breaklines,
paying particular attention to weed beds and areas of rocks and gravel. Wind
speed and direction are equally important and I tend to favor areas where
the wind is moving parallel or slightly into the shoreline. A key tip
to remember is that fish will usually travel moving into the current
that’s generated by the waves. So if the wind blows from the same direction
for a sustained period, you should be expecting fish to move slowly ahead
into the current and stop to feed as they encounter pockets of baitfish that
gather on points, inside turns or in weed beds. Over the course of a few
days, sizeable groups of fish can assemble up current from where the
original school of fish was located. Always check locations further up wind
before you leave the area.
Bait choices are easy during this early fall period because almost
everything works, at least a little bit. Jig & minnow combinations, crank
baits, spinners and live bait rigs will all put some fish in the boat. I
tend to favor "action fishing", so for me jigging is the first choice.
Trolling shallow running crank baits like Salmo’s Sting and Perch Series
baits produce a variety of fish in these shallow areas, so we will sometimes
troll the crank baits as a way to locate fish. Once we find them, we’ll work
the area more thoroughly with the jigs. Trolling speed for most of the
Crankbaits is between 2.5 and 3.5 miles per hour and we try to stay very
close or even slightly into the weeds. When we fish jigs or live bait rigs
in the shallows, it is important to check all of the angles. Fish the inside
and outside edges of weed beds and occasionally check the flats just outside
the deeper weed edges.
Calmer days in this early fall period generally call for fishing the
deeper structures like in the deepest-heaviest weeds, further out on the
flats or on main lake bars that connect to shoreline structure. These fish
tend to be less active than they are when they go shallow, but they can
still be caught providing you keep looking until you find them. I use my
electronics to search for fish on the flats while we’re trolling with deeper
running versions of these crank baits. Some folks prefer to do this with
bottom bouncers and spinners and both methods are good ways to search for
groups of Walleye and fish at the same time. You’ll often pick up a fish
here and there as you cover the water and eventually you’ll locate a better
than average group of fish. When you find them, switch over to jigs or live
bait rigs and work on the school as long as you can stay with it. Fish on
the flats are often on the move; so don’t stick around too long if the
action stops. Get back into search mode and try to locate a new school of
fish. Always take a look at the deeper water on the main lake breaks too and
when you find fish in these areas, fish them with a combination of live bait
rigs and jig & minnows. |
Mid-Fall Walleyes Mid September until Turnover
This is the prime time of the season, with fish feeding aggressively and
action that can last all day long. Like the early fall pattern, a nice stiff
breeze is better than a really calm day, but the key difference is that fish
are usually feeding actively. Most of the time, anglers can still be
catching decent numbers of fish when the conditions are a bit off, even on
calm days or during weather changes. This prime fall period begins when the
water temperatures cool down to around 60 degrees and the weed growth in the
shallows begins to die. Both Walleyes and baitfish that have lived in these
weeds for most of the summer move out to the deeper edges and gather along
the shallow water drop offs and on rock/gravel bars. This period peaks just
before turnover and ends when the turnover occurs.
One of the key differences between this and the early fall pattern is
that with the bait fish and Walleyes now gathering on the more open
shoreline drop offs, these areas are a lot easier to scan with your
electronics and makes it a lot easier to spot fish and bait on your screen.
Walleyes are actively seeking food and minnows become the only game in town
because the colder water signals the end of insect hatches. Follow the
breaklines just outside the deeper edges of larger weedy flats while you
watch for areas that contain good schools of baitfish and the refine your
search in these areas until you begin to see signs of a school of larger
fish. Since there’s a lot more fish out in viewable territory, you should
always wait until you spot prime areas before starting to fish. Be sure to
scan rocky areas, which are also key locations during this period,
especially on windy days. It can sometimes be a little trickier to see fish
on your electronics when you’re over really shallow (less than 6 feet)
rocks, so I will usually spend some time fishing these whether I see fish
immediately or not especially if it’s breezy.
Bait choices for Walleyes during this peak fishing period are usually
fairly simple because the fish are willing to respond to minnows. Whether
you fish them on jigs or live bait rigs depends on the conditions at the
time. My favorite minnows for jigging in the fall are Spot Tail Shiners,
which unfortunately are getting harder and harder to come by each year, so
I’ve come to rely on a very close second choice; nice, large Fatheads. When
it comes to fatheads in the fall, the larger the better, with minnows of up
to 4 inches in length producing very well. Rainbows, Dace, Golden Shiners
and a host of other minnows will work in a pinch. But if you shop around
until you find a bait dealer who has what you need, the rewards will be
worth the effort.
Jig choices should be tailored to the depth, wind and lake bottom
conditions. I generally use jigs ranging from 1/16 ounce on up to about 3/8
ounce and in a variety of shapes and balances. These weights will cover you
in water depths from 4 to 50 feet. Always experiment with sizes and shapes
until you find the one that works best for the conditions you’re facing on
that day. Shape and size does make a difference, in fact this is most likely
more important than colors when choosing your offerings. Another key tip in
jigging is to vary your jigging style. One day the fish will respond nicely
to aggressive hopping or snap jigging, the next day they may prefer a light
wiggling motion, dragging the jig & minnow on the bottom and even just
lowering the jig over the side of the boat and fishing it vertically. Don’t
get stuck in a rut, if your usual approach is failing you on a certain day,
vary your style and put some bonus fish in the boat.
For live bait rigging, larger, lively Rainbow Chubs are readily available
and work very well. These minnows are hearty and stay alive a long time. Lip
hooked on a #2 or #4 hook with a 5 to 6 foot leader will work great. The Red
Tail Chubs, so important to anglers in neighboring areas to the South and
West are rarely an advantage in the 1000 Grand Lakes Area. Don’t get me
wrong, they do work and if you come across a good supply bring them along,
but there’s no need to go out of your way to find them.
Whenever I pick up my bait each day, I try not to fall into the trap of
getting too comfortable with only one bait choice for the day. This catches
so many anglers off guard and has ruined more than a few good fishing trips.
Even though fall fishing usually calls for minnows, there are times when
night crawlers work better and I always have a supply of "yard bait" on
hand. Many times in late September, the fish will adjust to calmer days by
tucking into the deeper weed edges or laying low in the gravel. Creeping
along with a lively crawler has put fish in the boat at times when jigging
or rigging minnows were working poorly or not at all. Occasionally Leeches
will work too, but each day the water temperature gets colder, leeches
become less productive. I usually have a couple of dozen just in case of
emergency. |
Late Fall Walleyes After Turnover until Freeze up
The phenomenon known as the "fall turnover" occurs when the lakes surface
water temperature becomes colder than the deeper water below. I start
watching for this whenever the water temperature falls to around 56 degrees.
The cooler surface water sinks to the bottom and warmer water from below
churns up to the surface. The turnover has a scattering affect and fish that
were schooled up are now spread around the lakes in much smaller groups. The
first few days after this turnover occurs can be tough fishing, even for the
experts. But, there is one key tip that can help you get through it; once
you get the inkling that your favorite lake has turned over, start planning
your fish day to begin later and end shortly after dark. Beginning with this
period and lasting for most of the winter, Walleyes will usually bite fairly
well for about an hour just before dark. I have learned to watch my graph
closely during the day and when we find schools of fish that either won’t
bite or provide only a little sluggish action, I’ll make a mental note of
these areas and about an hour before dark, I’ll head back to the area where
I saw the most fish earlier in the day. At this point you are making an
educated guess and you only get one chance because once it gets dark; it’s
too late to change your mind. But, most of the time the fish do cooperate
and you’ll go home smiling.
Another way to beat the turnover is to find a lake with a really deep
water Walleye bite. The truth is, this pattern can occur during early, mid
or late fall because lakes of this type seem to be immune from the
unsettling effects of turn over. The key characteristic these lakes have in
common is that they all have huge shallow flats that plunge rapidly into
deep water of 80 to 100 feet or even more. I fish a half dozen of these
lakes and when the weather is right, this is one of my favorite ways to fish
for Walleyes in the fall. We have caught fish as deep as 70 feet, so you
need to have calm water or at most, a light breeze. Too much wind and you
lose the boat control that is critical to making this pattern pay off.
Follow the steep breaklines watching your electronics for schools of fish
that will almost always be holding on a point or inside corner on the
breakline. Once you locate a school of fish, hold the boat directly above
them and drop your jig and minnow vertically to the bottom. Jigs weighing
3/8 or 1/2 ounce will do nicely if you keep your boat steady, if you can’t
get down to the fish with 1/2 ounce or less, you need to consider switching
lakes because it’s either too windy or you have other boat control problems
that need to be overcome.
River fishing is another great way to spend a late fall afternoon and is
a particularly good way to avoid high winds on the lake. Almost everyone has
heard, or read about jiggin’ the holes in rivers in late fall. The pattern
actually is to locate the deeper holes and then fish the areas of shallower
water just upstream and sometimes downstream from the holes. It’s rare that
the fish will locate in the deepest portion or in the center of these holes.
It helps to think of the hole as if it were a small lake, fishing the edges
of this "lake" in the same way you would fish the drop offs in a real lake.
In our rivers, these structures help the fish by breaking the current flow
and providing baitfish a place to hold out of the current. Feeding Walleyes
take advantage of the opportunity to catch these minnows in these slack
water areas. A key is to fish the hole from several angles, being sure to
cover all edges.
Begin your search for Walleyes by moving down river and watching for
these deep water holes. You’ll see evidence of the hole on the rivers
surface. Eddies or whirlpools are evidence that you located a proper area to
begin. Move back up river from the hole and fish the shallower flat and
repeat the process on the down river portion as well. When you locate fish,
it is usually best to anchor within easy casting distance and work the edge
thoroughly.
One of the nice features of fishing the
rivers is that Walleyes tend to be fairly aggressive biters, probably
because feeding in the current forces them to act more quickly than their
lake cousins do. Jig & minnow, spinners with crawlers or live bait rigs with
minnows will all catch fish on these river spots. Crankbaits trolled slowly
up current along the edges of these holes will also catch some nice fish.
For this, we wait until very late in the season when the river water clears
up and becomes less tangled with weeds and floating debris. After a couple
of trips on moving water, you’ll find that location is generally more
important than your choice of baits.
These are clues to some of the patterns that
I’ve used over the past 20 years to help put fish in the boat consistently.
Each one of these patterns should be the subject of it’s own article, but
this should give you an idea of what to look for when you show up for your
fall fishing trip. For me, on any given day I won’t know which of these
patterns will be called for until I show up at the lake and find out what
the weather and water conditions are. A little persistence really pays off
and your ability to adjust the game plan and adapt to changing conditions
will give you the advantage you need to be successful on a regular basis.
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