Matthew Breuer posted on July 15, 2005 15:52 :: 6974 Views
Every Fall the big boys come out to play. Whether you’re after walleye, pike, or muskie, the Fall of the year is the time to be on the water. With so many other things on peoples minds, such as duck hunting, deer hunting, household chores, and of course football, many people avoid the lakes on the cold days of Autumn.
Once the water temperature begins lowering itself back into the mid-fifties and you need a jacket to stay warm, and gloves to jig a minnow, it’s time to start hitting your favorite Fall walleye haunts. This is the best time of year for that trophy walleye you’ve always wanted. Numerous 20+ inch fish are common on late Fall days and the chance of a 30 inch fish gets greater. There are many ways to get your trophy to bite, and I want to discuss two of them in particular. Jig and a minnow, many of today’s anglers favorite way to fish for walleyes. Well this is the time of year to grab the jigging rod and anchor. Vertical jigging is a simple technique that anyone can do, and it’s very effective in the fall. A St. Croix 6 foot medium-light rod with a fast tip is my weapon of choice. I spool my reel with 6 lb. P-Line and tie on a Phelps Half Face Jig tipped with a small sucker minnow or large shiner. Blue or chartreuse are great colors to begin with. I typically start looking in the 12-20 foot range and always end up anchoring in around 11 feet. Casting out into the deeper water is a sure fire way of locating fish. Casting off the drop and jigging back slowly and ending with a less than subtle jigging under the boat is the best way to locate and catch these fall fish.
If you’re able to withstand the cold, get out after dark and pull some crank baits. The Fall of the year is my favorite time to pull cranks in search of monsters. A seven foot crank bait rod with a line counter reel is a great set-up. I like the Okuma Magda 15DX line counter reels. They are compact and tough, and they never fail to work in any conditions.
I start off small pulling something like a size 4 Salmo Hornet in green tiger or clown. If I’m catching smaller fish I’ll switch to something as large as a size 12 Salmo Sting in green tiger or gold metallic orange. The great thing about the Sting is the rattles in the body, this helps the fish find the bait. I usually begin pulling cranks in around 14 feet making an s-curve along the structure. On the shallow end I’ll hit as far up as 4 feet and go out as deep as 20. Tinker with your speed and how far back you let your bait slide, once you find a speed and length that finds fish, stick with it. If you put in your time on the cold days of Autumn jigging until dark, and cranking after hours, I guarantee that you will catch fish for the photo album and maybe even the once in a lifetime wall hanger! Remember to be safe and only keep enough for a meal, let the big girls go and the little guys grow!
Good luck and be safe this Fall!
Matthew J. Breuer
Northcountry Guide Service
(218) 444-6479
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