After summer fades away and fall is here, it’s lonely at the launch, just you and a rust peppered trailer, its wheel rims sprayed with leaked bearing grease, and the carpeting on the bunks ripped and worn from use, this trailer is hitched to its like looking vehicle. The local’s rig reminds you that you are not alone, but it feels like it. Reminiscent of the time when it seemed as everyone left for the university and you were still down home with only the summer job to keep you occupied, but that is fine, the peace and quite is welcomed.
The fall gives anglers lots of elbowroom to fish once crowded walleye community spots. These community holes are identified in the summer by the heavy boat pressure. These spots are usually the dominant point, the largest sunken reef, an enormous weed bed, maybe the only sharp breakline in a uniform bowl shaped lake, or the rivers deepest hole. Whatever the underlying structure on the community holes, odds are for daytime fishing success in mid fall, add 12 to 20 feet to the depths where fish were caught in mid summer. These same spots should still be effective just locate the boat deeper. To note, these are midsummer fish locations not spring locations as the two are generally different areas for walleye locations.
One of the wonderful aspects of fall fishing is the classic, walleye chop, is not necessary for a good walleye bite. In fact the days I have found greatest success, especially when river walleye fishing, are days when there is not a cloud in the bluebird sky and the wind is barely noticeable. These days have mornings starting out crisp, with frost on the dock, but soon the sun forces you to drape your coat over the boat seat. The type of day where you may actually hear the words uttered, “This is just great to be out here, fish or no fish.”
Most of us want our cake and like to eat it too, so throw out that “fish or no fish” stuff, and enjoy the great day and hook a few walldads. Few techniques are as productive for hooking fall time walleye as jigging. A foundation in jigging success all year round is to use a jig as light as possible and the difference in the number of bites between a ¼ ounce and 3/8th ounce can be surprising. On the other hand the jig needs to be vertical, and the heavier the weight the easier the jig stays vertical, so there is a trade off an angler must decide on – being vertical and jig weight. I often choose lighter and work harder to keep the boat positioned over the jigs. Use light line, jig just inches off the bottom, and stinger hooks are also a big plus for the light biters. In river fishing staying vertical requires following the current and your jig. Often a highly mobile snap jigging approach triggers the most bites.
Take the time to mark fish with your electronics prior to jigging, I find fishing places where you have marked them on your graph translates to hooking more walleye. Avoid the places where the bottom looks like what I call, moonscape, labeled because they appear devoid of life and for the moment fish free.
As mention in rivers follow your jig in respect to current, so too must a lake fisherman follow the jig in respect to wind. A better way to say follow your jig in wind, is to say break your speed and power up with motors into the wind. Either the bow mount electric motor into the wind, backtroll with electric or gas motors, or break your speed with a drift sock. Jigging in lakes can be simple except when the wind is gusting. In fact if it is too windy, a slip weight livebait rig is then the wise choice, use the wind to conduct a breakline drift.
Anglers in the fall turn into hunters or simply hang it up for the season, so just because the boats are gone from the summer hotspots, does not mean the fish are. Enjoy the solitude, get on one of the community holes, fish deeper, and jig up some walleye.
Keep Catchin’.