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Parting shots
By John Kolinski
Editor's note: John Kolinski is the 2002 Professional Walleye Trail Angler of the Year, the 2003 Illinois River RCL winner and a 17-time championship qualifier. He is the only anger to fish the PWT and B.A.S.S. at the same time. His articles can be read in numerous Midwestern outdoor publications and at several web sites. Kolinski is sponsored by Triton Boats, Mercury Motors, Lowrance Electronics, Yo-Zuri fishing line, Normark/Storm Lures, MinnKota, Lindy Legendary Tackle, Tempress Rod Holders, Off-Shore Planer Boards, Optima Batteries and Panther Marine.
All summer long, the joke's been on us. For every walleye we've been fortunate enough to catch, another 1,000 have ignored our best hook-up lines.
We've tempted them with natural beauty, sparkly things and fine dining. We've tried to charm them, impress them and tease them. All they've done is flip us the fin.
Now it's November.
Now the advantage has shifted.
Now it's time to get even.
Instead of the summertime uncertainty of where these fish are holed up or what water they're wandering, we know where they hang. Instead of wondering what will trip their trigger on a particular day, we know what they want. And instead of spending hours upon hours looking to connect, we know that it's all about the night life.
Whether you prefer rivers, lakes or reservoirs, there is a November walleye bite that will rock your world. You don't need to be an expert angler to tap this resource. You only need to know three basic principles -- shallow water, big baits and low light.
A little basic fishology tells us that walleyes make fall migration runs similar to those they undertake in the spring. They won't go all the way up into the tributaries or traditional areas where they spawn, but they won't be far away.
Kolinski with a fine walleye Secondly, the water is cooling rapidly. That drives baitfish into the shallows where they seek out the warmest available water, and that attracts walleyes eager to pack away some fat reserves for the cold winter ahead.
Any time you couple shallow water with walleyes, the bite is on. There's only one reason these sensitive, reclusive fish invade water less than 8 or 10 feet deep -- to fill their bellies. Our job is to accommodate them.
And while you can probably catch some fish during daylight hours by probing the depths adjacent to these shallow areas, there's a lot more action for hot fish at sunset, sunrise and the period in between, especially if your goal is a trophy. Big fish don't get that way by making themselves readily accessible to anglers.
Maybe it's simply the law of nature. The best waterfowling and deer hunting tends to occur at sunrise and sunset, too. Maybe it's the security that darkness provides for baitfish and, in turn, predators like the walleye.
Typically, I like to head out an hour or so before dark and fish until 10 p.m. or so, although I know other anglers who stick it out all night with equally impressive results.
As far as location goes, not just any shallow area will do. No matter what type of water you're fishing, it's important to have depth nearby. On rivers, look for shallow sand flats that fall off sharply into 15 or 20 feet. On lakes and reservoirs, look for reefs, humps and weed flats associated with deep water.
Seek out structure that has been exposed to the wind. If there hasn't been much wind on a given day, fish areas where the wind was blowing into most recently.
Do some scouting during daylight hours. Pinpoint shallow, rocky reefs with scattered vegetation or flats where the dense weed growth of June and July is beginning to decay. Areas that are crystal clear and void of walleyes during the day become a totally different world after dark. And areas where you've caught 16- or 18-inchers during the day may well come alive with 5- to 10-pound fish after dark.
On bodies of water with which I'm already familiar, I'll drop waypoints on my Humminbird 1197 combo GPS and sonar unit to mark the edges so I don't venture too far into the fish zone when it's dark outside. On new bodies of water, I'll also mark a trail with my GPS so I can navigate to these spots safely after dark.
It's also a good idea to launch as close as possible to the areas you plan to fish and to carry a compass in your boat in case a power failure leaves you without electronics. I also carry an AC-DC spotlight that runs on batteries or plugs into the cigarette lighter in my Triton boat to help me find my way around.
The same goes for those sand flats on river systems like the Mississippi, Wisconsin and Missouri. Make sure you have them well-marked, and make sure you have a trouble-free route to and from them.
Presentations can be simple. There are two basic options, and they're both dynamite. I like to cast big crankbaits over shallow structure with dying weeds. Normark Husky Jerks and Storm's shallow Thundersticks in the 5- to 8-inch range are two of my favorites. Walleyes will explode from the cover of those remaining weeds to inhale these baits.
I think it's important to go big for two reasons -- because we're fishing for big fish and because larger baits provide a bigger profile in the dark. When fish are aggressively feeding like they are in these situations, attracting their attention is half the battle.
Crankbaits work well for river walleyes, too, but don't forget about light jigs and big plastics. While they might drop too fast or get into too much trouble on reefs, humps and weedbeds, they can be very effective on sand flats where the current gives them a little extra buoyancy.
Slip-bobbering is another viable option that produces plenty of fish, especially on lakes and reservoirs where current isn't an issue. Try a Thill lighted float rigged with a six-inch chub. There aren't many things more exciting than watching big walleyes take a bobber under after dark.
Trolling is another way to attack these fish, but it's also more problematic. If I'm searching for fish on a large piece of structure that I know well, I will fire up my Mercury kicker motor and troll big stickbaits until I find a section that's holding fish. Otherwise, I prefer to cast the edges while inching along with my MinnKota Terrova bow-mount powered by Optima Batteries.
Night fishing requires a little extra organization and care than normal.
Lanterns are fine as long as they are fastened securely and can't be overturned. Ditto for heaters, although I prefer not to use them in my Triton. Wear a head lamp or a light that clips onto a baseball cap to help you find your way around the boat. Stow away everything except what you're using to eliminate the possibility of stepping on extra rods or stray crankbaits or, even worse, tripping over a tackle box and tumbling over the side of the boat.
Comfort is an equally important consideration. That's one reason to poke around during the day so you don't feel lost at night. Comfort applies to the anglers in your boat, as well. I don't venture out on windy, cold, drizzly or snowy nights. I try to pick nights when it's relatively calm and the temperatures moderate.
If you're passionate about catching big walleyes, now is the time to get after them. A good share of the anglers have turned their attention to ducks, geese and deer.
The water is all ours. It's time to settle the score and take a parting shot at those walleyes that played hard-to-get all summer
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