By early fall walleyes that had been hard to find and even
harder to catch just a few weeks ago start to
turn things up a notch or two, and the action can be exceptional.
As good as it is the action can be even
better, but you have to be willing to pay the price. The
price is staying up well past your bedtime and
missing a little sleep. OK, maybe a lot. Once the sun goes
down walleyes really come alive and is a time
when tremendous catches can be made, you just have to be
there when it happens.
The options for cashing in on walleyes making a midnight
run are numerous and can range from trolling
shallow bars and reefs in a fully rigged boat to wading and
casting current areas. If you have the boat you
might as well use it, if not you can still get in on your
share of the action.
Classic areas for trolling up monster fall walleyes includes
anywhere you find current, as well as
shallower rocky bars and reefs, especially those that stretch
out for a hundred yards or more. It’s not that
smaller structure won’t produce, it’s just that
you can keep your lures in the “zone” longer on
an extended
run. Reefs that come up to ten feet of water and shallower
is what we’re talking about, and where you can
expect to find big schools of walleyes making serious feeding
runs.
Good current areas include any incoming creeks or streams,
as well as necked down areas like under a
bridge or where a culvert connects a bay to the main lake.
One of the things to look for when it comes to
creeks or even small normally dry ditches is runoff. Fall
rains can get things running again and the current
will attract baitfish which will in turn attract walleyes,
sometimes big schools of aggressive beasts.
Whether you’re working a bridge, a culvert, or a ditch,
it can pay to be persistent Walleyes can move in
and move out at the drop of a hat so don‘t throw in
the towel too soon. When it all happens can vary from
night to night and lake to lake and it would be a good idea
to be prepared to stick it out, even if the going
starts out a little tough. Quite often the hottest action
doesn’t happen until well after midnight and if you
head home too early out you could miss the whole thing.
Working big shallow rock bars is usually most effectively
done by trolling shallow running crank baits
like #13 or #18 Rapalas and adding enough weight to get the
bait running just over the bottom That
means you’re going to hang up once in awhile but you
should run as close as you can. That doesn’t mean
you have to be perfect either as night run walleyes can be
extremely active and will readily chase down a
good running bait.
Bridges can be easily worked by anchoring up and dropping
a heavier jig tipped with a minnow and
working it up and down and letting it thump the bottom. You
can also try pitching the bait and covering
some water but when you find the hot spot you may want to
re-position the boat and camp right on top of
the fish. The key is using a heavy enough jig to always be
in contact with the bottom. As soon as you lose
your feel you’re in trouble as you have no idea where
your jig is and what it’s doing.
You can also try casting a deeper diving crank like a #7
Shad Rap while you’re looking for fish and may
be all you really need to do to put together a good catch.
Try to think about what the bait is doing when
working it back in like if it’s bumping the bottom,
or suddenly lost it’s vibration. In that case you better
set
the hook.
Incoming creeks and streams may be better fished from shore
or while wading and may be one of the only
times when you should leave the boat at home. The best presentation
includes casting out neutrally buoyant
cranks like the Husky Jerk and slowly reeling it back in
against the current. You simply can’t duplicate the
same presentation casting to shore. By working against the
current you can even bring the bait to a halt and
still get an enticing wiggle, if there’s enough current.
Regardless of where you fish it can pay to key on the full
moon phases. The three days or so before,
during, and after a full moon is when you should try and
get on the water and when most of the largest fish
are typically caught in the fall.
Some necessary equipment to bring along includes a good
source of light, like a Coleman lantern A
headlight is another good idea and will allow you to shine
the light on a fish and keep your hands free.
Big fish is what it all really boils down to and there is
without a doubt no better time to hook up with a
real monster than right now. Fall walleyes are already about
as big as they’ll get for the year and in prime
condition now. Going toe to toe with big ‘eyes late
at night is exciting and can be well worth losing a little
sleep.
Rick Olson
|