What do Walleye do in the Fall?

[Jack-of-all-fish]

There's been alot of good info posted here. Just a couple of points to add. Solo is right about jigging spoons. One T/giving about 15 years back while fishing in the Kawarthas, 3 buds and myself fished our brains out the first 2 days there with little to show for it other than after we gave up on the walleye and threw some bucktails for musky. We noticed that a group from Ohio in the next cabin had been having great luck for walters and we asked them their secret. They showed us the jigging spoons they were using. They were Hopkins Shortys, 3/4 oz with dressed treble hooks. They even gave us a couple of lures to test. The next shift on the water we caught fish. We looked for deep water adjacent to moving water as they had suggested and jigged just as Solo described. We tried tipping the spoons with worms and minnows but had the best success with just the spoons.

This tactic has been repeated every fall since then and at lakes all over the province with good success. This is a full daylight tactic.

Good luck.

[doubleheader]

Solopaddler, I agree 100%

[Dabluz]

35-55 FOW...vertically jigging a jighead and a minnow or worm. Or an ice fishing jigging rapala with a dew worm impaled on the front hook then twirled around the rapala barber pole style and impaled on the back hook or the bottom treble...depending on the size of your worm. That all you need to know for the walleye spots I fish this time of year.

 

 

Rigged barber pole style.....wow....great idea. I will have to pick up some jigging spoons. I think I know exactly where I'm going to try this when the walleye season in my area opens up for icefishing. We are allowed 5 icefishing rods and are also allowed to use dead smelt during the winter but I sure will set up one rod with a jigging spoon and rig it up barber pole style.

[Dabluz]

The funny thing is that I'm the only one fishing there ..... every night. A local older gentleman come to vist every day and helps me keep the area clean of garbage. He still can't believe that there are so many walleye in this spot.

 

 

muddler

 

I think that in a short while, your secret will be know to everyone in your area. In the Chibougamau region, there is a small pass between 2 rivers and there are lots of people who race to get there every evening and space is limited. The water is very shallow and the ciscos are migrating. When it starts to get really dark, the walleye come into less than 1 foot of water. Everybody wears headlamps because the best fishing is at nightfall. The only way I could get my line in the water was to use a small boat, cast downstream with a floating X-Rap and let the current take my lure further under the bridge and then reel it back slowly against the current. Most of the fishermen wear waders in order to have a place to fish from. The walleye are right at the edge of the drop off and strike the lures there. The most popular lure is a medium sized Husky Jerk (blue with orange belly).

[Dara]

Just so many different things to try.

I gotta find something that works

[Dara]

In your neck of the woods....that is northern shield country, they can be a tough, tough nut to crack.

You're undoubtedly experiencing a very common post fall turnover lull.

When the lakes turn over in the fall the fish scatter and the bite becomes tough.

Once things settle down the bite is generally still tough.

 

Yes they'll invade the shallows on occasion (look for any sort of semi green weed.

 

Yes they chase suspended baitfish and you can catch them trolling.

 

However the best advice I can give considering where you're from is fish DEEP with oversized live minnows.

Possibly deeper than you've ever fished before.

Many if not most of your favourite "classic" walleye spots, (points, saddles, humps) in 15-25' depths will seem devoid of fish. You'll fish hard all day at this time of year and come up empty.

That's because you should've been fishing depths of 35 up to 50'

 

You'll need a good stiff rod and braid of some kind. Easiest way to rig is a large jighead with a stinger hook.

 

Last week of September up at my camp I had great success using 3-5" sucker minnows on 3/4 to 1oz heads with an appropriate stinger (if you don't use a stinger you'll miss most fish 'cause of the minnows size).

I was fishing a deep clay/sand flat in water that was averaging 40' deep.

 

The problem fishing this type of water is obvious...if you reel the fish in too fast their air bladder will be sticking out their mouth. You have to try and reel the fish in slowly to avoid this.

If it happens you either have to keep the fish or "fizz" the bladder with a hypo before release.

 

I'll be up there this weekend and I can guarantee you I'll be catching 'eyes hand over fist using the exact same techniques.

 

Should note: use your fish finder on manual with the sensitivity punched up a bit and search for the fish.

Spend some time combing the bottom 'till you find decent concentrations of fish, then break out the minnows.

 

As an alternative to live bait sometimes jigging spoons work wonders. Fished clean right off the bottom, as vertical as possible with sharp snaps...the hits are violent.

 

Good luck man.

 

 

I'm trying this one tomorrow

[fishinguypat]

what kind of jigs do you guys use for fall walleye and what weight?

[Sinker]

I've caught most of my big ones at night in shallow water on suspending jerkbaits. Fish them real slow.

 

In the same lakes in the daytime, I get them in the deepest part of the lake on big minnows.

 

S.

[mbac31]

I find this time of year the Walleye are very discombobulated. I will go shallow @ night in Backbays as they are chasing Frogs/baitfish and will get them on topwater and jerkbaits fished slow. Then during the day, early in the morning you will still find them close to shallow weedlines till usually about mid morning. The jerkbaits fished low and bigger bodies baits with a narrow profile like a Taildancer or a Jackall Giron style bait will entice them. Then its off to deeper weedlines and holes or deeper sides of underwater humps and points. Then its a jig or Dropshot rig till mid afternoon when they will start to move in again. Trolling is effective during this time of day as ell. You need to fish slow and use wider wobbling action baits.

 

I will also find especially in the Kawarthas that there tends to be a very agressive ambush style of Walleye that hold in shallow water all day and night usually till freezeup. Look for any weed/rock transitions in and around access to deep water. Usually betwen 8-12 FOW. They tend to feel safer there for various reasons. Pike/Muskie will hang there usually as well. These fish will smash a bigger bait every time. They are there to fatten up for the winter and will hit a bigger bait quicker than a slender one. I love the BBZ Shad and OSP Rudra style baits for these times. Remember in this type of situation you will also get them dam Muskie almost all the time. When you do. Move away for 1/2 hour or so, come back and you will usually find that the walleye are more agressive. This is also where you will find them big greenbacks as well. This is trophy time for them.