A MYRIAD OF OPTIONS FOR FALL WALLEYE
For more than 40 years I have been chasing fall walleye on the Red River. One thing I have learned is that you can’t catch a trophy greenback if there not there. With social media and contact with guides on the river I can usually find out when there are a bunch if fish moved in. There are many factors that influence the movement of fish into the river but the most important is the presence of baitfish.
Fisheries biologists have also determined that there is a pretty good run of whitefish spawning below the locks in late October. It seems in the last few years that has been the best time also to catch a trophy greenback walleye.
STILL HAVE TO CATCH THEM
Fall is my absolute favourite time to fish. Having such a great trophy fishery so close to where I live is a bonus. The fishery has changed over the years though. Part of that is the presence of zebra mussels and the water clarity. Instead of being six inches in some cases it can be three or four feet on average. Nothing is more exciting than seeing a big greenback arise from the depths on the end of your line.
A couple of years ago we got a break in the cold weather, and I got to head out for a couple of days in early November. My first day was spent with friend Jim Price south of Selkirk. It was mid week and we had a great day on the water with close to sixty walleye landed plus the non-stop sauger action. We didn’t land any trophy fish, but it was action packed day. We tried a variety of techniques including cranking in the 8-to-14-foot range. Of course, we had spot lock and we managed to land plenty of fish on jigs tipped with salted shiner minnows, standard fare at this time of the year.
Two days later I headed back out with a couple of biologists, Doug Watkinson and Derek Kroeker. It was an interesting day spent talking about fisheries management in the province. Doug works for Fisheries and Oceans. He has done a ton of tracking work on the many fish species in Lake Winnipeg. You can hear about it from the man himself on my podcast https://www.hookedmagazine.ca/podcast/the-complete-angler-podcast-episode-22-doug-watkinson/
Derek’s beautiful walleye
Derek Kroeker landed the largest walleye of the day, an inch shy of Master Angler size. He caught it on a jigging spoon and that turned out to be the hot lure of the day. Derek and Doug landed three catfish between them as well, a bit of surprise this late in the season.
Doug with a bonus channel catfish!
Derek is the Eastern Region Fisheries Manager for Manitoba and is also spearheading the Recreational Angling Strategy. To learn more about it he is also on my podcast at https://www.hookedmagazine.ca/podcast/the-complete-angler-podcast-episode-15-derek-kroeker-and-manitobas-recreational-angling-strategy/
Using your electronics is critical in the fall
Most fish species move to generally deeper water in the fall where they are easy to find on your electronics units. Fall walleye in lakes and reservoirs tend to school tightly together. These fish, in most cases, are aggressive. One of the keys though, is to stay right on them when they are congregated in a small area. I really like to spotlock on these fish and vertical jig them. Depending on activity levels we sometimes have to use bait to get extra bites but by the end plastic like Berkley Ripple Shads were working just fine.
Last year, because of schedule conflicts we were in early fall but that didn’t seem to matter on Lake of the Prairies.
On the first day we had used some bottom bouncers and spinners but on Day Two the jig tipped with bait was king for sure. We not only caught quantity but also landed the largest walleye I have ever seen personally from LOP. It measured 30 inches and was solid. Not sure of the weight but it sure felt heavy!
It happened that on this day the wind was perfect for a slow drift, which allowed us to cover a large flat were the walleye were scattered. I assume they were eating perch because we caught a few jumbos of those as well. Whatever it was, they were there in numbers and size. The conditions were overcast with a light mist, perfect conditions for a good walleye bite.
We caught the fish in 18 to 26 feet of water and depth varied during location and time. It paid to use your electronics to spot the fish first. That is a key consideration, especially at this time of year when fish are a bit deeper.