By Daniel Quade
(Provided by PRADCO fishing)
Casting for Fall WalleyesDeep and steep is the mantra for many anglers when it comes to locating fall walleyes, but a little well-timed shallow thinking can produce great catches as well. Indeed, under the right conditions, relatively skinny water can be your best bet for hooking up with fat October eyes in flowing and still-water scenarios across the Walleye Belt.
Don Olson and Randy Carroll are no strangers to thinking thin. Theyve tapped the shallow bite on lakes and rivers across the Midwest, both for fun and money as a team on the Cabelas Masters Walleye Circuit, and theyve taken Team of the Year honors and finished strong numerous times.
By Nathan Shore
(Provided by PRADCO Fishing)
Livebait RigFrom late summer though fall, live-bait rigging catches walleyes every day, especially when that weight sliding on your main line is perfectly in tune with depth, wind, bait type and size.
A live bait rig featuring a walking-type sinker resists bottom snags and keeps your livebait in the strike zone.
A leader separates struggling live bait from that weight, giving it room to swim, squirm and attract fish. Simple. Beautiful. Deadly.
But the key is putting that minnow, leech or crawler on a target below the boat. Rigging experts know how to triangulate their targets and allow for current, velocity and depth.
Triangulating, in this case, is simple. As you move deeper, use a larger weight. As the wind picks up, go with a larger weight. And as the size of the bait increases well, you get the idea.
By Daniel Quade
(Provided by PRADCO Fishing)
Fall WalleyeLate summer into early autumn can be a tricky time to tackle walleyes, as wandering eyes transition between their summer and fall seasonal haunts. But with the right game plan, anglers can still enjoy some of the years finest fishing.
Northwoods guide Bill Rosner rigs up deep walleyes throughout the early to mid-fall transition.
Walleye sage and longtime northwoods guide Bill Rosner knows the drill. Three decades of putting clients on fish across the upper reaches of Wisconsin and Minnesota has taught him plenty about tapping into the early fall bite.
If results from the recent Michiana Walleye Association (MWA) tournament were an indication of how the St. Joseph River has responded to stocking efforts, the answer is very well!
Thirteen teams competed on the stretch between Twin Branch and Elkhart during the eight-hour event. They caught 70 legal walleyes measuring 15 inches or bigger, not to mention more than 250 sub-legal walleyes.
Thats pretty darn impressive when you consider that state stocking efforts have fallen off the past decade and walleye fishing was on the downswing.