Pass the Gravy

 Fell for the #7 Shadling

You can smell it in the air every year.  Whatever its source or reason behind it, there is just a certain olfactory impulse which fills our nose fall after fall.  And for me, like many I'm sure, the first whiff always brings back a warm feeling of fall which overcomes the external chill that has started to seep its way down from the arctic.  The chill in the air which has us human folk reaching for the pumpkin pie, turkey drummies, and mashed potatoes with extra gravy, please, is the same animal instinct felt by all our aquatic friends as well.  From the smallest perch and bluegill to the biggest muskie and pike.  Every instinct has their minds locked in one direction, getting as much energy as possible before the lakes freeze over and seal them off from external energy sources for the winter.  With their minds made up to gorge themselves, early and often it makes the reward of landing trophy walleye just a little bit bigger, literally.  


with so much changing in the water below, where should a fall fisherman start his search for these feeding fall 'eyes?  "I start looking in areas where there is access to deep water and a
feeding shelf in close proximity", says Jon Thelen, former PWT angler, and current Midwest Outdoors co-host.  Because of the walleye's one track mind this time of year, their nomadic summer habits of roaming in search of forage get put on the shelf to belly up to the fall forage tables.  Their commutes shorten up, which usually keeps them pretty closely located to their feeding area.




  

"Sharp breaks are better in the fall than almost any other time of year. The fall cooling trend means the water has
 turned over on deep lakes.  The newly stabilized water oxygen levels allow walleyes to use the whole
 water column and finding sharp breaks just create a shorter distance for them to travel between feeding areas and 
resting areas"-Jon Thelen



Jason Muche with a Great Lakes fish on the "Chartreuse Perch" pattern

  "During the day I will work the deeper
 areas of the feeding shelf, and if I am trolling at night, I will troll up on the top of the shelf.
  Walleye are almost always going to be found at a depth that corresponds to the light provided at that time of day.  In the daylight hours, I like to start the search from the 14-20 foot marks, and after dark its from 14 feet on up.  Upon arrival in an area, I am looking at my graph for concentrations of bait fish 
as well as what type of structure they are relating to. If the bait fish are spread out over a feeding
shelf I will long line crank baits, but if the bait fish are 
relating to a rock pile or a small weed patch and it does not make sense to troll I will anchor my boat and
cast crank baits beyond the structure and retrieve back over the
 structure.

"The most important factor in choosing a bait  is
 forage size.   If the walleyes are eating 2.5-3 inch perch, I go with
 a #5 shadling in "natural perch" color during the day while more flashy Perch 
colors like "yellow perch" will often prevail during darker hours when its necessary to give off any flash possible.
"- Jon Thelen

Got any good fishin' stories? Share them below in the comments section, or if you want to be featured in the next post, or just want to talk fishing... Email me!

-mc