Fall is my favorite time to fish. Changing colors, cooler weather, and fewer bugs make it an ideal time to be on the water. Even better, the shorter days, falling water temperatures, and seasonal turnover drive game fish to feed heavily to prepare for winter. After slogging through the dog days of summer with finesse baits and moody fish, in the fall, anglers can cash in on some of the year’s largest and most aggressive fish with big baits and bold presentations.

I recently spent a long weekend on the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries. The fall colors were waxing with red sumac, ash, walnut, and red maples painting the majestic bluffs in a cornucopia of colors that would make Bob Ross proud. The primary target for the trip was walleyes, but being multi-species anglers at heart, we were happy to tangle with any fish that was looking for a meal. The weather conditions for the two days of fishing were tough with strong winds, driving rain, and below-average temperatures. However, in the face of this spectacular backdrop and adversity, the fishing was outstanding!  

Day one had the crew decked out in medium-duty PVC rain gear, winter coats, long underwear, insulated rubber boots, and stocking caps. If you can imagine Randy Parker (“I can’t put my arms down!”) with a Morton Salt rain slicker on, that’s exactly what we looked like! The wind, waves, and rain, turned already cool temperatures downright blustery. Casting lightweight presentations into the wind was futile, and we were pleasantly surprised when upsizing our baits started to deliver.  

With 3/8 oz shad-patterned spinners, 1/2 oz chrome blade baits, and 3/4 oz jigs tipped with minnows we probed current seams, eddies, rocky structure, and creek mouths. We were rewarded with equal numbers of tackle-stealing snags and big fish. On the Mississippi, you never know what you’re going to get, and in the extreme weather conditions, we boated aggressive white bass, whipers, walleyes, saugers, saugeyes, drum, largemouths, smallmouths, channel cats, and to our amazement even a pair of sturgeon. When we arrived back at the dock, we stepped off the boats grizzled from exposure and grateful for our catch.  

Day two began at a different location, albeit a little later than planned due to some over-indulgence the night before, but we persevered nonetheless. The weather had cleared some, but mostly cloudy skies and potent winds still required multiple layers for comfort. The first half of the day yielded very little with one keeper walleye and several eager largemouths and smallmouths. Around noon, the boats needed fuel, and so did the guys, so we paused in town for supplies. On a whim, me and a buddy decided to try a sandy point near the confluence of the river and a tributary and immediately started getting bit. This time, 1/2 oz jigs tipped with 3-4” fathead minnows vertically jigged off the bottom are what the fish wanted. An aggressive thump on the fall indicated strikes, and a quick hook set sealed the deal. In 30 minutes the two of us boated 4 keeper walleyes, and taking a break to cast a #9 perch patterned Shad Rap delivered a half dozen additional largemouths. To say the fish were aggressive was an understatement!  

For the second half of day two, and our last hurrah, we pushed up a tributary and split up with half the crew remaining on a boat and the others wading. The local Farm Fleet had run a sale on some Frogg Toggs waders, and we all picked up a pair specifically for targeting fish in the shallows.  

One of the guys scored some local intel that recommended waiting to start fishing until the last 90 minutes of daylight, continuing through the first hour after darkness if they were still biting. As a result, we took our time getting vehicles, boats, and gear wrangled, and landed at the spot around 5:30pm.  

We started casting for walleyes with a variety of baits from the previous day including spinners, blades, jigs, and small to medium crankbaits. However, we didn’t get bit until guys upsized to #7 and #9 Shad Raps and Flicker Shads. In the heavy current, the throbbing of the big crankbaits was emphasized, and the bites were explosive! The fish weren’t too picky as long as the lures were large and brightly colored with yellow/white, firetiger, hot steel, and white producing the most fish. That night was the best walleye fishing I’ve ever experienced with a mixed bag of 15- saugers, saugeyes, and walleyes up to 21” and a bonus 25” channel cat taking a ride in the truck.

If you haven’t invested in a Whisker Seeker Tackle Bait Shack yet, make sure you put one on your Christmas list. I charged mine with the included USB charger before we left and never charged it again the following 3 days. When we arrived Thursday afternoon, I bought 8 dozen 3-4” fathead minnows. From Thursday through Sunday, I continuously ran 2 air pumps, and we didn’t lose a single minnow. Moreover, on Sunday the shack still had 75% battery remaining, and I couldn’t be more impressed and satisfied with its performance. For guys that fish live bait, these things are an absolute game changer!    

Fall is an incredible time to be an angler, and if you have the opportunity to fish, go for it! The weather is cooler, the bugs are gone, and the fish are hungry. Remember, this time of year, fish are preparing for winter and packing on as much weight as possible. As a result, they’re eager to crush big baits, and like we experienced up north, sometimes they turn their noses up at smaller offerings.  

If you’re looking to fill the freezer with fish before hunting season cranks up, now is the time. Nothing tastes better in the dead of winter than some canned sweet corn, fried potatoes, and golden brown filets. As an added bonus, fall may be the best time of year to catch the trophy of a lifetime. If a wall hanger is on your bucket list, now may be your best opportunity to catch it, so get out there and get him!