Fall walleye question

When do the eyes start making their way back to the dams in the Fall? Do you jig just like you would in the Spring? I have never fished past the second week in September, but would like to try this year. I know they are on the wingdams now, but do they stay on them until really late in the fall? Thanks for any advice.

Not only do they stay on them but the bite will only get better and better right up to ice up. Cranks as the water cools and then plastics once the water temps dip south of 50 degrees.

Why is it that the plastics seem to work better as the water temps drop?

Mr. Sander’s………….

That was an eight second question that took 14 hours in the boat to completely understand………….Actually, I still don’t have it all yet, so that is why I’m going to hire James again this spring for another journey on the river.

All I know is that plastics work. They catch walleyes when everyone else is catching saugers…….And the walleyes are bigger………

Im definitly confident useing plastics in the cooler temps.. but why dont they work as well in the summer???

Its nuts! In the fall you dont wait for a bite you hold on to your rod so the fish dont pull it in the water they crush the plastics and in the summer NOTHING???

Brian, I hear you and don’t understand it either.

This July I was having very good luck on Lake Pepin pulling live bait floaters in a small area that was about 15’ deep. So I decided to try jigging, one pole with a jig and half a crawler, the other pole with a jig and plastic ring worm. After one hour I had caught about 15 fish of various species on the jig & crawler pole, but not even a hit on the jig and plastic pole. I had a friend who tried jigging with some scented plastic and he did do a little better than I did with the unscented plastic. Do you think it could be the fine smell of live bait in warm water? Or maybe cold water shuts down their smelling ability?

Dave Gulczinski

I am about as green as they come, this being my first year chasing walleye as a newcomer to the mid-west. I have also never fished in the fall on the Mississippi, this will be my first season. I have a couple of hypotheses for consideration:

1. Crawlers, being live emit some type of neurologic response detectable by the walleye’s lateral line and, except maybe for a product like gulp, emits a strong scent from the wounds sustained when they are baited on to a hook. Perhaps the bio-chemistry of the walleye’s lateral line response to the struggling nightcrawlers just “works” better in warmer water and garners more of a response than other baits?

2. According to much literature and guys I have spoken with, there is a large shad die-off as the water cools and is unable to contain sufficient dissolved oxyen to support the bait fish. With less food, the large plastics represent less investment per unit of effort on the part of the walleye. The plastic is soft and at first strike, may more closely resemble a living creature. Also, the action of the plastics (many of them anyway) is considerably more subtle than a vibrating crankbait. As water temperatures cool down, could it be that the “wounded minnow” acts a bit more subdued than most crankbaits on the market today? These are cold-blooded animals, after all.

I know, I think too much…

Regards,

Joe Jiacinto