Beating the tough odds of turnover
fishing
The days that try walleye men's souls
By Perry Good
Think
there's no such thing as a bad day on the water? Try walleye
fishing around turnover.
Some call it
the fall lull, others declare it's "golfing time." By any name,
the period around fall turnover is a tough timeframe to fish
walleyes in the upper Midwest.
Last year's
Professional Walleye Trail championship occurred right at turnover
in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and it was a challenging event. We
had junk floating up from the bottom, and the fish were all over
in the water column, inactive and disoriented.
A simple
explanation of turnover is in order here. During the summer, a
thin layer of water (called the thermocline) develops between the
cool surface water on the bottom of our lakes (technically called
the "hypolimnion") and a warmer layer (the epilimnion) on top. The
temperature difference is remarkable, as much as 20 degrees across
the thermocline.
Come fall,
when days shorten and air temperatures drop, that warm water on
top cools. The two layers eventually flip, which causes mass
chaos. There's a rapid mixing of the water, so submerged dead
plant and animal material floats up (smells nasty, too), and every
living thing in the lake becomes disoriented. In our classic
Minnesota lake country, the phenomenon can throw off the walleye
bite for a week or more, and in my opinion, it's harder to fish
than a bad cold front.
What's an
angler to do? Your first option is traveling someplace where
turnover has less of an effect. Shallow prairie country lakes are
an excellent option. Take Lake Shetek, near Slater. This lake,
normally pea-soup green in the summer, clears up nicely in the
fall, and because it's only about 8 feet deep, turnover is
virtually nonexistent. It's just too warm in this consistently
shallow lake for a thermocline to set up. It's a great fall
walleye option.
Minnesota
has many lakes like this, and technique-wise, we'll typically
begin fishing them via crankbaits by casting into the shorelines.
You might also try a fathead minnow on a lighted bobber, again in
shallow water. Fall is a great time to fish for walleyes from
shore, or with waders, if you've got property access.
Our
windswept, classic walleye lakes like Mille Lacs also seem less
susceptible to the confusion of turnover. Quite often in the fall,
you'll find me casting or pulling Rapalas along Indian Point or
other shoreline areas of our big walleye lakes.
Rivers,
thanks to their current and constant mixing, have no turnover
issues, so consider a trip to the Minnesota or Mississippi rivers
this month. Find a fairly deep hole right below a turn in the
river, say below where a creek enters. Then, on a No. 2 hook,
attach a redtail minnow to your Lindy Rig and drop it on the
bottom. Let it sit.
It's almost
better to fish this from shore, rather than messing around with a
boat. If you bring your boat, anchor and use the rod holder, and
watch your line. I grew up fishing the Minnesota River this way
near Le Sueur, and guys are still catching lots of fall walleyes
in the same places I did 25 years ago with this technique.
One last
traveling option: The Rainy River is excellent in September. The
shiner run kicks in on the river, and all those border lake
walleyes follow. It's phenomenal.
But what
about you stubborn lads unwilling to travel away from your
precious lake country? Hey, you'll always find fish looking to
feed, even during turnover, but understand this point: There is no
pattern! This is the hardest time of year to target fish, so use
your electronics religiously to find scattered fish.
A month ago,
I wrote about my dedication to spinner rigs. Come fall, I'm done
with them. Now it's more of a minnow bite, just like early in the
soft-water season. Focus on the late evenings, when finicky or
disoriented walleyes seem most likely to resume feeding. I'd start
by casting crankbaits (this may be the best time of year for
Rapalas) and using lighted bobbers in the shallows. Try the
weedlines next, then work your way deeper, even with a jig and
minnow.
Wherever you
fish, whether it's a river or lake, we're less worried about
finesse now than we were in the summer. Skip the nightcrawlers and
leeches you used all summer. We're back to minnows (that's true
for virtually any species you're chasing, by the way), and if
possible, large ones. Fish sense that winter's coming, so they're
more aggressive and seek larger bait choices.
Consider
every fish a well-earned success during turnover. And take heart,
by mid- October, these same techniques will be catching numbers of
good fish. They'll have the feedbag back on, and you can enjoy
some of the most productive walleye fishing of the year.
A good rule
of thumb: When the fall colors are peaking, so is the walleye
bite.
Perry Good,
is a professional walleye angler from Minnesota. He is a
Professional Walleye Trail (PWT) Champion and is the only angler
who has qualified for every championship on the PWT and RCL tours.
