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By: David Chong
ven when you can’t feel a drastic temperature change, there are many signs that autumn is quickly approaching! The days are getting progressively shorter, the leaves are starting to change, you may notice a frog migration happen, geese are flying south and unless you are totally clueless you can’t help but notice that fall is fast approaching! What does it mean for you as an angler? It means that you have tons of options when it comes to multi species angling and if things line up right, you may be in for the best fishing of the season. Things that one must consider when heading out in the fall include dressing properly for the weather as it can change dramatically during the day. Remember you can always remove layers but you can’t put on what you don’t have with you! One of the best items of clothing that I had ever picked up over the years is my Striker Denali rainsuit. This suit consists of a set of a fully breathable insulated jacket & bibs. Not only does it keep me toasty warm but I never have to be worried about getting splashed by boat wakes or wet from rain or even the odd time, snow. Gloves & warm socks are always essentials in the autumn, being cold & wet will put a damper on the best fishing days.
Stunning fall colours only add to the beauty of fall smallies.
whatever crayfish, gobies, frogs, perch or baitfish that are around. On certain bodies on water such as Lake Simcoe, Lake Erie, etc. they’ll start following the emerald shiner migration. Their goal is to pack on as much body mass as possible to help them make it through the long winter months. On smaller bodies of water, both largies & smallies will key into the fall leopard frog migration and at those times, the topwater bite can be absolutely phenomenal! There is nothing more spectacular than being on a northern lake with the trees all in their fall colours, not a whisper of wind and smashing big bass on topwaters. Keys to locating areas where these fish are feeding are finding transition zones with green viable vegetation and of course bait! As the surface temps drop so will the feeding activity of the fish so adjust your presentation accordingly.
For smallies, I love throwing a suspending jerkbait in the fall such as any of the Lucky Craft Pointer series but as the water temps dip then my cadence and speed of my presentation will as well! Vary your cadence and speed until the fish tell you what they want. Often it will be jerk, jerk, pause and watch your line. Many times the hit will come as your jerkbait is paused & suspended. If you see your line jump then set the hook and hang on! Fall perch fishing is a great way up! ice e befor Size will be dependent on the size of the forage that s Although, I do try & get out for a little to spend friend really Papiest & his family they’re feeding on. I generally start with a Pointer river fishing for salmon & steelhead in Ralph enjoy these Lake Simcoe 100, Lightning Point 98, Slender Pointer 97 and the fall, most of my autumns are occupied Jumbo Perch. then downsize from there if need be. with chasing big smallies, giant buckets, jumbo perch, slab crappies & finally lunker walleyes. The great thing about all these species is the fact that they tend to school up Due to elbow & wrist issues, I throw my bass jerkbaits on a spinning while putting on the feedbag for the winter months. So many fish outfit consisting of a Daiwa Certate 2500 on a Daiwa Kage 6’ 10” medium-fast rod. I spool my reel up with 12 lb. test Sunline Siglon to catch, so little time... LOL PEx8 braid connected to my lure with a 8-10’ 12 lb. test Sunline FC As the surface temps start dropping into the low 60’s & high 50’s Leader! This setup along with the weight transfer system in Lucky and with the days getting shorter, this will trigger that fall feeding Craft jerkbaits allow me to throw my jerkbaits a great distance in frenzy! Smallies will start moving shallow to take advantage of almost any wind conditions. When water temps drop below the 50o (Continued on page 10.)
Just Fishing . 8
Fall 2023
