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Ever since I got serious about fishing, which was at about age four, I've looked forward to fishing in the fall. Actually, I look forward to fishing in any season, but there's something about fishing in the fall that has always been special to me. Maybe it's the idea that the open water season is winding down. Maybe it's the knowledge that autumn provides the best chance to catch a truly big fish. Maybe it's knowing that many bodies of water will have much less pressure. Fishing in the fall is many things to many anglers. And they're mostly good things.
Some people reserve the autumn months for hunting or football. That's why fall is such a good time to go fishing. On many lakes, rivers, or reservoirs, you'll have much of the water to yourself. Knowing that you're probably the first angler to show a bait to a fish that day creates confidence, and confidence is a good thing to have when you're fishing.
Another thought: In the spring the water is warming, and in the summer the water is warm, and warm water makes the fish bite. But while fish will bite well when the water is warming or warm, they also bite well, maybe better, in the fall, because the water is cooling off. The cooling water tells the fish that winter is coming and that they need to fatten up to sustain through the winter months. The fish fatten up by eating. Odds are good that they'll eat what you have attached to the end of your line if they see it.
Baitfish populations are lower in the fall than they are in the summer. Lots of baitfish have been eaten through the summer months by the bigger fish, and many of the remaining baitfish have grown to a size where they're too big for many of the predators to eat. Fewer baitfish means that walleyes, bass, pike and crappies will be more willing to eat your lure.
Fishing in the fall doesn't require an early morning wake-up. Catching at mid-day is often better, and I have good memories of wading along the shoreline casting for walleyes at or shortly after sundown. When the walleyes are in the shallows, not many can resist a Hornet crankbait or a jig/Rage Swimmer.
All things considered when it comes to fall fishing, the deep weedline is perhaps the best place to spend your time in search of a bite. There might be other places that can be better for short periods of the day, but it's pretty hard to beat the deep weedline for fishing action from a wide variety of fish species. Pike, walleyes, panfish and bass all roam the deep weedline in the fall, and they'll all be biters at some time during that day.
Crankbaits and plastics will again be good starting points for our pursuit of weedline fish. With plastics, go bulky. The smaller plastics will catch fish, but the larger, bulkier baits will catch bigger fish. If largemouth bass are the target, a rubber-legged jig tipped with a Rage Hawg is about as good as it gets.
In the autumn months, the opportunity to catch a lunker is as good, probably better, than any other season. And the scenery can be spectacular. And, before long, some of us, in some parts of the world, will be fishing through the ice, and that's a good thing too. For now though, take advantage of the remaining days of open water fishing.