FALL WALLEYES IN RIVERS
By Bob Jensen
Although some anglers don’t get involved in fall fishing, many anglers realize that, throughout the Midwest, some of the best walleye fishing of the year takes place in rivers. Whether we’re talking the big rivers like the Missouri or Mississippi or one of the smaller rivers that are so abundant across the Midwest, walleyes can be caught right now.
There are several areas in rivers that will hold autumn walleyes. Wing-dams, current breaks, sand flats, all of those structures will be home to walleyes this time of year. Whichever location you decide to try, a jig will be a good bet to start with. Walleyes like jigs year ‘round, but in rivers in the fall, a jig of some sort will be really tough to beat.
If you will be casting to shallow rocky structures, a jig and tail is the way to go. Try a Mimic Minnow head with either a three inch Gulp! Minnow Grub or a Power Grub. Make sure the head color contrasts with the body color. Chartreuse and orange are two very good colors to incorporate into the jig.
Retreive the jig with a straight slow action. You don’t need to be lifting and dropping the rod tip, although that will work from time to time also. You want the jig swimming just above the bottom. Use a jig heavy enough to get to the bottom quickly, but can also be swum back to the boat fairly slow. Experience is the best teacher when it comes to properly swimming this style of jig.
When the walleyes are in or on deeper structures, the jig/tail will still work, but if the bite toughens, a minnow added to the jig will be productive.
A Fire-Ball jig is the best jig to use when live bait is called for. It has a short-shank hook with a large gap, so solid hook-ups are much more frequent. If you get bit but miss the fish too often, a stinger hook can be quickly added to the Fire-Ball. The stinger should take care of those short-biters.
When the fish are deeper than twelve feet of water, it usually works best to fish the jig directly below the boat unless the water is clear. Then you may need to fish it behind the boat a bit.
Eight pound test Trilene XT is a very good line to use with jigs, especially in rivers. It is abrasion resistant, so rocks cutting the line aren’t as much of a concern.
Wading is also a very good way to chase fall walleyes in
rivers. Jigs are still the way to go. Work them around eddies and other
areas just off the current.
Warmth is a big deal when wading. Many anglers choose Cabela’s Polartec
underwear for wading in the fall. If you get cold, you’re not going
to enjoy wading, and Polartec will prevent you from getting cold.
From now until it gets too cold to be open water fishing, there are walleyes ready to be caught in rivers. Find out for yourself how productive rivers can be right now.
For more fish-catching information, visit fishingthemidwest.com
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