Fall Walleye Fishing Tips

For some walleye fishermen, it's their opinion that the fall isn't the greatest time of year to go walleye fishing.

However there are several other fishermen that disagree. To them some of the best walleye fishing is in fact in the fall months. Although most of these fishermen will all agree that fishing for walleye in the fall can be very unpredictable, it also depends on the area as well as the bait you use to attempt to catch the walleye.

Those walleye that are in rivers will usually bite all year round, however sometimes they need enticing. Cold fronts, rough weather, rain and wind often start walleye to feeding during the fall. This is due to the temperature cooling down and the water temperature becoming cooler as well.

Although walleye aren't really affected by the water temperature, the temperature of the water sometimes affects the food supply walleye feed on.

For some reason in the fall, big walleye like big bait. Some experts on walleye fishing speculate this is due to the fact that the walleye aren't able to eat as often as they normally would in the hot summer months. As for the best type of bait to use in the fall, well there really isn't a "best."

A fat leech or big worm will have more of an effect than a lure or jig, because the scent from this type of bait attracts the walleye faster than colorful lures or jigs.

You don't have to use a large hook when walleye fishing in the fall. And in fact this is actually better, because the walleye doesn't feel anything unusual when it swallows the bait. As walleyes like shaded cloudy days over bright sunny days, even perhaps dusk or night, the same concept applies for the fall season too.

The walleye prefers the shade or low light, especially in the fall season. There are times during the fall season that the walleye have even formed large groups and stayed in shallow water.

It seems that just when someone who loves to fish would rather be at home instead of out in a harsh wind, is when the walleye are going to be biting the best.

Unfortunately, walleye like to swim upstream in the fall and this causes the undercurrent to actually be against a person trying to fish. It might be a good idea to place a heavier split weight or bb on the fishing line, or use two lighter bb together.

This also works well. A tip that is really useful for walleye fishing in the fall is that just before dark, many of the female walleye will come up close to the bank. This makes the walleye not only easy to see, but an individual can usually see when the walleye is getting close to the bait. Not to mention that these female walleye are usually quite large as well.

Now, if by chance you are going to fish for walleye in the river, the best thing to do is float a worm or live bait on the water. This means don't actually use much of a weight.

This forces the walleye to surface to a certain degree and an individual can see where they are too. Some fishermen have thrown bits of chicken liver or other bait on top of the river to see in what area the walleye surface and then set up to fish near that area.