GREAT FISHING LEFT IN FALL
By Mike Yurk
We sat in the front seat of the pickup truck eating our lunch while rain splattered against the window. Dark gray clouds swirled overhead and wind whipped across the lake. This was not looking good.
My fishing buddy, Paul Valle of Oakdale, Minn., and I left my home in Hudson, Wisc., driving an hour north to fish this lake in Polk County. It started to rain shortly after we left Hudson but weather reports indicated the weather was suppose to break by late morning. This did not happen.
Although we did not relish the idea of starting out in the rain, it was the wind that bothered us. The water on this lake was rolling and I wasn’t sure if I could maneuver the boat in it even with my fifty five pound thrust trolling motor.
Finally we decided perhaps if we started driving back towards Hudson there were a couple of smaller lakes where we might find it easier to fish. As we pulled out of the landing I looked north and there was a ban of blue skies on the edge of the storm.
I knew of a smaller lake in that direction where we might be out of the storms. I fished this lake a couple of years back and had not done well then but the water looked so good I said I wanted to give it a try again. We were already far enough north it seemed we might as well go a few more miles and try that lake rather then hoping to find something closer to home.
We turned north and twenty minutes later pulled into the landing. As we launched the boat we looked south and the storm seemed to be following us but at least on this smaller lake the wind did not affect the water as much.
We started fishing right from the landing. There is deeper water hugging the shore. We were fishing for about fifteen minutes when I felt a fish hit my bait. I set the hook and my spinning rod was bent in half as a fish raced off. Finally I got the fish alongside the boat and could see it was a fat and feisty black bass.
The hook pulled out of the fish before I could land it but it didn’t matter. My hunch there would be bass in deeper water had panned out. By this time the storm caught up to us and we quickly pulled on rain gear. The wind was brisk but I could move the boat against so we were doing all right. The rain was pouring off both the back and front bill of my hat. It needed to be washed anyway so a little rain was probably good for it.
We continued on and twenty minutes later I felt another strike. This fish felt different and once I got it close to the boat I could see it was a two foot long northern pike. When I looked at the depth finder I saw we were now in shallower water. We had gone from ten feet to about three feet of water.
I recalled from the last time I fished this lake there is deeper water close to the bank on the other side of the lake so we move there. I thought we would have better chances of catching more bass in deeper water. On the other side we found water ranging from seven to twelve feet of water close to a rocky bank. It looked ideal. Within a few minutes we both had a bass. Both bass were over fourteen inches and chunky; looking like they were well on their way to fattening up for the colder weather to come.
Paul and I were using Chatterbaits. I have been using them for a few years and use them in the same waters I would otherwise use spinnerbaits.
Of course spinner baits would have worked as well as shallow running crankbaits would have been successful so there are options in choosing baits for this kind of fishing.
The fish hit aggressively. They obviously were feeding regardless of the less than ideal weather. Perhaps the weather was less ideal for the fishermen then for the fish. The rain continued to plague us for the rest of the day and the wind churned around us but we were able to maintain control of the boat.
We caught and released about a dozen bass as well as several northern pike by the time we got back to the landing. By this time the wind began to drop and it was easier to fish so I suggested we fish the water were we first started.
Paul Valle shows off the last two fish he and the author caught at the same on a stormy fall day.
We were throwing our Chatterbaits towards a weed bank while we sat in deeper water again. I looked over at Paul to see him pull back on his spinning rod and it began to bounce. “I think this is a good fish,” Paul said.
The fish ran off and he turned it and as he started getting it coming toward the boat the fish dove and took off again.
I was reeling in my line to get it out of the way when I felt a fish slam my bait. It put up a stubborn fight by the time I got it splashing next to the boat. I reached over and grabbed the fish, hauling it in the boat. It was fat, fifteen inch bass. Paul was still fighting his fish but soon had it next to the boat.
Paul’s fish was another bass, measuring eighteen inches which would be the largest of the day. Catching two fish at the same time seemed like a good way to end the day. All the bass we caught were over fourteen inches and each one of them was fat and chunky.
Fall is a great time to be fishing regardless of what fish you are after. But for bass this next month will have some of the best, quality fishing of the season. Bass are fattening up for the cold weather of late fall and winter. That means they are going to be feeding aggressively. For us fishermen that is good news.
Late fall is the time to catch bass like the one that Mike is holding.
The storms of autumn will not be hinder these fish either. As violent as the weather can be this time of year, bass in particular as well as northern pike, muskies, and walleyes will continue to feed with abandon regardless of how bad the weather may get. In some cases it seems that bass as well as other fish will be the most active in the worst weather. It sounds a bit like duck hunting.
This is also the time for big fish. The biggest bass I catch all year are in the last half of September and the first half of October. My biggest bass I caught several years ago in Wisconsin was a seven pound fish I caught and released just before dark on a cold early October evening.
Since northern pike are in the same water you find bass this is your best chance at a trophy northern as well. The biggest northern pike I have caught was a twenty pound northern I caught and released on the same Wisconsin lake where I caught my biggest bass. After numerous trips to Canada my best northern was caught about a half an hour from my home on a wet and windy mid October afternoon.
This is the time for bad weather and big fish. Be prepared for it and find some of the best fishing of the year in this next month.
Editors Note: Mike Yurk’s column is sponsored by Warner’s Dock in New Richmond, Wisconsin. Warner’s Dock is the premier marine dealer in northwestern Wisconsin. They have a complete supply of new and used boats, motors, and trailers as well as other marine supplies plus a complete maintenance staff for all your boating needs. They can be contacted through their website at www.warnersdock.com or by telephone at 1-888-222-3625.