by Lance Merz, October 29, 2014

Most fishing anglers would agree that just being on or near the water
is serenity at its best. It’s muchbetter however, if you’re catching
fish. The weather is changingdramatically and all the animals are feeding themselves as much as they can to survive the winter. Fishing during the fall months can be challenging based upon environmental conditions that can change from one extreme to another on a daily basis.

Fall is my favorite season, the days are warm and the nights are
brisk. These temperatures can vary depending on the location of which
you live in. The same holds true for the body of water that you are fishing in. Fish know when the seasons are changing and they act accordingly. I was invited to go Walleye fishing a week ago and learned some valuable lessons. Fishing for this type of fish can be very good in the fall because they are a predator fish. They are frequently found near the bottom and can become somewhat dormant with high temperatures. When they feel winter coming on however, they become more active to fill up their “feed bags”, biting at anything that looks like food. Depending on the water temperature, they can also be finicky.

There were four of us from the Mack’s Lure family fishing for Walleye one day in October and I was using a Double Whammy® Walleye Series, a 1.5” Chartreuse Green Tiger Smile Blade® with a yellow chartreuse and florescent green bead color pattern. My live bait was a night crawler. The Double Whammy shakes the worm with a plug-like wiggle action, even at speeds under 1 mph, which is what we were doing. The exaggerated 3” spacing between the hooks is deadly for light biters, short strikers or extremely aggressive feeders. Placing the head of the night crawler on the first hook while trolling, presents an enticing and delectable meal for any fish. Of the four of us, I was catching the most fish. It wasn’t for a lack of them trying however; the walleye were just more enticed by that particular color I used that day.

The outside temp was 73 degrees and the water temp was 66 degrees. It was telling my mentors that the fish weren’t ready to fill up their
“feed bags”, and the fish weren’t biting as heavy because there was still plenty of food available in the lake. I was told that when the water temperature drops significantly, the foliage at the bottom usually dies and the food becomes more scarce.

Whether you’re fishing for Walleye, Steelhead, Trout or Bass, change the color presentation you’re fishing with and find out what the fish like. Take into consideration the water temperature of where you’re fishing. It can make all the difference in the world.