Two Tactics For More Fall Walleyes
Gary Parsons talks casting and trolling
by Lake-Link Staff"The glide bait bite typically starts in the summer when the water temps are 60 degrees and above," says former PWT champ and The Next Bite TV host, Gary Parsons.
"But in the fall I'll start catching fish on Shiver Minnows again when the water temps range from about 40 degrees down into the 30s. And obviously, you can catch fish on them through the ice."
Two Ways to Fish Glide Baits
Parsons says there are two schools of thought for fishing glide baits like the Moonshine Lures Shiver Minnow."First, the rage is using forward-facing sonar to make short, 20- to 40-foot casts right on top of walleyes, potentially deadly if those fish are pegged to structure," explains Parsons.
As a case study, Parsons cites Lake Oahe in South Dakota, where there mile to two mile stretches of water where anglers cast glide baits and catch a lot of fish.
"This kind of run-and-gun, cover water casting can be more effective than using forward-facing sonar and making sniper-style casts. And, if you are going to use forward-facing sonar, set it out to 100 feet and as soon as a fish shows up cast way out to it from a long distance to minimize spooking."
Don't Put Away the Leadcore
Although leadcore gets a lot of use in summer, the tendency is to put those line-counter reels and rods away when the temps drop in autumn."In lakes, I target the same areas I'd fish with Shiver Minnows. I'll clip on minnow-profile cranks or Flicker Shads and you'd be surprised how many walleyes you catch even though the water temps might be down below 45 degrees."
In particular, Parsons and The Next Bite crew worked on a bait specifically for deeper summer and fall walleyes. Called the Deep Hit Stick, it's one of Berkley's newest tournament-winning cranks.
Parsons is also a big fan of the Berkley Money Badger when water temps hover from 35 to 40 degrees.
"Talk about fun," concludes Parsons. "Fall walleye fishing can be just outstanding and you don't have any lake traffic to contend with."