The fall
is a great time to get to a river near you and catch
some walleyes as they start to move up towards the head
of the pools or start staging along the various breaks
as they head towards the dams. River walleyes bite all
year, if you know where to look and how to fish for
them. In tailrace areas below the big locks and dam
systems, drift fishing is the method of choice for most
anglers. Concentrate on keeping the boat near places
where the current changes, such as eddies and current
breaks. Watch for moving water; it will contain baitfish
and fish washed through the dam system. The bigger fish
hang out at the edge of the current, where it takes
less energy for them to hold in place, and it is an
ambush place for bait that floats by. Keep an eye out
for rock formations under the surface; these edges might
also hold a few lunker walleyes. In the fall of the
year the turbidity of the water subsides and walleyes
are more visually stimulated as they see food floating
by the slack water areas. This is not to say that all
walleyes see their food before they strike and in some
cases they strike more out of vibration and smell than
they do from visual identification. One reason that
I like to use jigs while fishing for fall walleyes in
a river system is the control an angler has. Vertically
jigging for walleyes gets my blood pumping and believe
me on those cool crisp fall days, when it would be nice
to be on shore burning a campfire, I’ll take the
tug of a walleye before I go to shore.
With the proper head design and weight, jigs are the
most versatile of all river techniques, from the shallowest
flooded cover to the deepest, fastest current. The majority
of river fishing with jigs involves either slipping
the current or drift fishing the current breaks. The
presentation is a simple lift-drop-pause method of jigging,
raising the jig some 3 to 6 " as you slip downstream.
The jigs that I prefer to use are Fireball jigs because
of the rounded head. The rounded head allows the jig
to bump along the bottom and not get hung up in snags
or brush. If you are as vertical as possible the jig
will stand up allowing the hook to be exposed away from
the floor of the river. When you tip the jig with a
fathead minnow the minnow stands up and looks like it
is trying to pick up the jig. As the minnow struggles
against the weight of the jig it sends out wounded signals
and the natural scent attracts the walleyes and allows
them to hang on just that much longer. If the walleyes
seem to be just biting the tails off the minnows the
Fireball offers an additional eye so you can easily
attach a stinger hook. The stinger hook is a great addition
in the cold waters of fall and spring. Colors of the
jigs should be bright in dingy water. Colors such as
fluorescent orange, chartreuse and my all time favorite
gold are great for fishing those fall walleyes. Anytime
that you can bring attention to your bait it will help
you up your odds for catching those fall walleyes. Weights
may range from 1/8 to 1/2 ounces, but usually stay with
the weight that is the lightest so you have contact
with the bottom. River walleyes have a tendency not
to suspend as much as the walleyes in the lake and you
don’t have to worry about missing a strike zone
that is in
the fish column. I will tip my jig with some plastic
if I want to slow down the rate of fall, but current
usually fights gravity faster and defeats the purpose
of vertical jigging. In tailwaters, jig fishing is a
little tougher than live bait rigging for fish. You’ll
need heavier equipment for this type of fishing. Go
with 10 or 12 pound test Sensor and a stout fishing
pole. Your rod should be stout enough to take the abuse
of freezing temperatures, yet sensitive enough to feel
the 1 pound sauger that just took your minnow. Fall
fishing on the Mississippi is just getting underway.
When you get tired of the TV or your mother ? in ? law
pick up you rod and hitch up your boat and do some fishing
below the dams.
