Fall fishing

[Guest]

With Fall seeming to want to spring early this year, (that could be the strangest sentence I've written today!) what's the first change you make in your approach?

 

A bigger fly? A slower presentation? Deeper?

 

I tend to use streamers more often in the Fall because most of my fishing is in the Ohio River, and the fish start to squeeze the Shad and Shiners into the shallows for some gluttonous feeding! On the streams I start to go with larger nymphs.

[Guest]

Down here in Louisiana you can still definitely call it warmwater, water really won't cool down very far until mid-December usually. Then it it is smaller and slower for whatever you are using. Hits are fewer and not a as aggressive. During most of the fall, Sept through mid Nov, i'll probably be chasing the redfish and speckled trout, then i'll try targeting those picky bass & panfish, when nobody else around here is trying for them.

 

Mark Delaney

[Dble Haul 0]

I fish more aggressively in the fall than I do in the summertime. If anything, I think that the dog days and high temperatures can put fish into a bit of a funk. The cooling waters of autumn signal the impending winter and the fish get pretty active, so my presentations are usually quicker and more direct.

 

And remember, just because it's cold outside doesn't mean that the fish won't bite....with the exception of fronts and their effects, it's water temps that are important, not air temps.

[rougetrout 0]

I always fish more and harder in the fall. In the summer the fish are not pleasent most of the day because of the heat or intense light...that is why fall is good.

[Guest]

I have a problem with fall Smallmouth fishing for some reason. In my favorite stream usually from the middle of august through the fall it literally gets bone dry and has little running water. The stream is filled with riffles that dump into these big deep dark holes of water as big as a football fields that cannot be waded because of steep banks that drop right off into deep water. I would need a pontoon or some other watercraft to be able to fish it but then I don't really like fishing stillwater that much.

[Guest]

QUOTE (chemprof2001 @ Aug 23 2004, 08:00 PM)

Down here in Louisiana you can still definitely call it warmwater, water really won't cool down very far until mid-December usually. Then it it is smaller and slower for whatever you are using. Hits are fewer and not a as aggressive. During most of the fall, Sept through mid Nov, i'll probably be chasing the redfish and speckled trout, then i'll try targeting those picky bass & panfish, when nobody else around here is trying for them. Mark Delaney

Smaller flies? That's a surprise! I'd always followed the advice of giving the fish a meal that matches the size that prey should be after growing all Spring and Summer. I'm gonna try smaller this Fall to see what happens.

[Guest]

QUOTE (SmallieHunter @ Aug 24 2004, 10:40 AM)

I have a problem with fall Smallmouth fishing for some reason. In my favorite stream usually from the middle of august through the fall it literally gets bone dry and has little running water. The stream is filled with riffles that dump into these big deep dark holes of water as big as a football fields that cannot be waded because of steep banks that drop right off into deep water. I would need a pontoon or some other watercraft to be able to fish it but then I don't really like fishing stillwater that much.

Can you get a drift of the head of the pool with a long cast?

[Guest]

Well I have heard that the stream I fish has already reached these low levels this year but of course I haven't been to it since my accident. Last year when I tried to fish it, it seems impossible but that could have been the fact it was my first season fly fishing. Hopefully I will get a chance to try it out this fall and try your suggestion.

[Guest]

By the time I usually get to fishing the bass & smallmouth (Thanksggiving onward...) most of the insect activity has died down and the water has started to get colder (if you can ever call the water down here "cold"). If I was fishing during early fall, I'd stick with the patterns I'd been using all summer, there is no real difference in temperatures until the end of September (which just means it finally gets below 90 F). this summer the average high has been 97...the water is definitely warm. Even the Gulf of Mexico is 85+ F at the moment (hoping not to see any tropical storms or hurricanes come this way, if they do, it is likely to be bad). so in late November and December when i quit fishing the redfish 7 speckled trout for maybe 1-2 months, I'll go smaller and slower...I've already tried fast and large and it didn't work at all!

 

Mark Delaney

[cornmuse 0]

QUOTE

I tend to use streamers more often in the Fall because most of my fishing is in the Ohio River, and the fish start to squeeze the Shad and Shiners into the shallows for some gluttonous feeding! On the streams I start to go with larger nymphs

 

Now luvinbluegills, we're going to have to make a serious effort to fish together. I live in Cincinnati and fish the Ohio often (along with the GMR and its trib and the LMR, etc...). Yes, October means 'wipers and there are only two patterns that I swear by for that application. The Whitlock Sheep Shad is my number one producer and accounted for 9 fish over 30" last year. I also use a tie of my own devising called a "Simple Shad" which is a deer hair shad imitation that I fish on top or with a Teeny sink tip. Both of these patterns are also great for smallmouth. I will be tying the Simple Shad for the North Coast Fly Fishers at their monthly meeting on September 1 in Cleveland, where I am scheduled to speak about smallmouth fishing in Ohio.

 

That said, as the waters cool I gravitate towards a larger fly pattern to imitate the quick growing young-of-the-year bait species. Juvenille carp are about 3" long and are well imitated using a "Marabou Goldfish Deceiver". This is a Robb Nicewonger pattern that you can find here - http://globalflyfisher.com/streamers/guest...d_deceiver.html

 

This is an awesome pattern for river smallies and also does a nice job on channel cats for me.

 

Faster retrieves are the rule until water temps fall below 60. Also I like to fish shallow at this time of the year, so the constant companion from spring through summer - my 15' Type V sink tip- is usually left in the vest. This changes, of course, for the stripers which are usually bigger if you go a little deeper.

 

This time of the year I also like to throw a gray-over-white clouser with holo eyes. This is a great generic baitfish imitation that does a good job imitating shiners and chubs. Toss it under a trico hatch and you might be surprised what happens!

 

My most productive smallmouth bass pattern is a variation of the Foxee Red Clouser that I have dubbed the "Mixed Media". I will also be tying this in Cleveland (and likely in Indianapolis in November). I will try to photograph this pattern and post it here later this week. This fly is a GREAT crayfish imitation, and not bad at sculpin and johnny darters - both vital midwest baitfish species.

 

Most aquatic insects are at their smallest size for the year, so I pretty much give up on nymphs unless I am in water that shows promise for dragonfly, damsels, or helgramites. Terrestrials are a different story and this can be a good time for hoppers, crickets and beetles.

 

Tight Lines!

 

Joe C.

[Guest]

I can tell from this post that we are gonna HAVE to fish together sometime! The 1 1/2 to 2" Gizzard Shad have just begun showing up in great numbers over the last week, but the only consistent bites have been by jumping feeding schools of Wipers. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing...

 

 

...EXCEPT I DON'T HAVE A BOAT!!

 

Yes, I have been getting wet!

[Esox 0]

Just like in the spring, I look for some nice shallow dirty water that will be warmer than the rest of the body of water I am fishing. Unlike in spring, I start using bigger baits. As fall progresses, the last few patches of weeds that are still green can hold a bunch of fish in a small area.