As the leaves begin to change, the ducks begin to fly and stadiums begin to fill with football fans the thoughts of walleye begin to move to the backs of even the most hardcore angler’s minds. However, some of the best fishing of the year is just starting to begin. As the water temperatures begin to drop the fish are going to start moving from their deeper summer haunts to shallower more predictable areas. This puts fish within reach of shore anglers again and allows boat anglers to move out of more basin type areas and onto structure that is easier to pattern and predict.
Fall walleye anglers in search of their own touchdown will be spending as much time as possible in the “red zone”. The red zone is the final 20% of the field where a team is most likely to score. This applies to fishing as well. The best anglers are looking to fish in that 20% of the water that they are most likely to hit a giant fish. This area can be selected by looking for multiple attributes that make certain spots better than the rest of the lake. The different attributes we are looking for are depth, structure, and wind direction.
The first thing we are looking for is depth. This can be established well before heading to the lake, saving time on the water. Lake contour maps are now widely available in a variety of ways. Many state management agencies, such as South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, have lake contour maps available for free on their website.
Maps are also available from a variety of other sources such as Navionics, Lake Master or Sportsman’s Connection. I also find my Mike’s Maps highly beneficial in finding structure that can concentrate fish. These are available at a cost: however, they often have more structure, fishing information and are often available on your smartphone or graph and coordinate with your personal location when you are on the water.
I like to look for a couple different types of areas when it comes to depth. I am mainly looking for shorelines that have abrupt depth changes. This could be an area that the shoreline drops sharply off into deep water, a long shallow point that drops into deep water or old road beds or field lines that have steep ditches, culverts or some other sort of dramatic depth changes.
Another area to look is shallow humps in the middle of the lake that drop off to deeper water. These humps are more attractive when they have a bit of a stair-step so it may top out at 4-6ft, have a lip at 8-10ft and then drop off to 12-14ft or more. This stair step allows fish to sit on a variety of areas and there is a higher percentage chance that there will be both active and neutral fish on it, as opposed to just active fish.
The important thing for all of these spots is that it is adjacent to deep water. This is because the walleye are looking for a spot that they can sit in when the sun is high, weather is poor or they simply are not active and want to save energy. The ability for them to then move a short distance and then go on the hunt for prey is important. Often times the bite window for these large walleye is very short. This is because they move up, feed quickly and aggressively and then slide back out. The short bite window makes being in the red zone at all times critical.
Benefits Package
Once the best depth areas are selected it is time to go in and find which ones are going to be good and which ones are going to be great. Imagine being offered a job by two companies. They are both the same type of work and same salary. The only difference is one offers health insurance, 401k, and paid vacation. The other does not. The benefits package makes one job good, but the other one great. Everyone is going to favor the one that is great. The same concept applies to walleye fishing location.
The presence of rocks, weeds or other types of structures can make one spot exceptionally better than the other. I like to look for at least one of these elements, but the more the better. Weed beds that are still green are usually a consistent element as baitfish will use these areas and the abundant life will attract predators. Rocky shorelines, points or humps are always a good option especially when these rocks are of varying sizes or extend out into the deeper water.
Another element that rocks bring is late in the season they will capture heat from the sun and fish will move up onto them once the sun goes down looking to capitalize on the warmth they provide in the cool water. Other elements could include: road beds with a hard bottom, rip rap areas or even sunken timber. The important thing is that the more elements working together the better the area is going to be.
One of my favorite fall walleye spots has a rocky shoreline, an old field edge that comes up to a 6 feet weed flat and then drops out to deeper water at 12 feet. The depth change is ideal but the presence of rocks, weeds and an old culvert makes this spot exceptional.
The type of structure also has an effect on the spot as well. A rocky shoreline that has an ideal, uniform contour can still have variations. If there is different sized rocks the walleye may prefer the larger rocks or boulders while smallmouth bass may prefer an area that has smaller rocks. These small differences can have a huge effect on the type and/or size of fish that use that area.
Fish Where the Wind Takes You
Once the best areas have been determined by the above permanent factors, the final decider on what will be the best spot at the best time will be the wind. I always want to fish areas that the wind is blowing into. The wind is one of the most important factors when fishing for walleyes whether you are on a Missouri River reservoir, a large natural lake or wind swept prairie potholes. I personally feel that on the Glacial Lakes of eastern South Dakota the wind should make every decision on both location and presentation.
The wind has an effect in multiple ways. The first is that the waves created by wind are going to break up light penetration, making the water column below darker. Yellow perch, one of the main prey species of walleye, are exceptionally light oriented. They are most active and feeding when the sun is out because they are made to see and be active when conditions are bright.
Walleye, on the contrary, are meant to feed in more low light conditions. This is because they have more rods, the part of the eye for seeing in low light conditions, than their prey. They also have a tapetum lucidum. This is the part of the eye that creates the shine we see when a deer is in-front of headlights or when a headlamp is pointed at a walleye once the sun goes down. The role of it is to capture any and all available light in the area and harness it so that the creature can see in low light or dark situations. The shine is present when there is an overabundance of light in the environment, such as the above situations.
The wind breaking up light penetration makes it more of an environment suited for walleye to be foraging and taking advantage of their ability to see when their prey cannot. The wind also can create mudlines when it is strong enough. In this situation the waves have been crashing on a shoreline and eroding away mud, sand or other materials and they end up in the water creating a pronounced “line” that further reduces light penetration. These factors can make walleye extremely active, even if it is in the middle of afternoon on a bright sunny day, a situation we would not expect walleye to be active shallow.
The wind also concentrates bait. The invertebrates in the water column will be concentrated toward the shoreline that the wind is crashing into. The minnows, juvenile fish and other species will follow their food to where it is blown and the predators will be following them.
Another trend I found fishing eastern South Dakota is that white bass have a tremendous effect on walleye location; in particular, small white bass. A common phrase I hear is “white bass are always on the wind-blown shoreline” and I have found this is extremely accurate. When I am targeting trophy walleye whenever I am catching, having my lure bumped or in some cases incidentally snagging small white bass, anywhere from 3-6 inches, large walleye are often not far behind. I firmly believe that these trophy class walleye love eating these white bass as they are abundant, a worth-while meal and easy enough to catch.
The beautiful thing about fall walleye fishing is that there is opportunity for everyone. The fish are up shallow making them accessible for shore anglers. This is convenient for hunters who want to get a few casts in between scouting trips or anglers that do all their fishing from shore. There also is numerous opportunities for boat anglers looking to spend all day on the water. Good fishing!
Related Readings
Once you’ve found your Red Zone to fish, it’s time to run the right play to catch these monsters. In the following article and video series, I talk about the types of presentations I like to deploy on these red zone walleyes.
When you’re looking for trophy caliber walleyes, you are going to struggle to find a bait that is truly too big. I discuss the bait size I select when targeting trophy caliber fish wherever they swim in Over-sized Baits for Over-sized Fall Walleye.
Related Videos
In the first video, I detail the type of structure you are looking for fall walleyes on.
In the second video, I discuss my two favorite lures and when I select each one.
In the third video, I discuss how to increase the life of your crankbaits and fish them the most effectively!
In the fourth video, we discuss the importance of knowing the specifications of your lures and how to make sure all your components are correct.
In the fifth video, we discuss the variety of other lures available on the market that can be effective in catching walleye.
Finally, learn more about casting crankbaits for fall walleye!
