By Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach Program Manager
Over the years I have come to love fall fishing. I consider it to be the best period of open-water fishing and I spend as much or more time on the water each fall as I do any other season. This year was no exception.
If you spend time on the water, somewhere around the end of August you will start to notice fish behavior and fishing patterns shifting towards fall. About that time I get serious about fall fishing. For several weeks I do not necessarily report on every trip and catch. Time to give a review:
My fall fishing typically follows a progression. While the water is still summer-time warm, warmwater species are usually my target:
Did not spend a lot of time pursuing flathead catfish, but early every fall I like to catch a few. Although they may not be large by flatty standards, they still are really nice fish!
A few weeks later I had an opportunity to travel “out west”. Got to fish some of my favorite Nebraska trout waters while I was out there.
Dried off a couple of species of trout:
As the waters cool, I am more likely to target coolwater species. I try for a big walleye or two every fall. Did not catch any big ones this fall, but did see a walleye or three in the net:
Wipers, especially big wipers, are definitely coolwater fish. Although the challenge is always catching up with the ever-roaming schools, the wiper bite usually picks up in the fall!
Seldom do I target panfish in autumn, but I certainly am not disappointed with the bycatch of a few nice ones!
Finally, late fall, waters cool to a point just above freezing. Don’t mean nothing, just shift back to coldwater fish!
Yes, this blog post was very pic heavy. I do that not to brag, but to demonstrate the variety of fish that can be caught from Nebraska waters, especially in the fall!
By the way, all of them were caught without a boat, all from public waters, and all were released! They are still out there to catch!
I am waiting, hoping for ice now. However, if the water stays liquid, there is nothing that says I am done catching fish from open water this year! Stay tuned. . . .