Every year in the
Midwest there is this awkward time between open water and ice. Many anglers put
the rods away and park on the couch.
Fish can be caught during this time, especially walleyes.
Around the dams of the Fox River each fall are walleyes. The best approach is
having an industrial pair of neoprene and getting out there with them. If the conditions are right they can also be
caught from shore.
We started fishing in the dark to make sure we had the top
shore spots. I would have preferred to wade however it is time to retire my old
Hodgemens. This pair is more Shoe Goo then neoprene at this point and it is
always a gamble if they are going to leak each time out.
Since it was in the teens when we arrived a layered dress
approach was needed. I had 3 bottom layers four top layers, two pairs of
gloves, hand warmers, and of course a Beard Head.
We used our live bait drift rigs. These rigs consist of a
Raven float, Raven shot or similar, Raven specialist hooks.(octopus hooks size
four or six) The rod I used was a Bass Pro Shop 8.5ft Float and Fly rod paired
with a Shimano Reel. For more details on this rig click here.
We managed to catch about 15 fish between us. That sure beat
sitting on the couch. The walleyes were small but we had continuous action for
a couple hours. When you find yourself stuck in angler’s purgatory grab your
longest spinning rod some quality floats and some live bait and get yourself
some late fall live bait walleyes.
