The bite is coming

DUBUQUE — Three weeks ago, my former Cedar Falls neighbor Doug Bonwell needed a partner for the Oct. 1 Anglers Insight Marketing River Series event on the Mississippi River, and he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Turns out that's the only answer we got from the walleyes on Pools 11, 12 and 13.

We spent a day prefishing each pool. We tried crankbaits, willow cats, jigging spoons, hair jigs, bucktail jigs, jigs tipped with plastics and jigs tipped with crawlers. We fished wingdams, closing dams, rip-rap, scour holes, current seams, eddies and the tailwaters below the lock and dams.

We caught one walleye the first day, two each of the next two days and three on tournament day.

We weren't the only ones who failed to put together a productive pattern. The water was clean and warm for October (mid-60s), shad were everywhere and many of the best local anglers on the river struggled. Only half of the 26-team field cracked double digits.

"I'm gonna sell my boat," Bonwell said, muttering. I think he was joking.

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On the other hand, somebody always finds a few cooperative fish, especially in this group of anglers. Dave Flury and Jamey Streif of Dubuque weighed a five walleye limit of 35 pounds for the win. Clayton Freiburger and Robert Freiburger, also of Dubuque, were second with 30.95 pounds. Taylor Steffens and Rick Steffens of Fairfax put 26.88 pounds on their score card for third place.

That was then. Things change quickly in October.

The water has cooled to the upper 50s, and the vegetation is dying off. The shad and baitfish that use the weeds as a sanctuary of sorts through the summer are moving into the main channel and congregating in huge schools with hordes of opportunistic walleyes in pursuit as they fatten up for winter.

These fish have a buffet at their disposal and have all they want to eat, but they can't resist a treat. It's like plucking the last two Tater Tots off your spouse's plate at dinner, going back for seconds when they offer free pizza samples at the local convenience store or sneaking a piece of candy when there's a bowl of goodies sitting on the kitchen counter.

We react, and so do walleyes.

So, while they aren't likely to chase down baits in areas where forage is plentiful, they will react to baits that flash in front of them.

For the past two weeks, a couple of friends and I have been enjoying a consistent bite using blade baits and jigging spoons. Other anglers are doing well with Jigging Rapalas, too. We let the lures sink to the bottom, then snap them sharply upward. As the baits flutter back down, the walleyes and sauger nail them.

Usually, a half-ounce lure is heavy enough, but areas with more current may require more weight. The idea is to maintain contact with the bottom and keep your presentation as vertical as possible whether fishing under the boat or casting upstream and working a bait back to you.

Color is important, too. Overall, gold has shined when it's sunny while firetiger, perch and lime green patterns have been effective when there are clouds moving through.

Personally, I prefer "hard" line like Berkley Fireline or braided line. It provides more feel than monofilament for detecting strikes in current and deep water and, in turn, should produce better hooksets.

It seems like the size of the fish is related to the size of the forage. One area we've been fishing is loaded with three- to four-inch shad and walleyes between 15 and 20 inches. Find larger shad and you'll find larger walleyes.

The fall bite is really just getting started. It's a little later than normal, but it's coming on.

From here on out, I'm not taking no for an answer.