Ohio Valley Outdoors Magazine

Don't overlook late-season fishing

By Freddie McKight

It is a warm day for November, with the temperatures near the 70-degree mark, much warmer than I prefer for hunting. Weighing my options, I decide that I might be better off going to the river and trying to catch some late season walleyes on this day. The heat will have animals bedded up, moving only under the cover of darkness rather than during legal shooting hours.

It does not take long to gather some gear for the fall fishing adventure and, in less time than it takes to rig up my climbing treestand for a hunt, I am on my way to a large river to fish.
Not surprisingly I am the only one out on this stretch of river and have the pick of places to go to myself. Stopping at a pull-off spot along the road, I make my way to a known wintertime hotspot hoping that the fish have already made their way to this deep pool to spend the winter.
My first cast of the night dimples the water as the small jig breaks the surface. I only make two pumps of the rod before the lure gets hammered. The fish is strong and fights hard, but stays deep and out of sight. I suspect long before I see it that the fish is a smallmouth bass, and I have guessed correctly. It is a good bass for these waters too, about 18 inches long. The jig is removed from the fish and it returns to the water in good shape.

The action is fairly consistent all evening long and even into the nighttime hours. Most of the fish are smallmouth bass, but there are a few walleye as well. A small musky gives me quite a startle when it hits the lure as I am about to bring it out of the water. I think I am as wet as the fish after this encounter, as it sprays water all over me. Even though it is November, the cold water feels good on this rather warm day and it reminds me that, if I had gone bowhunting I would probably be as wet from the profuse sweat from walking and putting up my treestand.

Opportunities for late fall and early winter fishing are abundant, but this may be the least fished time of the year. The reasoning is simple, since about 70 percent of sportsmen are crossovers, meaning that they both hunt and fish. With hunting seasons underway, a majority of these sportsmen hang up their fishing gear to participate in the hunting seasons. That means lots of open water for those who still wish to wet their lines.

Given the warm fall and winter weather we have been experiencing the past few seasons, the conditions for fishing at this time of the year simply could not be better. Taking the time to enjoy such an opportunity could result in some of the best and most memorable fishing action that you could possibly enjoy.

Looking at locations, I prefer to fish rivers simply because that is where the fish I seek are the most predictable. Smallmouth and walleye seek out the deeper spots where they will winter. Active fish will move to either end of the pool to feed and that is where I like to key in on them, but rivers are not the only places to seek out opportunities.
Lakes provide some good action, especially the smaller and shallower varieties. Usually these warm spells last only a few days and it can take a week or more for such warm weather to make a positive effect on the larger bodies of water. In the smaller lakes, the fish will move into shallow areas, much the same as if it were spring, to take advantage of the warmer weather. The same can be said for ponds where fish will often be stacked up in the shallows and in a feeding mood.

Small streams should not be overlooked either, as they can provide their share of action in warmer weather periods. Trout, bass, panfish and other species that live in these small waters can often be found in the deeper pools, just like their cousins in the larger rivers. I once caught an extra-large brown trout from a small stream that I could nearly step across during a late December trip. The weather was unusually warm and I had already run out of deer tags, so I could not resist wetting a line that day. It resulted in the biggest brown trout I have ever caught in Pennsylvania and a memory that will last a lifetime.

One area in particular to fish during this time period is below a lock or dam. I can think of no other manmade obstruction that offers fish stacked in areas like cordwood. You put that many fish in one location and competition will reign for food, resulting in high angler success. I know on many of the larger rivers in the region that walleye, bass and even catfish are frequently caught at these locations, right up until the areas can no longer be fished due to snow and ice.

On those bluebird days when it seems too hot to hunt or you have all of your tags filled, you should be out there trying to take a limit of these fish. I can’t think of a better time to catch them for eating purposes than in the cold water when the fillets will be firm. You never know when the opportunity is going to arise for such an adventure and, while fishing can be good during those cold spells, it just seems to be better with a few days of the warmer weather hanging around. Instead of grumbling about how bad the hunting is then, put away your gun or bow and pick up your fishing rod instead. A handful of jigs and lures will suffice to make your day on the water a memorable one.