Just in case you haven't noticed, fall has arrived. Cool nights, a shorter period of daylight and falling water temperatures kick-start a transition within our lakes that takes place until ice-up.
Although fish may still fall prey to a fat, writhing nightcrawler or the hypnotic undulation of a leech, their forage preference changes like the leaves. Minnows gradually become the bait of choice and even small or medium-sized fish won't shy away from a large bait.
Fall is also a great time to utilize minnows because they're much easier to store compared to the summer months. So long as your bucket isn't in direct sunlight, minnows can survive for several days with little maintenance. And as the fall progresses and temperatures drop even further, this becomes even easier.
Anglers heading to the lakes between the ever-popular fall hunting trips will find that most species of fish are attracted to minnows. Locating schools of active fish is the first step, placing a lively minnow in front of their snout is the second.
Walleye
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Both Fireball jigs and Roach rigs are perfect presentation methods when using a minnow. Common minnow choices for walleye this time of year include redtails, shiners and even sucker minnows. Some of the minnows that work best are closer in size to the perch or sunfish you see swimming around the dock, but 6-, 7-, or even 8-inch minnows get walleye excited. The fish want a big meal, not just a snack.
Pike and muskie
Northern and muskie readily engulf minnows throughout the season, but again, bigger is often better. Remember those gigantic minnows you saw in the bait shop tank that surely must be only for novelty purposes? Those are the minnows to use if you want to catch a monster, lake-legend pike or muskie. You know, the ones given pet names by all the anglers who have witnessed or lost a battle with that particular fish. BIG fish. Just remember to use an equally large hook or the attempt to use the big bait effectively is futile.
Bass
Both largemouth and smallmouth go wild for minnows in the fall. Though some bass will cruise shallow waters, searching for small schools of wandering minnows, others will inhabit the deep weedlines, flats, humps and bars looking for massive schools of deep-water baitfish. Although bass have the capacity to take a rather large bait, which can and does happen, a 3- to 5-inch minnow is a good all-around size for both largemouth and smallmouth.
Crappie
Fall crappie love to eat minnows. And what better minnow for catching big slab crappie then the appropriately named crappie minnow. Fatheads and even small sucker minnows sometimes entice big crappies, but for the best action, ask for a scoop of crappie minnows. Out of all minnow varieties, crappie minnows are the cheapest; an incentive for anglers. However, they will die rather quickly without aeration. A $5-$10 investment in a portable aerator is an effective and economical solution.
