Fall is one of Pro Angler, Max Wilson’s favorite times to catch walleye on rivers. In this clip, Wilson breaks down how exactly how he likes to target these fish including his favorite bait, cadence, and setup.
Once water temps start to get plummet, we often switch to more reaction style baits like casting cranks and snapping hair jigs. Wilson’s personal favorite bait for river fishing in the fall, and in general, is throwing a blade bait. Walleye feed by different senses – sight, smell, and sound. When you get into turbid rivers, they start to rely less by their sense of sight and go more off of vibration in the water, hearing or feeling bait.
When targeting river walleye, Wilson will position his boat near structure alongside the current so he can cast down, up, or across the current until he figures out where the fish are located. You can work a blade bait several different ways and easily work them fast or slow, so will will try various tactics until he figures out exactly what the fish want. When choosing a blade bait, you want to go as light as possible to be able to work it over any snags and rocks, in this video Wilson is working a 1/4 oz bait. You don’t want to go too heavy because you’ll easily drag the bait right into snags which are always a challenge in river.
To work your blade bait, cast it out, let it hit bottom, reel down, and then do a small pull or pop and repeat. You can also do longer snaps for more vibration. If things seem more finesse, go with smaller raises and pops. A lot of times, fish will eat it on the fall.
Set up you blade bait with a slightly heavier mainline such as 15lb fluorocarbon for improved abrasion resistance since you’ll be fishing a lot of rocky areas and the added stiffness will help you get more action out of the bait. For the backer, braid is a great option so you can feel everything the bait is doing. A long medium light, extra fast rod works well for this presentation. You want a rod with enough of a parabolic to withstand strikes and soft enough to not rip the hook out but with a stout enough backbone to drive hooks home.
If you’re out fishing rivers and find that you’re struggling to get a bite, don’t be afraid to throw a blade bait anytime of the year but especially during the fall.
