Tournover Trout Fishing
October 7, 2005
When autumn finally arrives, get ready for some hot trout fishing at your local lakes. S o, what’s so sweet about fall anyway? Well, that’s when lakes “turn over” and the fish go on a feeding binge. And when the trout are binging…that’s when you want to be there!
Before we get too far along, let’s take a quick look at what turnover time is all about. In the summer months, lakes around here will stratify, which simply means that the surface temperatures get warm, which in turn, pushes all the cold water down deep. In case you hadn’t noticed, that’s also when trout fishing can get awfully tough. Now, when the weather starts cooling off in the fall, the temperature layers at a lake will begin to mix together (particularly after some cold nights and a good wind). As blending continues, the water will become a uniform temperature and the trout will leave their deep-water haunts and begin actively feeding on or near the surface. Bingo… time to go fishing!
Getting Bit
The fish move close to shore after the turnover and become pretty accessible to bank casters. Get a two-rod stamp (where legal) and throw out an inflated nightcrawler or a minnow under a bobber and then toss a Kastmaster with your other stick.
I prefer to troll this time of year, however, because I can cover so much more water. The good news about fall turnover trolling is you don’t need downriggers or leadcore line.
When rainbows are your target species, you can do well dragging Kastmasters, Dick Nites, Needlefish, Rapalas, Apexes, Little Cleos, Flatfish, J Fair and Sep’s Trolling flies and Wedding Rings, just to name a few. Nightcrawlers behind flashers are also deadly.
Keep your gear 100 feet or more behind the boat and troll anywhere from .5 to 2 mph.
Browns, Too
Fall’s also a great time to hunt for trophy brown trout. Again, trolling is going to be the best bet and you need to give the big dudes something “meaty.”
My all-time favorite big brown baits are jumbo minnows (where legal). I rig them with a light wire hook through the nose and just enough weight on a three-way dropper set up to get them to the bottom.
Drag them slowly along the bottom near rocky outcroppings and drop-offs with an electric motor. You won’t get lots of bites this way, but when you do, it’s going to be a hawg. You can also troll big plugs for salmo trutta.
I really like Lucky Craft 128 pointers in the rainbow trout pattern (great lures, but at $18, they’re a bit pricy) and Rapala Husky Jerks are also good producers. Conventional brown trout fishing wisdom says you should troll at 3 to 4 mph at all times, but don’t be afraid to slow the presentation down - especially when the water temperatures dip down into the 40s. Fish start to get lethargic as the water gets colder and won’t expend the energy to chase down a rapidly-moving plug as often. Regardless of the water temps, you’ll almost always find browns near structure.
As soon as turnover happens at your favorite lake, make plans to get there in a hurry. The first few days can really be hot!
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