Trophy Fish Season

• Posted on 14 September 2022
• By Pascal Rainville
• 0

Tips and tricks for harvesting trophy fish during the fall season.

The season for monsters...

During a period where many transition from fishing to hunting, storing all fishing gear feeling the cooler weather slowly settling in, they forget that the moment for a trophy fish is happening as we speak.. Whether it’s for walleye, northern pike, muskylunge or bass all these species are beginning to feed heavily to bulk up before winter where their activity level goes almost to zero. 

During this period you will observe that fish rely primarily on baitfish as it gives them the best nutrition to low effort ratio. Later they will go back to shellfish and craws that are still crawling on bottom before ice settles in and closes the surface like a temporary lid. 

A few key points will be crucial to a better success during these times.

1. One will be to target all structures that holds heat: trees, rocks, cement/concrete structures and docks. As much as they hold heat they also serve as ambush points for predatory fish.

2. Second point, all back bays and flats will become will become very important as they will be used by fish to corral baitfish and slowly feed on them.

3. Last point will be to target all creeks and rivers that feed your bodies of water as they will be the last places to maintain a good habitat with a healthy level of oxygen. 

Historically, all guides and avid anglers will tell you that it is the best time to catch the fish of a lifetime, aside from a small window around the spawn period. 

Here is an excellent selection of lures for the fall season.

Bass: https://www.larcherot.com/fc/bladed-jig.html https://www.larcherot.com/us/whipper-snapper-110.html https://www.larcherot.com/us/football-jig.html   Walley: https://www.larcherot.com/us/search/flicker+shad/ https://www.larcherot.com/us/powerbait-maxscent-flatnose-minnow-4-10-pack.html https://www.larcherot.com/us/search/death+shad/   Pike: https://www.larcherot.com/us/double-willow-lead-spinnerbait-double-silver-blade.html https://www.larcherot.com/us/rac-spoons.html https://www.larcherot.com/us/m-carna-striker-8-pouces.html

Knowing how a trophy fish deserves to be immortalized, I would like to remind all that a good way to do so is with good photos and videos, taking measurements of the length and girth with good manipulation and a quick release. To push things even further, many companies like Advanced Taxidermy will do fiberglass reproductions of you fish down to smallest details, hand painted with the pictures you provide. 

All this to say that even if hunting season is pretty much here and kicked off in some zones, keep your fishing gear close by as you never know when the next cast will give you the fish of a lifetime! 

Enjoy the fall and fish on! 

Author Pascal Rainville Coached by his father since he was a little boy, he learned a lot about conservation and basic multi-species techniques. Passionate and specialist in bass fishing for more than 10 years, Pascal Rainville is the founder of the Bearded Bass Projekt. A multimedia platform dedicated to bass fishing and conservation education. You can find him live, every Monday, on Facebook for his bass fishing column. Adviser and responsible for all fishing gear purchases at the Archerot shop, he assists and educates customers every day of the week. If he is not at the store, we find him on the Quebec water bodies!