The smell of wood smoke has been common this week on Saganaga Lake as the temperatures, and walleyes are both descending. The musky aroma of wet fire unable to rise above the fog is a bittersweet reminder that the season is almost over.
Saganaga Lake walleyes begin descending into deeper water as the temperatures drop, and this week has forced them as deep as 42 feet. The hot bite has been between 25 and 35 feet, and night crawlers have been the bait of choice. A 3/8-ounce jig head tipped with half of a night crawler has been hard to beat, with white and chartreuse producing the most bites.
When walleyes are loitering in these depths, the most productive way to fish for them is to hover. Vertical presentations, whether jig heads or live-bait rigs, are my favorite way to target deep fish because the bait stays in the strike zone for a long time. Walleyes are not always aggressive, and they tend to school together on small spots this time of year. Many anglers prefer trolling bottom bouncers and covering more ground, but fish need to be active enough to chase a bait for this to work effectively.
The annual fall descent of the Saganaga Lake walleye is very predictable and fish will often use the same spots every year to feed before winter. They are still affected by the changing weather, just like they are in June, and tend to get shy during the ensuing cold fronts. It has been hard to get more than a few bites on each spot before the fish scatter and become skittish. Their behavior is a reflection of the weather, and the cold temperatures have not been favorable for the bite. We still managed to catch a dozen each day, but it took a lot of spots with a “run and gun” style of fishing that was mastered by my late friend Dennis Todd.
Not everyone appreciated Dennis’s unique style of combat fishing, especially when he would spend less than a minute on some spots, but it worked. He would pick off the active fish on each spot without disturbing the school of fish. Dennis would return to the same spot multiple times throughout the day but only fish it long enough to catch one, then move. It was certainly annoying to watch, and hear, his boat zigging and zagging around the lake all day, but it works, and I find myself practicing a slightly less aggressive method each fall when the walleyes descend.
Cory Christianson has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing or wildlife reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@hotmail.com or call 218- 388-0315. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
Leave a Reply