Now that October has arrived, the hunt for walleyes begins in earnest. Though they are catching some now, it will get better. The first rise in the river will get the walleyes going. If it is not in the form of rain, the lowering of the Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam is usually enough to spark it to some degree.
The Shikellamy State Park is scheduled to start removing docks the week of Oct. 4. This usually takes about a week. If all goes well, they expect to start lowering the dam bags the following week. After Lake Augusta is drained, they usually test and check the bags, putting them up and down several times. This makes the walleye anglers nuts because the walleyes relate to the current and putting the bags up and down changes the current flow and direction. If you are out there fishing below the Adam Bower Dam during this time, you must pay attention to what is going on with the dam. Raising and lowering the bags is not an exact science. At a certain point in the deflation, the bags may dip and the change in direction and flow can come quickly. Eventually the bags will be down for good and the walleye will set up in traditional areas.
If the water level remains low, the better fishing will be a little ways downstream, below the lowhead power dam at the power plant. Remember to stay away from either dam. At the Adam Bower Dam, boats must stay at least 50 feet away from below the dam, 200 feet away from the upstream side. At the lowhead power plant dam, boats must stay one hundred feet away from the downstream side and two hundred feet away from the upstream side. Fish commission officers patrol these areas regularly and you could be fined.
Gear and tackle for walleye fishing is fairly simple. Medium or medium light rods in the 6- to 7-foot range work well. The higher dollar rods are more sensitive, but there are reasonably priced rods on the market that do an adequate job. A smooth reel with 8-pound test is the norm, though some anglers drop to 6- or even 4-pound test. I stick with 8 because I hate losing big fish. Some use 10-pound test, but most feel that they get a better presentation with a thin 8-pound.
In the live bait department, drifting a shiner or nightcrawler with a couple split shot up the line a foot or more works. A minnow or crawler on a painted jighead is also a standby.
Most fall walleye anglers use jigs and plastics. One-eighth-and one-quarter-ounce jigs are usually all you need, along with a handful of soft plastic twister tailed grubs or bell tailed plastic shad. Smoke, motoroil and chartreuse or variations thereof are the popular colors.
Another weapon that is unique to our walleye fishery is the shallow running floating stickbait. Straight floating Rapalas, Rebels and similar lures are a staple of the nocturnal angler. During daylight, the jigs usually work better. As light fades at dusk, the shallow running plugs often get the nod. Our walleyes will readily come up off the bottom and smack a slowly retrieved minnow-shaped lure, especially at night.
Now’s the time for some Pennsylvania surf and turf, fresh venison and fresh filet d’ walleye.
-- Ken Maurer, Herndon, is a licensed fishing guide and a regular contributor to the Outdoors section. Contact at kenrose@tds.net.
Sports
October walleyes
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H.S. softball: A great team by any other name
