Cool water temps finally mean… big minnow season

And successfully filling a fall wild turkey tag

Steve Carney

Fall turkey hunting is a matter of chance. Our statewide population is excellent, and turkeys remain the game bird of the future. I constantly have turkeys around my various archery deer hunting treestands. They’re usually coming in around a half hour before sunset, then casually make their way eating and browsing in the vicinity.

Every fall I bag my turkey in different ways. You never know when the opportunities will come. Recently I was by my truck taking my safety harness off after a morning bow sit, and I watched a dozen turkeys running along a treeline about 100 yards from my spot. They were partially hidden by the tall grass, but I could see their white heads popping up and down.

My shotgun was in my pickup, so I grabbed it and walked stealthily in their direction and stalked them for about 50 yards. I downed a healthy tom.

Turkeys are just like walleyes. They like to follow edges so once you see the direction they are going, try to get ahead of them and cut them off. They rarely change direction but rather go in a straight direction most of the time.

Since that encounter I have had numerous turkeys walking by my ground blinds within easy bow range, but now I watch them walk and am glad I connected.

Now I have Thanksgiving dinner!

Big minnow time

The walleye fishing right now is the best I have seen in many seasons. The water temperatures dropped to 55 degrees and that really turned on the walleye bite.

Cooling water temperatures have activated the autumn walleye bite across the state. The trick for catching them? Small jigs and big minnows. Photo by Steve Carney

Walleyes prefer large minnows by mid-fall, so I use mostly sucker minnows in the 3-inch length. The key is to use a 1⁄16-ounce jig head with a hatchet-style hook.

An itty-bitty jig head actually is neutrally buoyant and often stays a few feet high off the bottom. No need to use anything heavier because you don’t need to always feel the bottom.

The weight of the large minnow is plenty of weight on its own. The tiny jig head plows right through any weeds. You can also bury the hook inside the head of the minnow to be completely weed-free!

I instruct anglers to keep their bail open, then when you feel the subtle weight on the rod tip, let out line and count to 10. Reel slowly and when you feel the rod tip load up, set the hook.

Expect to miss a number of strikes as walleyes tend to play around with large minnows and don’t always inhale them immediately.

Patience is the key!