Autumn Creeping Our Way

The first official days of autumn typically don't seem much different from the final days of summer in North Georgia. September normally ends hot, and while w all try to pretend we're turning a corner, it doesn't normally feel that way and we really know better. This year has been different. Several damp, dark cool days have made it really feel like autumn has arrived, and we're even getting hints of color change in our dogwoods and a few other trees and bushes.

It makes me antsy to do some fall fishing. Asher and I did slip out to the pond yesterday afternoon, and we caught 10 bluegills and bass, but I'm eager to do stuff that's really driven by the season -- frog fishing on a grass lake, fall run brown trout, fall flathead fishing...

The fish that have been most on my mind of late have been the salmon, brown trout and steelhead that run up out of Great Lakes into rivers throughout that region this time of year. I've been watching a few reports and doing a bit of vicarious fishing. Looking at deadlines and other travel plans, that's probably as close as I'll get to that stuff this year, but you never know. I always keep an eye on bites and watch for windows of opportunity on the calendar.

Existing fall plans do include a trip to Alabama to fish Lake Guntersville and possibly Pickwick, so I might get to tap into at least a little frog fishing fun. I'm also going to Santee Cooper in November, so if the flathead bite happens to be happening...

Of course, I always look forward to do at least a little October and November fishing in the trout streams of North Georgia and western North Carolina. The fishing tends to be good at that time, the river are beautiful, creating outstanding photo opportunities.

Follow the Shore

Mike Kelley of Flambeau with a Lake Ontario
steelhead that hit a Yo-Zuri 3DB Minnow.

Follow the shore. That was our approach on Lake Ontario this morning. Actually we paralleled the shore a modest distance out, with Gregg LaMere keeping the boat over 7 to 9 feet of water. It's a food chain thing.That's where the midges are hatching, so that's where the smelt are. And where you find smelt, well... you know!

We matched the smelt with Yo-Zuri 3DB Minnows, trolled about 100 feet back with a couple of the lines spread out on each side with planer boards. The simple approach definitely did the job. Although winds kicked up ahead of an approaching storm and chased us away around mid-day, we still caught about a dozen fish, which included roughly an equal mix of brown trout and steelheads, plus a single smallmouth bass.

I caught a couple of browns and a couple of steelheads, and while neither steelie was particularly large, I was extra glad to catch them because that's a new addition to this year's species list, and a kind of fish that's far from a given on any given year's catch list.

Something else cool about today was that while I've fished the Niagara River region on three previous trips (each for two or three days) the fishing we did today was unlike anything else I have done. The diversity of the fishery and the types of angling opportunities in this area continue to amaze me.

Flannel and Fishing Destinations

Duluth Trading Company Men's Free-Swingin'
Plaid Flannel Shirt.

With cool weather creeping into much of the country and many people thinking about fall and winter activities, Duluth Trading Companies decided to compile some "flannelytics" and figure out the nation's hotspots for sporting flannel for work and play. They even compiled a list of America's Top 10 Flannel Cities, providing fun insights about the flannel culture in each city profiled.

Of course when I think about flannel shirts, I think about fall and winter fishing, and when I think about cities or destinations of any sort, I think about fishing prospects in those areas. With that in mind, I decided to list where I'd want to fish and what I'd want to target in or around each of the Top 10 Flannel Cities. Interestingly, excepting a little ice fishing in mountain lakes just west of Denver, I've never fished any of these waters.

10) Chicago - Steelhead or brown trout that run up various streams that flow into the big pond known as Lake Michigan.

9) New York City - Jumbo stripers in the surf at Montauk, preferably with a big chugging plug.

8) Los Angeles - Trout or the giant bass that eat them in the little lakes that dot Southern California.

7) Washington D.C. - While Potomac River bass and crappie certainly offer intrigue, I'd have to try my hand at catching a snakehead if I was in the area.

6) Philadelphia - Susquehanna River smallmouths or Delaware River largemouths, I believe.

5) Denver - Rockies trout. I'd better plan for at least a couple of weeks to hit all the streams and lakes I'd want to fish, through.

4) Minneapolis/St. Paul - If flannel season refers to summer evenings, Mississippi River smallmouths. If the flannel is a layer that will go under a heavier suit, put me on some little metro lake with big bluegills or crappie in it with ice rod in hand.

3) San Francisco - Get me that close to Eastern Sierra trout lakes, and that's where I'll be headed.

2) Boston - If you read this and know where I should fish around Boston, let me know, because I'm clueless. Maybe in the Atlantic?

1) Seattle/Tacoma - Drop me in the Pacific Northwest, and I'm going to have to find some opportunity to catch steelhead or salmon. I don't know the specific destination, but I'll bet someone can give me some direction.