Getting towards the end of the year and some folks like to look back, review what kind of year it has been. If you are an angler, you like to do that and remember the fish you caught.
I could do that, but a year is such a long period, and I fish really hard in the fall. So my review is not going to be all of 2020; just the past few months–the best open-water fishing of the year.
Variety is a theme for my fishing all year, every year. When the water is relatively warm in early fall, I like to dry off a few of these:
As the water cools in the fall, my flathead catch drops off–they move off my shorelines. I did not catch nearly as many, nor as large, as I would have liked this fall, but at least I touched a few.
I fish hard in the fall, every chance I get. That means I spend a lot of time on waters close to home, and that was definitely more of a theme during this stinkin’ pandemic year. However, I had a niece get married this past fall, so there was a little trip outta state. You bet we dried some off while we were there!
Back home, my daughter and I transitioned from cold-water fish all the way back to warm-water. This time it was some piggy hybrid sunfish. The water was cooling and they were putting on the feed-bag!
Largemouth bass definitely are also warm-water fish, but ironically some of the biggest bass I catch every year come late in the fall.
My son found the same thing on another Nebraska reservoir.
Finally, near the end of fall, once we are just hanging out waiting for ice, the water is cold and it is back to cold-water species. Cannot beat a late fall, warm day on a cold-water stream!
Come on ice! I am ready. Oh, sure I would have been happy with another couple, three months of fall. I did not catch nearly enough toothy predator fish (although I did have one quick evening trip that was fantastic, just too short to take any pictures). But, if the water is going to be this cold now, I might as well be fishing through a hole in the ice. And catching more fish!
No fish were harmed in the making of this blog post. All were safely released. You’re welcome.
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