Great night fishing in September, October

This week we will have the last “super moon” of the season. Only regular moons after this until 2015. Full moons in September and October are great moons to night fish under. The bite can be excellent for multiple species, and the moon comes up early enough to get yourself home at a reasonable hour.
Most night fishermen in our area fish for walleyes or musky at night. The full moon provides a chance at some quality catches and an excellent chance for a trophy fish.
Trolling crank baits in shallow water is probably the number one strategy for night fishing, followed by using lighted slip bobbers. Another technique that gets some attention, and creates some success for anglers, is casting jigs or crank baits in current areas or wading in shallow water. This is much more comfortable for these anglers this time of year as they don’t have to fight off the swarms of mosquitoes that can wreck this fun in June, July, and August.
I love this time of year. One of the other great aspects of night fishing opportunities in September and October is the absence of bugs. The weather is pleasant and not too hot, the bugs start to disappear, and the wildlife activity seems to peak. Geese and ducks are already actively flying through our area, and the loons have started to group together.
The pace slows locally as we transition away from the weekly resort community activities that occur. Fall will transition quickly over the next several weeks as well. We will start to see acorns on the ground, trees will start to change, and the harvest will start soon. Water temperatures have started to drop and will continue with the cool nights and shortened daylight hours (It always seems we lose more daylight more quickly this time of the year).
As it becomes more clear we are moving into fall the next couple of weeks, we will also experience the fish transitioning to more typical fall patterns. Study up on your species of choice and learn about predator/prey relationships, and the influences of fall transition. This will help you stay in contact with the fish you are pursuing. They won’t be in the same locations doing the same things in the next few weeks that they were compared to where you found them, and how you caught them a few weeks ago.
This is a busy time of the year for many families with the return to school, fall sports, winterization and building projects, and the upcoming hunting season preparations. It takes some planning to make sure you squeeze in some chances to get out and enjoy the lakes and some of the best fishing of the season.
We have at least another eight weeks of open water. It seems for many that the season is over after Labor Day. The dock and lift crews as well as the boat winterization and storage people are already extremely busy. If you are a fisherman, you realize that we still have a third of the open water season left to enjoy. Water levels are better than they have been for this time of year compared to the last couple of fall fishing seasons, so lake access for launching and loading is still in excellent shape. We have a great fall weather season, it helps remind us why we live where we do, get out and enjoy some of the time we have before the snow flies on your favorite lake.
(Laabs runs Brad Laabs’ Guide Service in Detroit Lakes.)