Lake Turnover And Fall Fishing
PHOTO: The author has already been testing the waters with some early panfish success.
By Tim Moore
Contributing Writer
If you’re like me, then this cooler weather has you thinking about the next phase, or season, of fishing, fall. When lake trout and salmon season closes after September 30, a lot of anglers give up on fishing for the season. They winterize their boats and put away their rods, because they believe fishing season to be over. Many head into the woods for various hunting seasons and while I love to hunt too, there are too many great fishing opportunities in the fall for me to break away for too long. These fall fishing opportunities are driven largely by the phenomenon known as lake turnover and the fishing turns on almost overnight. If you like to fish as much as I do, then fall can be the most memorable time of the year. Why am I talking about fall so early? Because the nights seem cooler than they’ve been in the few previous years for early September, which can only mean one thing: the lake is due to turnover soon.
Lake turnover and length of daylight drives fall feeding for many species, but anglers often don’t understand how and why it works. By late August, the temperature of most water bodies has warmed and stabilized. Warmer water sits on top while dense cooler water has settled to the bottom. Larger lakes develop a thermocline layer that separates the upper layer of warmer water from the layer of cool water below. However, when the air temperatures begin to drop, surface water temperatures begin to cool. This cooler water is denser and sinks, forcing warmer water to the surface. The cycle continues until the lakes freeze. Hence the term lake turn over.
When lakes and ponds turn over, coupled with shorter days, many fish species are triggered to feed so they can bulk up for the coming winter. Warmwater schooling fish such as crappie, white perch, and sunfish will form large schools and spend many days chowing all the food they can get. While many of these species, especially white perch, are in schools most of the year, the schools get bigger, the fish get bigger, and the feeding activity gets more aggressive.
Most times, warmwater schooling fish will head for basins after a lake turns over. Basins hold plankton, which attracts baitfish, which in turn attracts gamefish. Almost all water bodies have some sort of basin or depression. Low light periods, such as early morning, late afternoon, or cloudy days, are the best time to target gamefish in basins, as this is when plankton is most active. For those waters that do not have a well-defined basin, the challenge is figuring out the feeding behavior. On windy days, the windward shorelines often hold bait that gets pushed there by prevailing winds. Watch for nervous water where bait may be pushed to the surface by predatory gamefish or seek out submerged shoreline structure to find fish.
Some of my favorite lures include the Live Baby Shad from Lake Fork Trophy Lures. The Live Baby Shad works well on a small jig head and drifted through a school. Crappie almost can’t resist it. You don’t even really need to jig it. Just get it down just above the school and drift. My absolute favorite panfish lure is a size 3 or 4 Salmo Chubby Darter. I’ve never had a bad day when fishing the Chubby Darter. Choose your color based on light conditions and water clarity, but don’t be afraid to experiment.
Fall offers some of the best panfishing of the entire year. The catching is often non-stop and there is a multitude of lures that work well. Panfish are excellent table fare. They usually have a mild flavor, depending on where they are caught. Fall panfishing is also an excellent activity for kids. The non-stop action will keep everyone busy for hours. By November every lake and pond has turned over, and I’ll probably be on one of them right up until ice-in.
Tim Moore is a professional fishing guide in New Hampshire. He owns and operates Tim Moore Outdoors, LLC. He is a member of the New England Outdoors Writers Association and the producer of Tim Moore Outdoors TV and In Season Outdoors TV. Visit www.TimMooreOutdoors.com for more information.
