How to Capitalize on Fall Baitfish Runs

From the coastal shores of New England to the cold, clear rivers of the Pacific Northwest, every minnow, herring, chub, and shad in the water will gather together in large schools during the fall. These plenitudes of small fish come close to the surface and gather just offshore to feed and migrate in droves before winter, and close behind them come the predators.

Whether you’re talking about stripers pounding bunker from the beach, crappie gobbling suspended minnows, or bass and pike smashing into schools of shiners like missiles, every game fish you can imagine will be feeding in a frenzy in some very easily accessible places.

Anglers in the know can exploit this reckless fall feeding behavior and catch some of the biggest fish of their lives, so long as they know how and where to capitalize on this baitfish bonanza.

Matching the hatch is a term that fly anglers are very familiar with. It means that you have to match your flies as closely as you can to the insects that appear on the water to fool the fish. During the autumn, when fish are concentrating on schools of baitfish, you have to do the same thing. Fish will be keyed in and feeding heavily on certain sizes and species of baitfish, meaning that if you’re baits, lures, and flies don’t match, the fish aren’t going to play ball.

The best and easiest way is, of course, to catch your own bait. Where legal, throwing a cast net or setting a minnow trap for whatever baitfish are gathering is always going to be the best way to make sure you’re casting out what the fish are interested in. However, if fishing live bait isn’t an option for you, you can still get close enough with lures and flies.

The key to matching the baitfish hatch is knowing what sort of baitfish are in your area. From minnows and shiners to herring and anchovies, there are a variety of baitfish species that are active during the fall, so it’s worth putting in a little research before you hit the water. Most waterways will have the type and species of forage fish in them listed on your local state game agency’s website. However, even if you can’t find any info on what type of bait is swimming around your local waters, most tackle and fly shops should have that information readily available.

Once you know what type of bait is swimming around, you’ll want to choose both lures and flies that match the species as closely as possible. Now, this doesn’t mean you need to have exquisitely detailed lures for every species of baitfish under the sun. Instead, you’re going to want lures and flies that are the general size, shape, and color of the fish you’re trying to imitate.

For example, if you’re targeting bass, walleye, or even pike and muskie that are feeding on schools of suspended shiners, you’re not going to want to cast to them with big, brightly colored crankbait. Instead, choose a smaller lure that is roughly the same size and color as the shiners the fish are feeding on. This could be a small jerkbait or streamer, or even a spoon or in-line spinner that matches the size and shape of the bait. So long as your lure is in the ballpark, the baitfish-hungry fish you’re after will absolutely crush it.

One of the biggest things to remember when targeting baitfish schools during the fall is that there are a lot of them. Depending on the species, schools of baitfish can range from anywhere between 50 and 5,000, creating a lot of options for the game fish feeding on them. If you cast your lure into the center of such a target-rich environment, it can be difficult for a fish to single out in the middle of the masses. So instead of casting right into the heart of the matter, you’ll often have better luck fishing around the fringes of the school.

Whenever you see game fish feeding on baitfish schools, it’s important to understand how and where they are attacking. If you see the fish exploding on the surface and rocketing in the air, it’s likely they’re coming at the school from underneath. However, if you’re seeing backs and fins, the gamefish are likely moving in from the side.

If you’re not seeing any action on the surface, you can still pick up fish activity beneath the waves using electronics on a boat. Using a fish finder, you can take note of the baitfish school, the larger markers surrounding it, and where the two coincide. Once you pinpoint this attacking angle, you can then cast your lures to the fringes of the school and fish them accordingly.

You have two options if you have fish feeding on baitfish from underneath. The first is to fish with a weighted lure that will imitate a wounded or dying baitfish sinking to the bottom. Lures like jigs tipped with soft plastics and spoons work great for this, as will weighted streamers for fly anglers. Cast your lure into the school and then let it sink, adding in a couple of feeble twitches and darts to make it look wounded, and it won’t be long before you connect with a fish.

The second option for fish feeding beneath the surface is to use a topwater lure that imitates a dead or dying bait. These can include poppers and prop baits, or even floating jerkbaits like the classic Rapala. Cast these topwater baits towards the outer edges of the baitfish school, preferably right after they have been attacked and then twitch and jerk them to draw attention and get ready for the explosion.

If you see game fish attacking baitfish schools from the side, your best bet is to lead the school and fish along the outer edges of it with constantly moving lures and flies. These can include spinners and spoons, as well as crankbaits, swimbaits, and lightly weighted streamers. Cast these lures along the edge of the school and try to retrieve them in the opposite direction that the baitfish are moving. This will cause the fish to single out your lure and will usually lead to more strikes.

Game fish are predators and, like every other animal that eats another, they’ll single out the weakest member of the herd. Baitfish that are slow, bleeding, moving erratically, or simply acting unnaturally are usually the first ones to get picked off. You can imitate this vulnerability with both your lures and your live baits when you’re fishing around fall baitfish schools, causing gamefish to eat first and ask questions later.

If you’re fishing with lures or flies, try fishing them erratically. Instead of simply casting and then reeling or stripping them back towards you, mix it up a bit by adding in a lot of jerks, switches, and pauses as the lure or fly moves. During your pauses, allow your lure to sink or rise back to the surface like it’s dead or dying, and then add sudden, frantic twitches as if it’s coming back to life. The more vulnerable and easier to catch you can make your bait, the more likely it is to be targeted by the fish you’re after, causing you to hook up faster and more often.

You can do the same thing when you’re fishing with live bait. Instead of simply hooking a bait to your line and letting it swim, you can catch more fish by thrashing it up a bit. Scrap off some scales, trim down the fins, and even give it a cut or a bleeding wound, while keeping the bait alive, and you can see your hookups nearly double. You can also hook them through the tail rather than through their back or lips. This will cause your baitfish to swim vertically in the water rather than horizontally, separating them from the other fish around them and making them an easy target.

Autumn baitfish runs are an amazing thing to see. Not only can they help you catch more fish, but they also allow you to witness the aquatic life cycle on a raw and primal scale. During the autumn, I’ve seen stripers feasting on bunker that were leaping a full six feet out of the water every time they struck. I’ve seen muskie inhaling full mouthfuls of shiners like pigs eating acorns and brown trout herding minnows like killer whales herding seals.

When you fish the fall baitfish bonanza, you’re taking part in something as old as time itself. It’s the bare bones of the food chain in which we all take part, and when you fish it right, it will show you things that will make you thankful you’re at the top.