Fish will be on the move this month — and that means you should be, too
If you’re obsessed with not burning too much boat fuel, October is probably a good month to sit on the couch and watch some football.
That’s because moving the boat around this time of year is paramount, according to Dularge guide Capt. Travis Miller.
“Early October, you do a lot more bird fishing,” he said. “As the month goes on, you’ll start fishing more toward the reefs, and you do a lot of drift fishing.
“If you’re fishing a reef, you usually have to redrift the reef a couple times. You don’t really Power Pole down and put 100 trout in the boat off one stop.”
When he’s fishing over the reefs, Miller likes using popping corks with Matrix Shad underneath them.
With October being a transition month, the fish are constantly on the move, and noting the time of the month you’re fishing can be a huge help, according to Miller.
“They’re going to start from south and head north,” he said. “In early October, I’m probably going to be fishing the south part of Sister Lake. Toward the middle of the month and later, they’ll show up more in Lake Mechant.”
In the fall, Miller prefers an outgoing tide.
“I find the trout are roaming around looking for the big shrimp pods,” he said. “That’s why the falling tide is usually best.”
Miller also mentioned that, unlike other times of the year, finding pristine water isn’t all that important. In fact, he said a lot of times he finds fish in dirty water.
“The trout will be chasing the shrimp in dirty water,” he said. “A lot of times, you’ll find (the birds) in the middle of the lake.”
When fishing the birds, Miller likes to throw double rigs for a chance to catch two fish — and also because it puts more bait in the water.
Miller mentioned that many trout this time of year are schoolies, but when you’re fishing under the birds, you’ll occasionally catch something else that will put up an extreme fight.
“We’ll get bull reds under the birds, too” he said.
