Fall fishing is some of the best fishing of the year. Big fish, quiet lakes, great scenery — and absolutely WILD weather. Over the course of a month I'll go from sun shirts and leggings to a full ice suit, all in pursuit of the crazy fishing that lies ahead. Some days I start in the ice suit and finish in a sun shirt. It gets that wild.
It's also the easiest trophy fishing you'll get all year. Most of my big fish come between September and November.
Above: Layering the heated vest over the Nora Sunshirt and Active leggings make for perfect transitional clothes for early fall fishing.
But you only get that window if you're still out there when it happens. That's the whole game in the fall — planning for the conditions that will test you, so you're comfortable enough to stay put. Here's what's biting from Labor Day through the end of October, and what I actually wear for it.
Fall Fishing Layering: Build a System You Can Take Apart
Above: September makes for some of the best crappie fishing of the season.
I don't dress for the high or the low. I dress for the swing — in layers I can pull off and put back on without running to shore.
Three jobs to fill: a base you'll wear all day, a warmth layer you can add or lose in ten seconds, and a shell that blocks wind. That middle one is what most people are missing.
If there's one item I don't leave the house without starting in September, it's the heated vest. It can make or break the coldest days out on the water — which, this time of year, are usually the best fishing days too.
Why a Heated Vest Belongs in Your Fall Fishing Gear
Above: The heated vest is my favorite layering piece for fall fishing.
If I could only add one thing to a fall boat bag, it's the DSG Heated Vest. It's warmth you can turn off and will suit anyone well from September until ice up.
On a 50-degree launch I run it on high and I'm comfortable on the ride out, sometimes I’ll throw a fleece over the top. By mid-morning I shut it off and it's just a layering piece. By afternoon it's folded in the bag. One piece of gear covering a 30-degree swing.
That's why the vest and a charged power bank live in my bag every single day this time of year. I'm not looking at a forecast and gambling on one right answer — I'm carrying the layer that adjusts. When the weather won't cooperate, it's a button press instead of a run back to the truck.
The Tri-Zone system puts three panels across the chest and upper back, so it warms your core instead of your arms — warm core, and your hands and feet follow. Three heat settings. A fleece-lined, water-resistant softshell that sheds drizzle on its own. Zippered hand pockets. It runs on an ActionHeat 5V power bank, but any charging bank will work literally — it sits in a hidden pocket that will charge your phone in a pinch, too. Throw the bank on the charger at night the same way you do your phone and your electronics, and you never have to think about it again.
The shell is flattering instead of puffy, so it looks slim on its own AND layers under ice gear. It's versatile, it's warm, and it will keep you fishing on some of the coldest — but most important — days of the season.
September Fishing: Crazy Fishing and Insane Temperature Swings
September is crappie month and I will die on this hill. Those first cool nights start pulling the temperature down, and crappies leave the scattered summer stuff and transition out toward deeper water. When you find them, you find all of them — they school up tight, and the feedbags are on. This time of year you can easily pull 100 fish in an afternoon. All you need is lightweight gear and small plastics. Watch your electronics for the height they're sitting at and put your bait just above them; crappies typically feed up, so a slow-falling jig can be the way to go.
What I'm wearing: This is the month in the upper Midwest where you can be freezing in the morning and dying of heat by the afternoon — cold starts, warm afternoons, with a lot of sunny days int he mix. That's exactly why the Nora Shirt is my base during this month. . I pair it with my favorite Active Legging I always talk about. The heated vest goes on for the cold ride out and is typically off by mid-morning, but it doesn't leave the boat. September afternoons can turn on you just as fast as the mornings do, and that's the whole point of carrying it.
This is a great time of year to be out. The crappie bite ramps up, walleyes start to move by the end of the month, and the best trophy potential of the year starts right now.
October Fishing: What to Wear in 50-Degree Water
Above: A giant crappie caught on an early October evening.
The crappies keep pushing out deep and it’s easier to find some of the bigger fish this time of year. I keep downsizing, trying to pull the biggest fish off the top to beat the school swarming my bait.
Meanwhile, this is when walleye fishing kicks into overdrive. Think BIG fish with BIG potential. Walleyes start chasing the fall shiner run, and that means the large fish start to congregate. My favorite trophy fisheries include Hecla, Manitoba where they are running the channel of the great Lake Winnipeg. It also includes the Rainy River, where fish chase the shiners along the Ontario and Minnesota border. This is one of the easiest times of the year to bag that trophy walleye, so don't miss it. High flows are your best friend, and my favorite way to fish is jigs and live bait. There is nothing quite like the thump of a 10-pound walleye.
What I'm wearin: In early October the days cool down significantly and the wind starts to show up and doesn't leave - this is where the heated vest stops being a luxury and becomes a must. My October system is simple: regular base layers — I'm in my D-Tech base layers by now — with the heated vest over the top - and the occasional ice jacket or bibs on top on the super cold days. That's what gets you through a 45-degree day with a 20 mph northwest wind, and I can dial the heat up or down as the day swings.
Above: The heated vest and ice bibs are my go to for late fall fishing.
Late October Trophy Season: Be On The Water NOW
Above: Late October into November is some of the best walleye fishing of the season. I ALWAYS wear my ice suit but never miss a trophy bite!
Late October is the best fall fishing trophy window. This is when some of the biggest fish in the lake are landed. Every predator in the lake is putting on weight, and the biggest females are the hungriest fish out there. Those same fisheries I previously mentioned go into overdrive between now and the beginning of November, producing the biggest fish of the year and, in a lot of cases, A LOT of fish. Little fishing pressure, hungry fish, and lots of action. The only question is whether you're dressed to still be sitting there when that trophy of a lifetime happens.
What I'm wearing. I dig the heated base layers top and bottom, or sometimes the heated vest on high — most of the day now, not just the morning. This is where the heated line earns its keep. Make sure to grab gloves you can actually fish in, too - like these. By late October my DSG ice suit is ON, and on the coldest days I'm running the heated vest under the full ice suit. In the north it gets that cold. The suit is warmer and more waterproof than anything else I own, the bibs keep spray off your legs on the run, and the float assist is real peace of mind when the water is this cold in the fall. I also highly, highly recommend digging out the heated socks right now.
You might be fishing in 30 degrees, but it’s worth it. The fish are big, and as long as you are dressed right there is no better time to be out there.
Gear Up and Go Fish This Fall
Fall rewards the anglers who stay out there. Not necessarily the ones with the newest electronics or the perfect cast — but the ones comfortable enough to fish through the cold and capitalize on one of the best fishing windows of the season.
Cold-weather comfort is a gear problem, and gear problems are fixable. DSG designs performance gear specifically for women in sizes XXS–5XL, so you don't have to make a men's small work. Get the gear and stay on the water this fall season.
~ Written By: Nicole Stone, DSG Fish Team Sponsored Ambassador
