Fall is big fish time with big baits under the big top from the Big Apple to the Big Sky and beyond. Big time. It’s our favorite period to go anywhere and do anything for marble eyes. There’s a three-ring circus of walleye activity out there: lakes, rivers and reservoirs, all hosting their own versions of entertainment. But we have favorite patterns—certain spots and certain approaches we can’t pass up. And now, ladies and gentlemen, we direct your attention to center ring.

Natural Lakes—Al Lindner loves fishing deep during daytime for big walleyes in fall. Like the man on the highwire, he tightropes transition areas between soft basins and harder breaks for what often turns out to be his biggest fish of the year.

“When deep fish in lakes really come alive, water at the surface will be 50°F or cooler,” Al says. “Deep transitions are hot from that point until I’m crackin’ ice to get the boat in. Early in this period, the bite’s best at midday, but later the activity switches to twilight periods. (I don’t know why.)”

Key transition areas are those that occur where a point, bar, flat, hump, or other structure levels into the basin of the main lake. Depths vary, so look for hard-to-soft transitions everywhere from 20 to 50 feet. “The trick is realizing that the depth range of these transitions might be 25 to 28 feet in one area and 40 to 44 feet in another on the same piece of structure,” Al says. “Anglers catching fish at 25 feet tend to stick with that general depth all day. The key is the transition—not depth.”

To find transition areas, watch your sonar screen. Thin, intermittent lines indicate soft bottom. Hard surfaces fill the bottom of the screen. Transitions between the two are often quite narrow, less than a boat length.

“The best transitions for holding late season walleyes are in main lake areas,” Al explains. “I like to start along huge, shallow flats that reach out toward the deepest basin areas in the lake. Shallower basin areas don’t seem to hold as many fish this time of year. And shoreline-connected structures seem to hold more fish than isolated humps and bars. Fish the humps, but you’ll typically find more fish around the edge of bars and flats connected to shore.”

Jigs or livebait slipsinker rigs with large minnows like redtail chubs, rainbow shiners, or suckers, or three-way rigs with minnow baits like Rapalas, Rebels, and ThunderSticks comprise the best methods for working transition areas. And because transition areas are so narrow, heavy jigs and sinkers are needed to keep the presentation as vertical as possible.

“When I don’t know the water, I may start with a three-way rig, using 8-pound test, a 6- or 7-foot leader on a 7-foot medium-action casting rod, and a 3-ounce sinker to keep the lure right behind the transducer cone,” Al says. “Little bumps and cuts in the transition likely hold fish. Be sure the lure is moving through these tight spots.”

Once Al finds fish, he often covers the area again by vertical jigging, which is even more precise. “Four- to 5-inch minnows are key,” he says. “Depending on wind and the size of the minnow, I use jigs from 3/8 to 3/4 ounce. No plastic, no stinger, no hair. Open the gap slightly (bend the point out), and run the hook into the minnow’s mouth and out between the eyes. The bait is secure that way. Big fish can’t rip it free without getting the hook. When you get a bite, drop the rod tip. This time of year, they won’t let go. You have time to position yourself for a good hookset.”