Cooling water puts fall turnover and clear bays in play

What's next

Field & Stream notes that fall turnover rarely hits a whole lake at once. Its advice is to move to areas that haven't turned over yet, avoid off-color, debris-filled water, and work clear shallow bays or creek arms that are still stable. Covering water with a search bait like a spinnerbait is its suggested way to locate active fish. Tactical Bassin's October videos make a similar case for shallow targets this time of year, with jigs, soft jerkbaits and topwater all in the mix.

With the First Quarter moon overhead, expect decent evening light into the night. Plan the best fishing around the warmest part of the afternoon, when a few degrees of warming can nudge baitfish and the fish chasing them toward the shallows. Low flows on the smaller gauged streams mean fish will be tight to deeper pockets and cover. Approach quietly and keep casts long.

If a cold front arrives, expect the bite to slow for a day. Stable, settled weather after it is usually when things turn back on.

Context

Mid-October is typically the heart of fall for NH lakes and rivers. Surface water has cooled well off its summer highs, weed beds are dying back, and fish shift toward baitfish and the structure that holds them. Fishing the Midwest makes a similar point about fall: fish relocate to the weeds that are still green as the rest die off. Water in the low 50s is on schedule for the date. It is usually the last stretch of comfortable, productive fishing before ice-up and the late-season slowdown, so it tends to reward anglers who get out while it lasts. Check state regulations for seasons and limits before keeping any fish.