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Late-Fall Walleye Offensive Plays |
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WHITEWATER® Fishing pro, Tommy Kemos, shares forage-matching tips for cold water walleyes |
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MUSKEGON, Mich. (October 25, 2023) – “I used to hunt a lot in fall,” shares veteran walleye tournament pro, Tommy Kemos. “But I realized I was missing out on some of the best fishing of the year.” While Kemos still likes to put a deer in the freezer, in recent years he’s spent a lot more of October, November, and even December on the water. “When the water temp hits bout 50 degrees a lot changes. First, lakes have gone through turnover, and this allows walleyes to roam anywhere in the entire water column, from 5 feet to 50 feet of water.” While he says finding fall fish can sometimes be challenging, he spends a lot of time shallow and generally has positive results. |
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“When the water temps first drop, walleyes start moving shallow in the evening hours. During the day they may be deeper, but I’ll start by driving around and looking at my 2D sonar to not only locate big marks, but find the baitfish, too. That’s the real key in fall,” says Kemos. On a lot of natural lakes across the Walleye Belt, fish will follow shiners and young of the year gamefish into deeper basin areas, often congregating around transition areas. What kind of transition areas? “I look for where basin mud turns into harder bottom, like sand, gravel, or rock—what experience has shown me to be higher percentage areas for bigger fish. These fish do not stray far from the most predominant forage.” “For example,” Kemos continues, “on lakes with tullibees (ciscoes), walleyes follow them into the areas where they spawn in fall and absolutely gorge on them—even forage up to a foot long. In Wisconsin, the big spawns are typically during the full moon during the end of November or early December. Find that and you will find big walleyes. Fish at night and they’ll be shallow, and off on the transition areas and basins during the day. Me, I prefer to fish during the daylight hours, so I go out and try to tempt them while they’re staged for evening and night feeding, not necessarily eating. However, you put the biggest creek chub you can find in front of them and you’ll get bit.” |
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Kemos will also cast or troll large Berkley Hit Sticks. “Depending on the depth the fish are holding, I’ll fish the standard or deep Hit Stick; they’re both super effective. At night the shallow-runner is the deal for mimicking those fall spawning tullibees in depths from 5 to 15 feet,” notes Kemos. But during the day, Kenos says it tough to beat live bait rigging giant creek chubs or slowly dragging or jigging them on a 5/8- to ½-ounce jig head. “I’ll spot specific fish with my electronics and cast to individual fish. On lakes, I’m investigating points and humps close to the tullibee spawning grounds, which are generally shallower, hard bottom areas with a little bit of grass close to the main basin,” says Kemos. Kemos says that if the lake has shiners and perch, the biggest fall-time walleyes are still going to hone into tullibees as primary forage. |
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Late-Fall River Play: Match the Young Sheepies “This is going to sound crazy,” says Kemos, “but late-fall on rivers I’m generally fishing 4-inch Gulp! Minnows on heavy jig-heads for the biggest fish around. And typically, something in pearl white or watermelon. And he doesn’t rip the jig at all, essentially dead-sticking it along current seams to mimic the gizzard shad and young of the year sheepshead big river walleyes are gobbling up. “Most of the biggest walleyes are actually eating small sheepshead, because as the water cools down, sheepshead metabolism slows way down and they get super slow and easy to eat. They just kind of drift along bottom, not really even swimming.” So, Kemos’ theory is dead-sticking a big Gulp! Minnow on a heavy jig mimics this easy food source. “I’ll just let the plastic tap bottom and give it a pretty good pop and hold it completely still. Depending on the current, I’ll hold the bait anywhere from six inches to 3 feet off bottom. You don’t have to move it at all; big walleyes will come up and absolutely annihilate the jig. It goes against everything that we know about jig fishing, but it’s deadly some fall days,” offers Kemos. In terms of rod, reel, and line set-up, Kemos is a big fan of medium power, extra-fast action rods. “Without even touching the reel handle I can lift the rod ever so slightly and follow the bottom contour. So, as it gets deeper and shallower, I’ve got more room to work with the longer rod. It also gives you a little bit more room for good hooksets with the larger jigs, which you really need to drive home.” |
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Staying Warm for Late-Season Walleyes “If it’s colder than 50 degrees, I put on the WHITEWATER Great Lakes suit on over the Tamer suit. I’ll also add the WHITEWATER Torque heated vest. What I really like about the heated vest is that it’s versatile. Some fall days it’s 20 degrees in the morning and then by two o’clock it’s 60. With the push of a button, you can adjust your comfort level—or not even engage it at all. I’ve found that if you keep your core warm, your body’s warm.” |
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WHITEWATER Tamer Softshell Jacket
MSRP: $219.99 (SM-3XL) |
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MSRP: $219.99 (SM-3XL) |
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WHITEWATER Buoy Fishing Hoodie
MSRP: $99.99 (SM-3XL) |
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MSRP: $269.99 (SM-3X) |
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MSRP: $269.99 (SM-3X) |
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5V/2A power bank sold separately MSRP $219.99 |
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ABOUT WHITEWATER Whitewater performance fishing apparel gives anglers distinct advantages whenever Mother Nature’s unpredictability conspires to ruin angling adventures. Whether faced with wind, rain, snow, sun, or extreme temperatures, Whitewater apparel equips anglers with the ability and confidence to overcome the elements, so they apply their focus and energies on fighting fish, not the conditions. Whitewater is a brand by Nexus Outdoors, headquartered in Muskegon, Michigan, USA. Learn more and order at whitewaterfish.com. |
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Warmth Through Loft ScentLok’s new BE:1 Puffy Jacket and Pant bring quality and field performance to a popular style MUSKEGON, Mich. (June 24, 2026) – Some things just look warm. Regrettably, a percentage of those things fail to live up to their appearances. Such is often the case with outerwear. More specifically, outerwear for hunting. Consider the puffy jacket. You can literally slide into one online for under $40. The Photoshopped Ai model sure looks svelte and comfy, but that unrecognizable brand is a little wonky. Unpronounceable, really. Never seen it before. And why is it only available from international ecommerce juggernauts? Because it’s crap. The polar opposite is true when new hunting outerwear drops from a legacy manufacturer, like ScentLok. And so it is with their new BE:1 Puffy Jacket and Pant. Dark Slate NEW Realtree XT-3 Delivering on-demand warmth, the BE:1 Jacket and Pant are extraordinarily comfortable and sporty looking to boot. Typically, ScentLok product descriptions open with the company’s “fabric-first” promise, but in this case, we’re diving into the insulation first. The outerwear duo’s Sorona® Aura insulation delivers higher fill power than similar weight polyester insulations, providing a lighter, warmer garment with less filling, which allows for greater packability. Made from the Sorona polymer, a performance fiber that is about 37% plant‑based rather than fully petroleum‑derived, Sorona Aura traps air while remaining thin and flexible and less bulky than traditional synthetic fills. It’s also breathable, designed to let moisture vapor easily escape, helping regulate body temperature and reduce that awful clammy feeling during active use. Sorona Aura also maintains its loft wash after wash. ScentLok takes another step by thermal-mapping the insulation into particular zones. In the BE:1 Puffy Jacket, for example, the chest area – the body’s furnace – contains 80g of Sorona Aura, while the arm insulation is throttled back to 60g to advance mobility. The BE:1 Puffy Pant features 60g of insulation throughout. The final insulation related trait is the baffling. Those sewn seams with individual insulation pockets aren’t for style-points only – they hold the insulation in place, defying gravity and time. Additionally, baffling promotes lofting, which means more warm air is captured. Despite the luscious and lofty insulation, the BE:1 Jacket and Pant are surprisingly packable. “They easily store in a field bag or daypack, so you can carry them into the field for a sit or take them off if the weather heats up,” said Allie. To thwart the olfactory senses of big game, the BE:1 Puffy Jacket and Pant include ScentLok’s Carbon Alloy® scent control technology. Carbon Alloy combines treated carbon, activated carbon, and zeolite to absorb odors emitted by your body. Carbon Alloy utilizes natural coconut shell carbon, as it has the largest internal surface area of any carbon on earth. This massive surface area promotes the adsorption of the broadest scent molecule range. It innately secures these molecules and holds them until you reactivate your gear in a household dryer. The BE:1 Puffy Jacket and Pant are structured of a durable, ripstop nylon outer fabric with soft peached lining – the lining feels easy on the skin and welcomes layering like butter. The shell is also DWR treated to help shed moisture and resist staining. The elbows are articulated for improved fit and mobility. Articulation, or pre-curvature, is a design feature where the fabric at the elbow is shaped and seamed to match the natural bend of the arm. The jacket also features a high-neck for added wind protection and an intelligently designed hood. The hood is constructed of three unique fabric patterns for better sculpting and hold, even while turning from side to side. Moreover, the hood is purposely cut to position behind your eye for better peripheral vision. The BE:1 Puffy Jacket also offers five strategically placed pockets for securing essentials and an adjustable waist to lock in heat and customize fit. The matching pants include specialty features as well, like invisible zippers on the center front fly and pair of front waist pockets. An internal drawcord can be tied on the outside or inside of the waistband. And 18-inch side seam zippers yield easy donning and doffing in the field, boots on. 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It also owns American Range Systems, manufacturer and distributor of the world’s strongest and safest bullet traps. Nexus Outdoors is the only company with access to all scent-controlling technologies, including their patented Carbon Alloy™ and Cold Fusion Catalyst™ technologies, which provide superior success in the field. ScentLok and Blocker Outdoors are pioneers in the hunting industry, which many credit with creating a market focused on superior scent control to get closer to big game.
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