Anglers looking to adapt as fishing season moves to cooler waters

As the weather is beginning to cool, the province's lakes and rivers are cooling along with it, changing the fishing situation for many anglers.

Being ahead of that changes and knowing how to react to them is crucial to ensure a good catch heading into the cooler months.

Ralph Smart, the owner and operator of Prairie Pro Outfitters, says he's keeping an eye on the waters around the Rafferty Reservoir as the mercury drops.

He gives a few tips for anglers to find those fish that he's found has worked over the summer.

"Right now you want to look for specific depths - 21 feet deep right now is where everything seems to be stuck, every species. Right tight to weed lines, you'll find those all along the lake shores and in the bays if you can fish straight to those. That's been a pretty good pattern here the entire summer and jigging is mainly what we do and that's what everybody is having great success doing right now."

He recommends people keep their eyes out during the cooler months as fish tend to group up once the cold comes.

"I would say right now as the fall seasons get closer here we're going to start seeing some cooler water. Fish are really schooled up and moving. If you find them, you can really do really well, but if they're not there, keep moving until you find them either on your electronics or by watching other fishermen around you," said Smart, "If you see a hot spot don't crowd them, but see what depth they're at and then kind of go from there."

While they might be harder to spot the reward will be all the sweeter as fish are beginning to fatten up.

"This time of year everything seems to get quite active. The minnows are getting larger and there's a lot of prey there for them," said Smart, "Walleyes and all species tend to want to kind of fatten up for winter. They know the kind of semi-dormant period of winter is coming up before long. So we always kind of call it the feed bag they're putting on right now and it's a great time to get out and do some late fall fishing here before winter starts to strike."

Smart recommends that people experiment with bait to find out what works best, and wishes everyone luck out on the water.

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