Coldwater trophy fishing in fall

November has arrived, and recent cold spells have dropped the water temperature around Montreal down to where they should be for this time of the year.

Though the biting cold often makes for miserable conditions on a boat, but picking the right day and dressing extremely warmly for a fishing outing can make for some trophy fishing this time of the year. I typically wear a layer of thermal underwear and socks made of quality fleece under my clothes, and then cover up with a survival suit and heavy boots. Basically the same gear I use for ice fishing, as being stationary on a boat for hours at a time combined with the windchill can make for sub zero outer temps.

Many species of game fish such as bass, walleye and musky will go on a final feeding frenzy before first ice. Bass and walleye tend to school up by size at certain areas during the fall, and finding a productive area with larger fish in very cold water can pay off nicely, year after year. Scaled down presentations fished slower than normal are a killer fishing tactic when it comes to fishing for and catching predatory fish species in colder water.

Fished for smallmouth bass with my friend and guide Mark Currie a few days ago. The bite was on, but the bass were very finicky, short striking our lures, resulting in more fish lost than landed.

Still, we managed to land a good dozen smallmouth bass, decent sizes too, up to 4.5 lbs.

Followed up with a musky fishing outing with my friend and guide Patrick Therrien a few days later, water temp had dropped 7 degrees F in a few days.

Trolling paid off big time during our musky trip, I landed my biggest trophy musky of the season, and just about tied my all time biggest musky. Also the latest in a season that I have landed musky to date.

As you see, cold water fishing in fall around Montreal is not for the faint of heart, only die hard fishermen / anglers out this time of the year. However, the rewards are well worth it when you stand the chance of landing your biggest trophies of the season.

Mike, Patrick and Mark are available for cold water guided fishing outings through the end of November, for more information on their guided fishing rates, click:   http://freshwaterphil.com/fishing-guides.cfm