Panfish fall transition zones?

[Springbuck1]

I saw Cowboy-Pirate's vids on  Youtube, about hitting the perch, crapples, and gluebills in fall transition areas at lakes like PV, Echo, RP, Hyrum, etc...

  I don't fish much in the fall, so...... are they still there?  Any advice on rigs and techniques would be good, too.   I want to go birthday fishing tomorrow.

[Cowboypirate]

Springbuck1 -

I love fall transition fishing. It is always a bit of a mystery to sort out the conditions and find the fish (and doing it from the bank really makes it a challenge) - my advice is bank related. having a boat gives you a lot more options to find them.

I truly hope some of the really experienced fishermen/women chime in on this post as I think we could really have a great exchange of knowledge on the subjects of reservoir drawdown, PH level, thermocline, turnover, storm fronts, ext ext and how it affects location and activity this time of year.

That said...to answer your question directly...if it was my birthday and I wanted panfish action this would be my plan

1- For a nearly sure thing I would go to Newton and run a floating bait rig on one pole for perch. That should just about be a sure thing. I would run a second pole with a double drop shot and target crappie, gills and bass.

2- For a close second I would wander the shores of Utah lake until I found a school of white bass. Saratoga or American Fork would be my first stop. Jig or spinner will get the job done.

3- For closer to home (mine), I would try out Rockport again for perch with my pugly perch bugs, looking for transition rock to sand areas, but Rockport has been finicky with the drawdown, as has Echo. Both should be excellent right now, but have been hit or miss as I have tried them. (I dont post about every trip I make ) That said I will be hitting Rockport early next week and they shut down Weber pull from Echo so it should start stabilizing and be better too. BTW shutting down the Weber out of Echo means the annual Stephens Family (extended deer hunt/fishing trip) for Browns in the morning to our little hay field after we have ate candy bars on the hills - is on. They stack up like logs for the kids to play with. A family favorite.

But back to panfish

4- Hyrum holds a sweet spot for me in the fall as that is where my wife and I dated in College. We have two spots that normally treat us good for transition perch on a floating bait rig. Right off the dam to the south of the spillway and just under the cabins in the campground to the north of the spillway. They both have a couple holes with transition bottom that we can usually sneak some action out of, but I have not been there for a while this fall and do not know how the drawdown has impacted them.

5- You will notice I did not mention Pineview. While I have killed it on bluegill lately there, the crappie have not moved into the spots I look for them (off the shore). I think I would pass on it still. As I would Willard.

Hope that helps. I am sure others will have better to offer - good luck and let us know how you do

[Springbuck1]

That was fantastic, thanks.

Well, I have a question, then. I assumed "transition" meant something like "transition from summer to fall" areas, but apparently it means something else? Breaks between sandy bottoms and rocky areas, then?

I fish panfish a lot, but spring much more than fall. I usually use various jigs, ice flies, and little spinners, etc.....or I'm just free-lining worms (bluegill cannot ABIDE a worm that falls slowly!) But, I rarely use floating rigs, by which I'm assuming you mean a slip sinker/flig type thing, right? Like you Pugly Bugs? Do floaty worms work, as well? I don't have anything like fligs made up, but I have floating beads, etc.... How about long slip floats?

I did just fine at AF Harbor 10 days ago or so on LMB, bluegills, crappies, greenies, and WB, really close to shore in the weeds, mostly smaller fish, but I wondered about the cooling weather, etc. A couple of the white bass broke 11".

I do have a clunky old homemade kayak, so I wouldn't mind floating close to shore. Never fished Newton. Mantua is my usual target, but again, rarely hit it in fall, so I wouldn't have a plan or a clue.

I have no special attachment to crappies over bluegills, either. Bluegills over 9" are my favorite fish in the world! So if the PV gills run big, I'd be fine with that.

Look for sunshine or shade? Depth suggestions? What else helps?

[Cowboypirate]

When I refer to fall transition fishing, I am talking about fish moving from summer to winter haunts. But bottom type can be a bigger part of that move and important part of finding them or not.

I have used floating beads alot to suspend a bait and add bling, but there are a lot of ways to do it....drop shot, flig, pugly perch, commercial floating jig, drifting worm wieghtless, and yes a bobber are a few I can think of. I carry a panfish rod holder set up with 5 poles when I go. I almost always have one set up with a flig or pugly perch as a goto, now. And one with a slip bobber and double dropshot as I can work bottom up and top down with these two setups.. the other rigs normally have search jigs, like a ned rig or hair jig.

[Springbuck1]

OK, so I had it right the first time. Thanks again.

[Springbuck1]

Well, I tried Rockport, but I was really lost, and didn't get a bite. With the water SO low, I couldn't figure out where to start; it all looked the same. Saw one or two trout caught is all.

I'll regroup and try again.

[Cowboypirate]

Were you there today? If so I was also. There was a hot perch bite early then it died. I will post a video later. Maybe we can catch up to each other and double up on em.

[Springbuck1]

Were you there today? If so I was also. There was a hot perch bite early then it died. I will post a video later. Maybe we can catch up to each other and double up on em.

  Hey, that would be great, thanks. 

 I can't even remember which day, but it was either Sat or Sun afternoon.

[ChalkCreekUT]

I have no special attachment to crappies over bluegills, either.  Bluegills over 9" are my favorite fish in the world!    So if the PV gills run big, I'd be fine with that.

Sorry to hear about the skunk, and on your birthday even.

My boys and I walked down into the Narrows at PV last Saturday and worked the rock shores. Mostly crappie but a few bluegills. Between 7 and 9 inches. Nothing fancy on the set up. Two jigs with curly tails (white and chartreuse seem to work best). Cast, sink, retrieve. Fish seemed to be within 6 feet of the water edge.

[Springbuck1]

Thanks, ChalkCreek. That was likely my next destination, but now here we go with the temperature drop. We'll see.