As the leaves turn crimson and gold and the evenings get cooler, muskies begin the final feeding frenzy of the year. The fall weather starts a chain of natural events both above and below the water’s surface that signal the changing of the seasons.

Cooling water temperatures, fewer forage fish and the need to fatten up for the lean months ahead combine to bring out the big toothy predators for one last feeding spree. Snow won’t be flying for several weeks, but most muskie anglers have already stowed their gear, just when the fishing is starting to get good.

Muskies are predictable, to a degree. Though theories abound as to why they’ll hit a bait one day and ignore it the next, we do know that certain characteristics in the muskie’s watery world point to better opportunities for the muskie hunter.

Competition for the available forage intensifies. At the beginning of summer, there were many more fish than there are now, and if a muskie wants to eat, he’ll have to pick up the pace and be a little less choosy. Coupled with the fact that females are beginning to form eggs for next spring’s spawn and need a lot more protein, muskies start to put on the feedbag in earnest. Though there’s probably less pressure on muskie waters in the fall, the fishing can be dynamite clear up into October and November.

Along with the diminished availability of food, the annual fall turnover has begun on some lakes and plays into muskie behavior. As the shallow, oxygen-rich water mixes with the deeper, oxygen-depleted depths, the instability makes muskies tougher to find as they search for the best combination of dissolved oxygen and warmer temperatures. Eventually, the water stabilizes and the fish will move back into the shallow weedbeds, humps and rocks that they frequented earlier in the year, right where anglers can reach them. Big muskies are going to be in water only 4 or 5 feet deep during this transition time into colder weather, and the same structure that was hot in the spring is going to be on fire again. When water temperatures start dipping into the low 50s, muskies gorge themselves on anything foolish enough to venture within range.

Shallow areas with wave action become important late-season locations for anglers to key in on. Perch, ciscoes, shad and suckers become disoriented in the shifting water in these areas, and predators move in to take advantage of the confusion. Look for big muskies to cash in on an easy meal between islands, steep shorelines, islands and up along vertical banks. Sunken timber, rocks, weedbeds, grass, stumps and lily pads are all fair game. Fish, frogs, snakes, small waterfowl and mammals round out the fall muskie fare. Hungry muskies are opportunistic and will eat something up to a third of their own size, including each other.

Schooling shad are just the ticket in the late summer and early fall. Muskies loosely cooperate to push shad up through open water to the surface where a slashing charge will send the shad scurrying across the surface to avoid the carnage below. Shad can also be trapped along vertical banks and riprap by marauding muskies. A small Rapala Shad Rap, noisy topwater like an Arbogast Muskie Jitterbug or a silver Dardevle tossed through the fray can be deadly. These muskies aren’t messing around, and if you toss something that looks like a shad, it’ll probably be hit. There’s also a good chance you’ll be on more than one active muskie in a very small area.