Fall isn't just for hunting; it also is the season for some of year's top fishing

It’s been a cool summer and hot weather didn’t arrive till the end of August, and the TV weather guy says we still have hot days ahead. 

However, leaves are beginning to swirl to the ground. Their color is changing. Particularly, the change is starting in my two Walnut trees out back. It may be part that fall is coming. 

It has been an unusual summer. Until the last few weeks, it has been quite cool. My grass never turned brown. It still is bright green and constantly in need of attention from the mower.

Fall probably is my favorite season. However, I have very little enthusiasm for what follows. Winter. 

It is true, Winter has some virtues, although the old mind struggles to enumerate many. It seems the number shrinks as my age increases.

However, summer really isn’t over. There will be more warm days and the water temperature is still warm. It is a time when big catfish are feeding prior to winter months. There isn’t a better time to land a big catfish. Their feeding frenzy, especially in rivers and big lakes, usually lasts through the middle of September when the water begins to cool.

And when the water begins to cool, it marks a time for crappie fishing action to pick up.

Crappie fishing can be as good in the fall as it is during the spring spawn. In fact, it can be just as much fun and productive as there are fewer people and boats on lakes and streams making noise and spooking the fish.

Fall crappie fishing can be a bit more challenging than spring action because often the fish are more scattered. They are harder to find. They also may be more unpredictable.

During fall, the water temperature eventually becomes about the same at all levels and crappie can be found at most any depth. However, once you find them, they can be caught.

During fall, a day in the outdoors can combine squirrel hunting and crappie fishing. My old friend Bayou Bill Scifres used to call it “squirrelshing”.