The Run:

Starting around Columbus Day, landlocked salmon head from the open water of large lakes to the rivers as they prepare to spawn. These land-locked versions of anadramous Atlantic salmon have all the fight and acrobatics of their sea-going kin, but in a smaller package.

The Gameplan:

Feeding isn’t the first thing on the salmon’s minds when they stage near tributaries awaiting favorable river conditions, but they will still strike. Smelt-colored flies, brightly colored spinners and spoons, or nightcrawlers fished under a float will all take fall landlocks. Just be sure to check regulations before fishing, as some waters close to landlocked salmon fishing in the late fall and/or allow fly-fishing only.