My highest regard to anyone who dared fish over this past weekend. You apparently have one or more of the following: excellent rain gear; a powerful bilge pump; an insatiable desire to go fishing; no common sense.
Folks in Columbia, South Carolina, are fishing in their front yards. Yes, we can always use the rain, but with all that blessed precipitation we can now agree experientially with King David, "My cup runneth over."
Surprisingly the level of Lake Lanier has not risen too dramatically since the deluge. Wednesday morning saw the lake level roughly three feet below full pool.
But the timing of the increase in volume is complicating things enormously for bass fishermen. The fall turnover is underway and the infusion of new water is adding to the confusion of the fishery.
Bass, like me, don't think clearly when change is thrust into their life. Bass, unlike me, stop eating when their situation demands lifestyle changes. That explains the increase in my waistline and the decrease in my catch rate.
Right now fishing is unpredictable. You'll struggle for hours and hours without any evidence of fish in the lake, and then suddenly you'll catch three fish on three consecutive casts. You'll say to yourself, "Now I got them figurepd out!", only to have them ignore you totally for the next 200 casts. Go figure.
Surface temperatures are in the low to mid seventies and most creeks are slightly stained in color.
My advice for this week is to start on very steep rock banks - bluff walls in the River Forks area are good locations - and throw a small white buzzbait right on the rock. The smaller the buzzbait the better; the closer to the shoreline the better. Seek out banks that face west as the sun rises, knowing that the shaded shorelines will produce the longest.
Once the sun is above the treeline you'll need to fish vertically. Avoid fishing directly under your boat as the fish are quite skittish during the transitioning lake conditions. Pitch that dropshot or shakeyhead fifty-feet or more away from your vessel.
My most productive colors right now are redbug shad and the always reliable green pumpkin.
And have ready at your feet a long rod with a big topwater bait (so you can cast it a country mile) for the times a school feeds on the surface. That will become more and more commonplace as October unfolds.
It's a great time of year for fishermen and women: the part time fishermen are in the woods looking for Bambi, the scenery is spectacular, the air temperatures are comfortable and the fishing is on the verge of breaking loose.
God's blessing to you as you enjoy His magnificent creation.
