Last week of September

Fishing continues to be strong on Lanier with lots of fish boated this week on the southside. The water quality is awesome and the cooler temps up top is bringing the fish to the surface most every day. It also allows the fish free roam throughout the water column and no doubt they’re taking full advantage. The good news is I expect this pattern to hold another 2-3 weeks and though the fish will move to shallow water again when on the prowl, they should continue to be catchable.

I was on the water 3 days this week and all were successful trips. Fish were found down by the dam and the numbers were impressive. 15 + on Tuesday by myself, 15-16 with Rick on Wednesday and another 10-11 Friday with Rick aboard again. The fishing was clearly an afternoon bite with the prime running from 4-8 all week. The big fish of the week was my 16.5 lb’er but we had several 14-15 lb fish as well including two bruisers Friday afternoon on a double.

The one trend the fish are following seems to be that they’re going shallow. Humps off the main channel seem to hold the most fish and if they are smooth, the fish are easy to find. So far they’re still biting the jigs, spoons and swim baits so  for the most part the bite has been good when over fish. The troll has been tough this week with no fish out over deep water and I haven’t yet figured out how to catch them using this method right now so I’ve got to adjust my technique. I’m thinking I might try going to a u-rig but I’m not sure just yet.

Next week the fishing should be good again. The new moon phase peaks Thursday with primes starting around 10:30 Monday. This means the mid day bite should be on and if conditions are right, we could see a lot of surface action. Can’t wait!!