October 2013

Expect the unexpected this year.

The summer months offer a stable pattern of bites that you can count on just about every day. Yes, we have some tough days and some incredible days, but for the most part, there is a good, reliable bite just about every day. Typically, the summer bite is deep and offshore, but with the rain and cooler temps this year, the fish have been more scattered and more difficult to locate. That being said, I've had one of the best summers of my guide fishing career, thanks in no small part to my GREAT clients!

Now... It isn't summer anymore. The days are a little shorter, the sun sits a little lower, the humidity is down, and of course, the temps are starting to drop. All of these factors have an effect on the fish and the bite starts to change. The most notable change is that the fish are more sensitive to weather. As where the summer is stable, the fall transition period will show more extremes of excellent days and tough days.

Typically in the fall, we have a "turnover" where the stratification in the lake that has built up over the summer will start to break up as the surface layer mixes with the cold, deep layer. During the turnover, fishing is usually pretty tough. Well, lets be honest...fishing is pretty terrible during the turnover. You can tell the turnover is starting when you start to see gas bubbles rising to the surface. I'm already seeing gas bubbles now and this is kinda how I feel about it.

Fortunately, the turnover is short-lived and then fishing improves dramatically. Pretty soon it will be topwater, jigs, and swimbaits. So buckle up --things are about to come alive out there. For more information about the fall turnover, see our article by clicking here.

Looking ahead, late November and into December are the times of year that we see some of the biggest spotted bass on Carter's. For those of you looking to notch a 6lb monster spot into your fishing career, go ahead and lock up a date with me now --I'm already starting to book trips.

Gearing up in October

Crayfish get active in the fall as well. Which means that the jig bite will get better and better in the next 30 days. Our friends over at SpotSticker have come out with three new products that are specifically designed for spotted bass jig fishing: the Hand Tied Casting Jig, the Crawler Head, and most recently, the Hand Tied Football Jig.

We are all familiar with jigs, but you probably haven't seen anything like the Crawler before. For you guys fishing lakes that have a lot of docks, like Lanier and Chickamauga, you'll want to stock up on these. It is basically a jig head that is made for a skirt and a trailer. The front of the head has a little "foot" that stands the bait up, but I think it also helps it skip along the surface when skipping docks.

I recommend that you try the light one (1/8th oz) with some Z-Man skirts and your favorite twin-tail grub. Big Bite's new Real Deal Craw looks awesome on the Crawler Head.

For skipping docks, use a short medium-light spinning rod, like the St.Croix 6' Medium-Light action. For making long casts down main lake points, try the 7'1" Rage rod also from St. Croix. Water gets gin-clear in the fall, so make sure you have a premium fluorocarbon line, such as Sunline's 7lb Sniper (I love this line!).

UPDATE: Check out this monster spot caught on the combo shown above.

Good luck out there,