Lake level is 1068.97 (2.03 down) with water temps around 80-82 degrees and clear water conditions.  The rain and cooler temps in the middle of August have kept the lake level up and cooled water temps into the 70s. We crept back up as of the end of August to the mid 80’s, but are now cooling back down to the 80-82 degree mark.  Extended forecasts show some cooler nights, so we very well might creep back down and start a really early turnover which will be interesting to say the least. If we see some normal September weather then striper fishing will be very good trolling with lead core or Cannon down riggers, as it has been thru August.  Lead core is a braided line that has a lead strip running the entirety of the line making the line heavy so that you can get a jig or spoon down to the depths that the stripers will be at.  This can also be done with Cannon downriggers.  The 8-10 pound ball will get that lure down to a targeted depth even easier and with much less line out.  Lure choices will be the Striper Tackle Super Spin Shad in 2oz white/ white or chartreuse/ chartreuse glitter or Capt Mack’s 1.5 or 2 oz Chipmunk Bucktail in white/silver, white/chartreuse, or chartreuse/blue with 4 inch shad bodies or 6 inch u-tail trailers in white, chartreuse, or pink.  The Capt Mack’s Mini Mack with blades will also be a great lure to fish as a trolled lure in September. Try adding some weight to the Mini Mack by switching out the ¼ oz jig heads with Striper Tackle Ultra Pro Swim Bait heads in ¾ oz to get that Mini down farther without having to let out an additional 2-3 colors of lead core. All three of these baits should be pulled behind the boat at 2.5-3 mph and 7-9 colors back depending on the depth that you are marking fish on your Humminbird APEX or 50-75 feet behind the Canon downrigger ball. Each color will drop your jig approximately 3-4 feet of depth when pulling on lead core and that 50-75 feet behind the down rigger ball will give you 3-5 feet of additional depth below the downrigger ball. The stripers will be scattered over the trees and in the middle of creek channels like Big, Six Mile, Two Mile, Young Deer, Bald Ridge, and Shoal in 60-130 feet of water from the mouth of the creek to half way back in the creek. They will also be on the river channel in 100-150 feet later in the day. The bait bite will still be good and the only changes from Aug will be to concentrate in 90-140’ of water and to increase leader length to 9-11 feet of 10# fluorocarbon leader. The herring are not living well on the hook below 35 feet so take lots of bait if you are going to only rely on bait to catch fish. If we see some early cool down then the top water bite very well could get going early. Take a look back at our October GON fishing report posts the last few years to get an early jump on the upcoming bite. 

My pastor’s daily devotion really hit hard today.  “We are called to live boldly for Christ even when the world mocks us. This is the narrow path that Christ himself walked before us. May we follow faithfully.”  1 Corinthians 4:12-13, “We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly….” Hang on just a little longer, fall is close, but keep drinking lots of water.

Get out there and catch em up!

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