12-4-09 Striper Fishing Report Hartwell

water temp 57 degrees /just before strong cold front / air temp 51, overcast / wind 10 mph

Mark and Bryce with Hartwell striper

Searched for bait several hours before clients arrived. Most bait has moved up to the end of the rivers. Found great scattered bait between Coneross Creek Road and Oconee Point up Senica with some off the beach. Bait was stacked in there. Water was muddy from 3 inches of rain the day before. Figured the striped bass had been pushed south from the dirty water. Some acitve stripers still hung around. Managed several fish right off the start, missed 3 or 4. Sparce fish marked around the River Channel near Glen Ferry landing up the Tugalo. No real bait pods suspended in the river but larger fish were marked, never fished it. Marked 5-6 larger pods of bait off of Todd’s points and managed 4 more stripers with several 8 pounders mixed in. No bird activity to speak of.

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Nov. 14 Jocassee Bass and Trout Fishing SC

Sorry for not keeping up with the Blogs lately, been real busy. Should start to keep up with fishing reports better come Dec and the beginning of the year!

Had a trip on Sat. with a group from Greer. The bait is stacked up in the back of the creeks. Not the very back but a good ways in. Found the bass stacked under bait in about 45 foot of water. Jigged with Mega bait jigs and drop shots. Had constant action the whole trip. Several nice largemouth mixed in. The majority of the fish where relating to the mouths of small secondary coves in the back of major creeks. Look to the North end of the lake.

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Oct 20 Guided Fishing Trip on Fontana Lake

Ed with Two Nice Smallies from Fontana Lake

Water temp: 78 / Cold front line on top of us / 56 degrees / Pouring rain!

Good bite early. Bait still staging toward back of creeks around Panther Creek. Started out looking for schooling bass on bait up little Tenn. River. Stopped at several key areas with no action. Ran to Panther creek and jigged 40-50 foot. Caught 5-6 smallies and one white bass. All on 3 inch mega bait spoon with chartrouse linner. Bite stopped abruptly. Moved to multiple creeks looking for same condition but could not talk a fish into biting. Went back to Panther Creek and tried drop-shot in 45 feet with Gulp 2 inch minnow in white. Managed one more on this Rig. Rigged the bait 5-6 feet above the weight to get to the suspended bass stationed below the bait balls. Ran up little Tenn. to mile post 80 and fished current on points. Managed 5 or so bass on jigs in 25-50 foot all off main river points. No fish relating to banks. Did see some fish around piling on bridges, which are always a good place to check this time of year! OK day considering the front that moved through. Really think this affected the bite toward the end of the day. Never saw any fish schooling on bait.

Capt. Frank Askew
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Lake Fontana Deep Water Small Mouth – Oct. 14

Lake Fontana Small Mouth Guided Trip

water temp 68 degree on main lake and 70 in rivers / Steady hard rain / low 60s / Cold front approaching

Dominate patterns: Find bait heading to back of creeks and points were bass stage on downside of current

Lake levels were falling due to TVA pulling water. Good current on points up little tenn. river around mile 80. Nice 4-5 pound smallie hooked in two foot of water on this pattern. No fish were relating to banks in creeks except a 2-3 pounder in the very back of Chambers caught on topwater. Fish were not relating to deep main lake banks or humps. Good bait was located in Panther and Mouse creek. Bait was staging at the last deep narrow channel before flats open up in back. Water depth between 38-59 feet. Managed 18-20 bass all of which were 2-4 pounders mixed in the bait, mixture of small mouth and spots with a few large mouth. Small 2 inch shinner imitations worked well. Jigged 2 and 3 inch jigging spoons, drop shots with flukes and gulp minnows, and blade baits all produced. Most fish came from 45 feet down.

Tip: When scattered bait balls are present in the fall try throwing a heavy blade bait. Let if sink to prefered depth and slowly real in just fast enough to get the vibration. Also try try ripping it in a yoyo fashon. large 5-7 inch spoons worked this same way will often trigger the large fish into biting.

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Capt. Frank Askew
Keep on Fishing!

October 9th Trout and Bass Fishing Report

Water temp 72 / no wind / cloudy early then clear / front approaching / temp 65-70

Started at the mouth of the Toxway River and fished up river to bends pulling sutton and badcreek spoons at 70-90 foot of water. Marked good bait at 80 feet with scattered bait on top. Moved to intakes at dam with nothing then to point of fishers knob and up Whitewater River. Several outfitters already in area. Fished till 11:00 with no takers. Never saw any fish caught. Decided to run the bass to get a few fish in the boat. Marked good bait (small) mid-way up Horsepasture and adjoining creek. Jigged spoons and dropshot in 65-70 foot of water. First fish was a spot in 35 foot drifting a bank near mouth of creek. Landed several smaller ones in the area. Moved to middle of Toxaway river and threw to suspended bass around shad schools in 80-130 foot of water. Fished suspending jerk bait and rattle traps. Boated several others with a mix of spots and largemouth. All hit suspendeing jerk baits. Later ran windy banks and caught a nice 3 1/2 pound smallmouth on small strike king colorado blad spinnerbait. Few more small bass were caught and we retired for the day. Clients seemed happy so I was too.

Capt. Frank Askew
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October 9th and 10th largemouth Bass on Lake Hartwell

water temp: 74 / temp: 70 degrees / cloudy and windy / cold front pushed through about 5:00 pm

Fish relating back to deeper water with front moving in. Very few fish related to coves on the 9th and completely gone on the 10th. Good numbers of bass can still be caught on points and humps. Shad relating to mouths of creeks so therefor the bass are fallowing. Slow sinking plastics, carolina rigged 10 inch worms, and large crank baits are staple for this time of year. Bass are ready to eat larger baits. Drop shotting in 25-40 foot of water produced several nice bass on inside of timber along steep bank heading near mouth of coves.

Tournament results: Phil Shope Tournament

first place : 14 pounds
heavest bass: 4 pounds

October 8th Hartwell fishing report

Water temp 74 / calm wind / sunny / 80 degrees

Largemouth
Lake was extremely calm today. Prefished for Phil Shope tournament. As the water is cooling bass will begin to fallaw shad to the back of creeks. Found good numbers of small spotted bass in 1 – 2 foot of water in back of creeks. Bait presence and grass were essential. Several 2-3 pound largemouth bass were on this as well. Smaller largemouth were found on banks relating to cover 1/2 way back in creeks to the back. Large spinner baits with Indiana balds were producing in shad color. Checked several points with strike king series six but no takers.

Striped bass
Striped bass are beginning to school more and more. Stripers busting bait in 40-70 foot of water. Look down toward dam still. Caught 10 or so on poppers and skitter poppers. Positioned boat between bait schools and wait till surface feeding starts. Cast to breaking fish. Works everytime.

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Capt. Frank Askew
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Sept 12 Hartwell Striper report

water temp: 79 degrees / sunny / stable pressure

Started at sunrise South of Broyles landing. Fished points and deep water with trees reaching 60-70 foot. Another boat caught a few downlining in middle of channel. We were trolling slowly with downriggers and one flat-line. Ventured to east side of lake and ran across a small school. Fish held tight to 150 foot diameter area and hooked up every time we came around. Lots of bait present in area. Managed five in the boat and lost about the same in trees. Trees topped out at 55-60 foot in 90 foot of water. All came from downriggers. Later ran to where rivers meet and had three or four hits with no hookups. Fish were hitting real lightly today, not the normal slam. Ran South toward dam and fished steep banks in 70 foot of water. Marked a little bait but no fish. Later ran back up river to area we fished this morning and boated one more.

Fish should be schooling more and more as we get into October.

Tip: Constantly adjust downriggers or downlines to stay just ontop of tress. Fish will come out of the trees just far enought to grab a bait.

Keep fishing,

Capt. Frank Askew
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Sept. 8th Lake James Bass Report

water temp 79 – air temp 75 – rain and cloudy w/ sever thunderstorms

Fished points and docks on main channel in the SW portion of the lake. Fishing was slow with full moon. We managed 5 bass all caught on dark blue spinner baits. Fish were relating to docks and cover in 25 foot of water.

Pattern: When nastiest storm rolls in switch to largest spinnerbait in the box and find the edge of large flats adjacent to the main channel. Large deep dwelling bass will slip up under these conditions to feed. The bait needs to be reeled fairly fast just under the turbid waves to create distortion. Darker hues work best in low light conditions. WATCH OUT FOR LIGHTING

Lake James Sept. 1 Fishing Feport

water temp: 81 / wind: 10-15 kts / 75 degrees

Started around 9:00 am. Tried topwater frog and shakey head in State park area of lake for a short while with no bites. Went walleye fishing and jigged 15 or more small walleye in 45-55 foot of water on the East side of 126 bridge. No real keepes with the biggest being 14 inches or so. Bait was present and all fish came on spoons and blade baits. One fish spit up 2 inch silver minnows so I tried trolling 4 inch Rouges deep to try to coax a bigger fish, no takers.

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