Fayette County Fishing Report

October/November 2004

            I am writing this month’s report the evening before I head to the FLW Championship in Birmingham, Alabama.  Just think, fish for four days, catch more weigh than anyone else and win $500,000.  Now that is pressure and each fish counts.  As most of you know you cannot win if you miss fish.  I am also writing this three days after two fishermen on Fayette almost came to blows over fish!  What are we thinking out there?  Another fisherman called me to report the incident, which he basically characterized as one boat cutting off another heading towards a pod of schooling fish.  No tournament, no half a million dollars on the line nothing but little green fish.   We have all seen this before but I think it bears repeating that we all represent our sport every time we wet a line and quite often when we are not even in the water.  No school of fish is worth a fight. No tournament is worth your reputation and no amount of money is worth your honor.

            Now on to fishing Fayette in the fall.  What a great time to be fishing the lake. Football season has taken some boats away as will hunting and you will have much of the lake to yourself and the rest of the hard-core fisherman.  As of this writing the fishing on Fayette has been very good and there is no reason to believe that it will do nothing but improve during the fall. While I am thinking about it, we have seen some changes in the lake this year. Numbers of gar have appeared for the first time.  The Blue Gill population has exploded.  Southern Naiad (Magnus) has really taken over much of the shallows and the reeds are everywhere.  No lake stays the same year after year and this is definitely a time of change.

            The fronts are coming in or a regular basis and do affect our fish like those on any other lake.  The water temperature is dropping from a 95-degree lake average and the shad and blue gill will be moving shallow. Naturally the bass will follow.  This is the time of year that you can load the boat (but remember the slot is 14-24!).  I am going to start shallow with top waters.  I have been throwing a Storm Chug Bug with a good bit of success along with a Buzz Bait.  It has not mattered much what color either bait has been.  I am fishing these on the main lake and secondary points and throwing as shallow as we dare.

            After the sun is up, I switch to either a SENKO in Chartreuse/Pepper or a Rapala DT6 in Shad or Blue Gill (imagine that!).  I fish these in the same areas as the topwater bite.  If the bite slows on either, I will change to a Texas rigged worm, pick your favorite color.  Many people enjoy throwing a spinnerbait this time of year and a War Eagle Mouse color makes a great choice.

            Don’t hesitate to move to deeper water, as some fish have never left it.   The Rapala DT-16 (yes, same colors) has produced more big fish than I can count on my boat.  One of the things I really like about them is that the paint if four layers: a sealant for the balsa wood, primer, paint and overcoat.  I have some baits that have caught hundreds of fish and feel like sand paper but the paint is all still there!  I am also throwing a drop shot in the discharge canal and letting it float with the current.  I tend to use a 4-inch Kut Tail worm in watermelon/black/gold.

In late November, Remember to pay close attention to the prevailing winds. If they have been out of the north for a few days before you fish, hit the points north of the discharge. If the winds have been from the south, fish along the discharge. The warmer water will have been pushed in the direction.  I am also keeping a Lucky Craft Lipless bait in the American Shad tied on to use before the fish go deeper.

This is the time of year that Fayette can really fog up during the morning.  I suggest you fish your way from the ramps during such periods.  Too many people think they know where they are and end up hitting something or someone a long way from where they thought they were.  Many fishermen now possess a GPS and think that means they can run the lake with impunity. Well, you folks are the most dangerous because you’re running at much too great a speed, looking at your GPS unit, rather than the water around you.  A GPS unit is NOT radar! Please be careful, wear your life jacket and dress appropriately.