spotaholic

Are they hitting buzzbaits yet? Chrome and Blue? I thought Gold being that the had Golden Shiners. Interesting. Please keep it coming.

I am leaving in the AM and packing up. I am going to be able to fish a couple of days and was wondering if anyone can give me a heads up on what to bring. I have gold and natural traps, junebug and green pumpkin beavers,yellow spinnerbaits, black and blue jigs. Someone with experience tell me what am I missing? Thanks for the info.

Let the wind blow and give me a Trap. I also like to fish sunny down wind banks with a jerkbait and crankbait. Keep a eye on your temp and look for the warmest water when it gets real cold.IMO

Let me add to mine.....My wife says to much.

I am with RR, I fish at least 3 days a week and as many as 5 a week. I am addicted. So I guess a total of 150 plus days a year.

I agree with most of what is being said but let's also use a little common sense. I fish shallow all year long at Clarks Hill which is a very deep lake. The majority of the fish after about 9:00 AM in the winter are caught on shallow points with rocks ( Warm up the fastest) and shallow weed flats that are less than 6 feet deep. In 4 days of fishing in the last week boated over 40 fish with several over five and 1 eight. Fish were caught on #5 Shad Rap,Rat L Trap, and TD Minnow. All of those baits run less than 4 feet. I know this pattern may not work everywhere but not all the fish move deep. The majority of the deep fish I catch come first thing in the AM. These are just my observation and I am sure others have the exact oppisite happen.

I would go with a extra hook first. Fish don't care and hook up % is better. The next thing remember that you don't have to jerk a spinnerbait a nice fluid sweep gets the job done. The third is your rod choice. I have gone to a more forgiving rod and away from extra fast tips. use a M or MH Mederate Fast tip rod which helps from jerking the bait from the fish. IMO

Muddy....Firetiger or RedCraw Stained .....White or Citrus Shad Clear.... Shad pattern

I fish 3-5 times a week and water clarity only dictates color. I use a worm all year long in different ways. I used it several weeks ago at Clarks Hill in the back of a creek that was looking more like mud than water and the only thing they would bite was a worm. Dirty water Junebug Clear to light stain watermelons or green pumpkin. I have some great luck also with black in mud.That is a good rule of thumb to remember.

I am all for a plan so please don't get me wrong on my next statements. I usally have a good idea what 4 or 5 rods will be on the deck but I think many fisherman think way to much. I base alot of my fishing on feel and confidence. I may start at fishing a bait and if I am not feeling it I switch to a bait that I FEEL will catch fish. Great example was this week on two trips(Monday & Tuesday) The conditions were perfect for a topwater buzzbait bite but after a little bit and not a fish I felt like I needed to change to a floating worm. The conditions were way wrong for this bait. I made the switch and in 2 days caught almost 40lbs of fish. That may seem like a light load but at Clarks Hill this time of year 8lbs-9lbs are winning weights. The guy I was fishing with had a plan and stuck to it and caught one fish. I tried to tell him several times to change but he kept on saying this is what they are suppose to hit. The point... plans are good but feel and good old common sense are as important.

Two funny things I guess. One time I was fishing in the back of the boat and my friend hung his jig up in the middle of some brush and as he was getting it out ....plop on the deck about a 5 foot Cotton Mouth.After the screaming like a little girl ended he then gets his pistol and shoots 2 holes in the bottonm of his skeeter. He then tells me it is easy to fix the holes. Fils the holes with some silicone and back to fishing like nothing ever happened. The other happened this year.; I was fishing in my boat watching some schooling fish when I smell this really bad smell. I say to the guy in the back boy something must be dead around here. I here a chuckle and turn around only to see the bare butt of my friend as he is taking care of some buisness and here is the funny part. I preceed on tapping the trolling motor and watch him with his pants around his ankles fall clean out of the boat. I amsure he didn't think it was real funny but everytime I think about it I get a chuckle.

Both are excellent choices.Depending on water clarity and mood of the fish. You just have to throw it and see what they like. There is one advantage to the buzzbait, You can cover alot of water in a shorter amount of time. When I am fishing I usally have one of each on the deck along with a gunfish,sammy or cra.zy shad. I love topwater and I am not afraid to throw them even up into the day.

Hooker, Great pics. That color is one of the best made. I can't tell you how many times I have been working a fluke in that color and think I am looking at live bait.

Zoom is also making a frog/fluke hook now that is awesome. I sure wish they were out earlier in the year.

IMO I fish a fluke all year long either on a lead head or weightless. Jighead is deadly in fall and winter. cast let it fall and jerk, jerk sink. Hold on. Weightless twitch twitch pause is great but experiment and take the temp of the fish. As for colors there is a bunch of colors that will catch fish but day in and day out go with pearl, albino or white ice. Excellent bait and don't limit yourself it will catch fish all year lond and just about all day long in most lake.

In the summer time I really like to fish a senko or a zoom fish doctor on the c-rig. It is al ittle different than the normal worm,lizard or crawfish. I also like to pump instead of drag it. One more tactic instead of fishing deep to shallow switch it up and put your boat inside edge and throw to the deeper water. Everyone else is presenting the bait the other way and it gives the fish a different look. On pressured water this is deadly. I will also c-rig on a spinning rod with light weight and finesse worm and throw it right to the waters edge and slow swim it back. Hold onto the rod because you might get your arm ripped off. It's all about doing something alittle differnt.

The temp is over 85 but lots of vegatation which raises O2. I think that is the key. Like I said early this pattern has worked for years. The funny thing is it really does not matter if the sun is out or overcast. There is just enough cover to keep the fish there. I can't wait till Tuesday when I get to go again.

I know a bunch of people will disagree with what I am going to say but here goes. I read a bunch about fish going dep in the summer. I do believe there is bass deepe but I don't think it's because of the heat. I think tehy are there all year long.I fish a very deep lake in Ga. that has long points and humps. You can be fishing around 100 feet of water on a fifteen foot hump. Though I catch fish there most of the time they are schools of 2-3 pound fish. I catch some of my best summer fish in the far back of creeks. 2 Days this week in 95 degree temps I caught fish in 2 feet of water. day 1 7 fish in about 4 hours. The biggest 6.5 and the small fish was 2. The same thing Saturday I fished the back of a creek and 2 of us caught 18 fish in about 3 hours and you guessed it 2-3 feet of water. This pattern has produced for as long as I can remember. Try something different while everyone is pounding humps and points get by yourself and go shallow. Baits of choice. Buckeye Spotremover(standup jig with 4" finesse worm) Junebug t-Rig with light weight, Floating worm, Jigs.IMO

I just wish we had some pads in Clarks Hill lake in Ga. When I fish a farm pond with lots of junk a pegging a sinker does the trick.

I was using the same line on a finesse rig and lost alot of fish. I think in part to the stretch. I switched to Yozuri Hybrid and have not missed a fish on it. I think that there is very little stretch innthe yozuri. You may want to take a close look at your rod. You need to use at least a med with xfast tip and I prefer a MH Xfast tip for senkos. IMO.

I always fish from my bass boat. I like being able to move when conditions change. I fish on a 17,000 acre lake and there is always fish biting somewhere.

Sorry to hear about your pain but the fishing is sure good in Ga. right now. Tuesday afternoon 3 hours of fishing 11 fish with 1 over 5 and 1 over 4 the rest around 2.All on finesse worms. I am trying to slow down and fish different baits then everyone else.

Trailer Hooks. I would also look into a rod designed for spinnerbaits and buzzbaits.Something with a moderate action in med or med heavy. These rods are very much like a crankbait rod. I never set a hook with a spinnerbait,buzzbait or hard topwater. The motion is more of a long sweep. I miss very few fish on these baits where I was missing alot using standard rods.

Grandma's Peanut Butter Cookies on the are always on the boat.

I am from Evans GA. 15 miles from Clarks Hill Lake a 17,000 acre lake. Evans is just outside of Augusta Home of The Masters. I fish from a 21 ft Stratos with a 225 Johnson and get to fish 3-4 days a week. What a life.