Fishing Report for Lake Chatuge, Fontana Lake, Lake Glenville, Bear Lake, Nantahala Lake and Lake Burton

 21 Steeple Rd. Sylva NC

      It is coming up on that time of the year! Water temps are going to start dropping pretty quick as the extended forecast has highs in the upper 60's and lows in the 40's! We have been tapering off of the summer bite slowly as it has been uncommonly hot the past 2 weeks but the fall transitional patterns are starting to pick up! Fish are schooling pretty regularly in the morning and chasing shad all day. There are areas of dense shallow largemouth still feeding on bream and shad that are shallow. Points and shoals are holding fish. Fall fishing and top water always belong in the same sentence. Frogs, poppers, buzzbaits, walking baits, whopper ploppers, wake baits, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, flukes, underspins, spybaits, jerkbaits and A-Rigs will all play at some point very soon. Jigs, worms shakyhead and dropshots will be able to catch some good fish too.

Lake Chatuge

Temp: 77* and dropping

Clarity: 8ft

Water Level: -6

Pattern: With the water still being warm there is a great population of shallow largemouth! They are wolf packing down banks where bream and gizzard shad are dense! Frogs, buzzing frogs and wakebaits will do the trick! Look for flats with a lot of sand and gravel mixed in. Fish are starting to school more regularly and they have some size! Fish points, humps, shoals, saddles and creek channels in the back of pockets. Throwing big top waters over brush will put some fish in the boat as well. Small Kietech swimbaits, underspins and spybaits will put some good fish in the boat!

Fontana Lake

Temp: 76* and dropping

Clarity: 15ft.

Water Level: -18

Pattern: Fish are schooling hard in the morning just about everywhere on the lake, look for very distinct points that stick way out into the main lake to have schooling fish all day. Back water is still VERY productive for largemouth, head water of rivers have some decent fish, laydowns and chunk rock bank are holding above average fish. Swimbaits, crankbaits, topwaters and spybaits should play extremely well!

Lake Glenville

Temp: 75* and dropping

Clarity: 10ft

Water Level: -6

Pattern: Smallmouth schooling in creek mouths and off of points, big topwaters are playing great! Counting down soft body swimbaits to the depth you're marking fish will put them in the boat. Covering water is your best friend! Spinnerbaits are catching + sized fish as well as big wake baits. Don't get discouraged if fishing is going slow, it can turn around in a split second if the right school shows up!

Bear Lake

Temp: 76* and dropping

Clarity: 15ft

Water Level: -10

Pattern: Running the banks hard with buzzbaits, frogs, rats and spinnerbaits will produce some decent fish. Flipping a jig, shakyhead and dropshot into and around brush will produce some bites. Big bass are keying in on the trout population. Look for big bass on steeper banks with lots of brush.

Nantahala Lake

Temp: 75* and dropping

Clarity: 15ft

Water Level: -8

Pattern: There is an abundance of brush on the banks everywhere. Big largemouth are moving up shallow and are becoming more aggressive by the degree of dropping temperature! Big smallmouth are breaking on poppers, walking baits and other threadfin imitators. The big largemouth love the big trout and big meals! Stay shallow and look for deeper smallmouth when the sun comes up! A lot of summer time lures are crushing them still!

Lake Burton

Temp: 78* and dropping

Clarity: 10ft

Water Level: -3

Pattern: Big largemouth packing shallow, large swimbaits, frogs and buzzbaits playing well! Big spots schooling on herring on shoals, points and brush. Beating the bank will not be very productive. Look for schooling fish in the middle of pockets and where creek channels run is a smart choice. Big tree falls always hold fish, look to pull big largemouth out with big swimbaits!

Hiwassee Lake

Temp: 77* and dropping

Clarity: 8ft

Water Level: -6

Pattern: Fish are schooling pretty much all day, spotted bass are eating threadfin and herring on the main lake and in creek channels. Big largemouth are in and around marinas and back waters looking to pack and push big schools of shad, bream and perch. Big baits are playing well and top waters are playing well! As the water cools look for spinnerbaits and soft swimbaits to play more! Frog and buzzbaits will put some big fish as well as quite a few fish in your boat for the next couple of weeks while the water is still warm!

Big Baits for BIG Bass

Big Baits for Big Bass

      Throwing big baits has completely revolutionized fishing over the past 10 years! From trophy hunters on the West Coast to Elite Series anglers big baits have changed the game! I have a few things for you to think about in the form of analogies, comparison's and some BIG thoughts to help give you more confidence when buying and using BIG BAITS!

1. Fish don't know how big they are!
Fish do not have mirrors to look at themselves and compare themselves to other fish or their prey. What does that mean?.. they'll strike anything that they think looks apitizing! I think so often we think "a fish won't eat that, it's too BIG!" Bass have a brain the size of a pea, it is arguably the most instinctual apex predatory fish in the fresh water. That means the only thing they know is EAT and reproduce for a few weeks in the spring. They do not possess the cognitive process of thinking logically so feeding is all about trial and error!

2. Chicken Nuggets vs. 20oz Steak
      When you were a kid you ate fish sticks, chicken nuggets and other small little comfort foods. As you grew up to an adult through trial and error and what you could handle in portion sizes you became a lover of big steak!

3. The senior citizen community!
It doesn't matter if it's people or bass the older you get there are fewer in the older generation. Old wise fish and people act different than a good majority of the population of their respective species. Their lives revolve around efficiency and good decision making! Big bass do not want to expend useless energy when they don't need to just like older people. "Why cut the grass when I can pay a kid", "why chase those little fish when I can eat something big." They feed different, they act different and what I tell people is, "YOU HAVE TO FIND THE OLD FOLKS COMMUNITY", their dinner bell and their food of choice. How often do you target a 2lb to 3lb fish? Probably a vast majority of the time. You can target giant bass specifically and have great success! The biggest thing to remember is persevere!

Here are our favorite BIG Baits to throw when fishing Lake Glenville, fishing Fontana Lake, fishing Lake Chatuge, fishing Lake Burton and Bear Lake! They are all available at Dream Catcher's Fishing Supply located 21 Steeple Rd. Sylva NC 28779.

Bull Shad 8"

Deps 250 Slide Swimmer

8" Huddleston

Megabass I-Slide