September Fishing Report Fontana Lake, Lake Chatuge, Bear Lake and Lake Glenville

September Fishing Report:
Lake Glenville, Fontana Lake, Lake Chatuge, Bear Lake
Stop by Dream Catcher's Fishing Supply for more indepth lures, spots and techniques that will definitely help you put more fish in the boat! 21 Steeple Rd. Sylva NC

Overview

     All of the lakes are starting to drop in temperature and water levels. With the mornings starting to get a little more crisp the dog days are just about over! Fish are becoming more aggressive throughout the day as well as the bite getting even better in the morning! All of the shad are hatched and running for their lives as well as the small hatched bream in the shallows. As the water continues to cool look for more big bass to move shallow getting back in the highest concentration of oxygenated water and largest abundance of bait fish. There will be a few bream still to spawn in September on the Full Moon and with the cooling water I'd make a note to find a big population of bream! September is the month of the frog and top waters will be hard to beat!

Lake Glenville
Water Temp: 78*
Clarity: 6ft
Water Level: -5
Pattern: There are still an abundance of wolf packs up shallow and will continue to be until the water hits the 60's again. September always brings an abundance of GIANT fish schooling on herring around the lake. Look for fish on points and pockets while covering a lot of water with shad imitating baits and bream imitating baits! Swimbaits, crankbaits, spinnerbaits and walking baits will definitely put some fish in your boat! When you're fishing Lake Glenville remember that the fish are aggressive and moving fast. 

Fontana Lake
Water Temp: 80*
Clarity: 15ft
Water Level: -17
Pattern: Fish are schooling small threadfin in the mouths of rivers and creeks, big fish are around but very wise. Using small threadfin imitators like a kietech or spybait will put fish in your boat! Back water still has big largemouth. Less abundance of quantity in the back water but great quality. As the nights get colder look for the fish to wake up and school like crazy!

Lake Chatuge
Water Temp: 80*
Clarity: 6ft
Water Level: -4
Pattern: The backs of creeks and pockets have throngs of bream, big packs of largemouth will be around. Off shore brush piles, humps and structure are holding good schools of spotted bass, the spots will start to school more as the water cools. Milk runs are the way to fish. Covering water with top water baits and having confidence that you're going to run into them is key!

Bear Lake
Water Temp: 78*
Clarity: 10ft
Water level -12
Pattern: What little bit of structure is in the water is holding a fish, flipping and pitching will put some fish in the box but nothing beats a big wood rat! Fish are coming unglued on bluff walls and near by structure for the big top waters! 

From Dog Days to Dream Days!

Bass fishing in the summer can be among the toughest things to do on earth, especially fishing Lake Glenville, Fontana Lake and Lake Chatuge! There are so many variables that effect you (the angler), the fish and the lake conditions. From the bright hot sun to the crazies doing donuts around you on jet skis and boarding boats, it can make for brutal fishing conditions! There are controllable factors and uncontrollable factors in every situation so I will do my best at breaking down how I most efficiently approach the controllable factors during the dog days of the Summer!

1) Prepare for the elements!

This is vague, I know but nonetheless it is vital to a dream day!
a. Food- Eating a light healthy meal filled with fruits, vegetables and some protein will keep your energy up while the sun is trying to beat you down!
b. Clothes- Wearing the right clothes is so key to a dream day on the water! I love a t-shirt and shorts but the reality is even when I wear sun screen my skin feels hot to the touch and and I have to reapply it throughout the day. I LOVE my Columbia Omnishade and Omnishield technology! It's light, cool, at an affordable price, looks good and is extremely comfortable! I like breathable pants and a breathable long sleeve shirt their PFG stuff is TOP OF THE LINE!
c. Hydration- Staying hydrated maybe the best kept secret for feeling good on the water. Yeah you may have to pee a couple extra times but the sun will literally evaporate moisture out of you and cause head aches and severe dehydration! Bring WATER, fill your coolers with ICE and stay sippin'! 

These tips will keep you physically ready and even mentally ready, now let's talk about fishing!

2) Fish Think Like People

a. AC/ Shade- I tell my clients, fish are like people during the dog days, we like AC and shade and so do fish! Cool water in the form of creeks and out deep is where you will find your steady population of fish! Cool oxygenated water is the key that unlocks success! Aquatic grass is also great! It produces oxygen, shade and usually there will be some sort of bait fish population! 
b. Go for broke or go for bites-In the summer I always take the mentality go for broke or go for bites! I like simple baits that I know will get bit like a drop shot or small tube. The fish doesn't have to make a hard decision in warm water to eat something simple they can conserve there energy and eat light (like us). But when it's time to pig out that means it's cook out time! In the same fashion, I am going for broke! I love throwing big topwaters, spoons, frogs and swimbaits in the summer! Usually if I can mix and match a bag with going for bites and going for broke it was a pretty good day!
c. Go Early-Cool temps at night make those fish wake up first thing in the morning and they get after it! Most of the best fishing during the summer is when there is barely enough light to see right up until the sun is fully up over the trees! After that I stay deep and I stay cool! Going early also helps you miss the crazies that come out around 10! 

I hope this helps you turn these dog days into DREAM DAYS! Like us on Facebook and  follow us on instagram! Tight lines!!!

Big News for Dream Catcher's Fishing Supply

Dream Catcher's Fishing Supply's official opening date will be August 6th! If you are a local or visitor of the Smoky Mountains we are your fishing store! We are a shop for fisherman by fisherman! Whether you are a fly fisherman or fishing out on the lake our professional guides want to give you the latest insight and show you what's working!

Address: 21 Steeple Rd. Sylva NC 28779
We are located on 74W just before Exit 85 in Sylva! Our shop in on your way to every lake and river in the Smoky Mountain Region!

We will be carrying all guide approved lures, flies, bait, tackle, apparel and equipment to ensure your Dream Catch becomes a reality!

We will also be offering free seminars by our guides and industry professionals one night a week! The seminars will include many different subjects like reading electronics, knot tying, fly tying, patterning fish, using finesse gear, big swimbaits, what to look for in weather changes and many other vital keys to improving your skills! Each week we will post what the upcoming seminar will cover and who the guide or industry professional will be! Stay tuned for more updates!

Fishing Report Late May: Lake Chatuge, Lake Glenville, Fontana Lake and Bear Lake

General Notes: The month of May has continued to be fantastic fishing in all of the lakes around the Smoky Mountain region! The spawn is just about finished up as I believe about 99% of the fish are done spawning. In 4 trips this week we counted a total of 1 bass still on a bed. So what does that mean? It's time to pattern post spawn bass and bass in transition to their summer patterns! This time of the year can be one of the most amazing times of the year while also being one of the most difficult times of the year! There are a lot of bass guarding fry up but that too is about to end quick. Many of those fish are heading back out deep!

Lake Chatuge:

Temp: 71-74

Clarity: 3-7ft

Topwater and some more topwater and swimbaits and topwater! Fish are packing up and schooling on herring across the lake. With water still relatively comfortable for fish, look for a bite at the top of the water column. Big largemouth are shallow and stay shallow! Big spotted bass will be nomadic and chasing bait in creek mouths, points and wind blown bays. The occasional largemouth will be in those fish. Big bass get big eating big forage! Big forage is at the top of the water or in shallow water mimic the big forage and get some big bites!

The Jackson County Shop with a Cop fundraiser tournament is June 4th out of Ledford's Chapel! $50 entry and should be a great turn out! A great way to give back to the community and support our police officers that keep us safe! and I think 19lbs 8oz will win!

Fontana Lake:

Temp: 72-75

Clarity: 8ft-12ft

If you want to avoid small bass go to the backs of creeks! The largemouth are there in abundance! Swimbaits, frogs, wacky worms, finesse worms, flukes and cranking the channels going back to them will produce above average Fontana fish! Wolf packs of giant largemouth are around, if you can be at the right place at the right time you can put a Fontana FREAK in the boat! There are still some old ancient hammers swimming in there!

Lake Glenville:

Temp: 67-71

Clarity: 3ft-5ft

The spawn is over! Bass are in tree's eating bream, up shallow eating bream or out on points feeding on blueback herring! Flukes, walking baits, swimbaits, spinnerbaits, crankbaits are catching them off of points. You can go shallow and press your luck, won't get many bites but they will be good! There are herring schools everywhere! The bass are right behind them!

Bear Creek Lake:

Temp: 71-73

Clarity: 15ft

The lake has fish swimming shallow everywhere! There is an abundance of shallow bait over top of tree's and load of bass on the banks! I like big wake baits, buzz frogs and hollow body frogs!

Book your next fishing trip of a lifetime at DreamCatcherGuides.com! We can't wait to take you out on the water!

Fishing Report 5/4/16: Lake Chatuge, Lake Glenville, Fontana Lake and Bear Lake

General Notes: This entire spring has been absolutely incredible and I personally believe the best days are still to come! Right now we are starting to see the next seasonal transition take place, spawn to post spawn. There are still a lot of fish on beds and there will continue to be fish on beds until a little after the next full moon which is at the end of the month! But now that a solid 50% of the fish have spawned you can do some serious post spawn patterning in preparation for KNOCKING THEIR LIGHTS OUT! The shad spawn just weeks after the bass spawn (in roughly 70* water) so get your top waters, flukes, spinnerbaits and swimbaits ready... EVERYWHERE!

Lake Chatuge:

Temp: 67-71

Clarity: 3-7ft

When you are fishing Lake Chatuge you have to take in account that Lake Chatuge is one of the most densely populated lakes with baitfish in the southeast! There are threadfin shad, gizzard shad and blueback herring with blueback herring being the staple food source. Herring and shad spawn on long points with a hard bottom or in very specific area on the points! Some points on Chatuge are primarily clay but they do have gravel mixed in! BURN your flukes, work your walkers and steady reel your swimmers and you'll get chewed up! Largemouth will be mixed in but a majority of your big 'uns will be in shallow back water!

Fontana Lake:

Temp: 68-70

Clarity: 8ft-12ft

Fontana is still filled with little dinky fish and probably will be until the department of fish and wildlife decide to implement some kind of fish management program. You will run into your decent fish by going for decent fish, you'll still manage to catch some dinks but you just have to believe it's going to happen! We like staying shallow and hunting for big fish with frogs and swimbaits!

Lake Glenville:

Temp: 64-66

Clarity: 3ft-5ft

It's about that time of the year up at Glenville! Top water is the only thing you need to throw starting in a couple weeks! This lake has the mojo when the herring spawn is on!

Bear Creek Lake:

Temp: 61-65

Clarity: 15ft

The lake has fish swimming shallow everywhere! There is an abundance of shallow bait over top of tree's and load of bass on the banks! Bed fish, flip and swim some baits next to tree's and it'll be on!

Fishing Report 4/25/16: Lake Chatuge, Lake Glenville, Fontana Lake and Bear Lake

General Notes: This past week was one of the best big fish weeks I can recall in a while! Fish were on beds, fish were staging and you could catch them fishing your strengths just about anywhere! Our best 5 fish went over 20lbs almost everyday last week and we had 4 fish over 7lbs total on the week (technically 5 if you include an 8 pound walleye)! Here are some tips, techniques and things to look for if you hit the water this week!

Lake Chatuge:

Temp: 64-68

Clarity: 2-5ft Depending on your location

Fish are shallow! You can fish points and have your fun with spotted bass but if you're looking to frame a picture, fish shallow. In the morning fish are chasing bait in the backs of pockets, cast and wind a herring imitator! As the sun gets up they are locking on to spawn! I personally think 5 big bites is better than 20 dink bites so go hunting for big bass when the sun gets up and warm! If you are not comfortable with bed fishing or want to learn how to become better, we would love to take you and show you how we land giant bed fish! We had 21lbs 2oz on Saturday with a 9lb 5oz kicker! Bed fishing was the ticket!

Fontana Lake:

Temp: 65-68

Clarity: 8ft-12ft

Run down the bank with a worm to catch the fire out of 10"-12" fish, go to the backs of creeks to find the largemouth! They live there year round and catchable right now! Flipping, top water and floating worm will catch the bigger fish!

Lake Glenville:

Temp: 60-64

Clarity: 4ft-6ft

Best lake in the south east is continuing to produce great bags and sizeable fish! A tournament this past weekend took 18lbs! The fish are all over wood and docks! You can catch some big top water smallmouth and run shallow area's for largemouth! It's lights out!

Bear Creek Lake

Temp: 61-65

Clarity: 15ft

The lake has fish swimming shallow everywhere! There is an abundance of shallow bait over top of tree's and load of bass on the banks!

Achieving the Next Level: Confidence, Perseverance & Passion in Fishing

     There is a "next level" that everyone possesses in everything they do! As I sit back and peck at this keyboard trying to figure out what to blog about on this rainy off day, that is the thought that keeps running through my mind! How do I and others achieve the "next level?" "Next level" is obviously relative to where you are but regardless of where you are, achieving the "next level" takes a lot of growth! Whether you are fun fishing or fishing competitively it is YOU vs. THE FISH and it's almost entirely a mental battle! Being that it's mostly a mental battle, almost all the growth that will occur will be with your mental game! Today I wanted to break down the three most important weapons when I am out on the water (none are equipment)!

#1 Confidence- There is a next level you achieve when your approach goes from "I hope we catch them" to "I know we are going to catch them! It just depends on when, where and how!" As a young guide I use to get butterflies and nervous when I would take people out. I wasn't fully confident in my ability as a fisherman and as a teacher of the craft. I would always second guess my decisions! But one day I realized something... I am on the water 4 to 6 days a week, we always catch them pretty good and I just need to relax and know it's going to happen! I had to let God's timing for our day take root! You see, optimism is the faith that leads to achievement! I know we can use a select few baits and catch fish year round, the confidence in knowing you can always catch fish will free you up to try and hit a homerun more often!

#2 Perseverance- I love watching the 2003 Bassmaster Classic when Mike Iaconelli is screaming and crying "NEVER GIVE UP!!!" Or the next year in 2004 Takahiro Omori caught three giants in his last 3 casts to win the Classic right here in North Carolina! I can not tell you how many days and trips I have had when the best technique was just persevering! Galatians 6:9 says "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Sometimes you just have to put your head down and grind! Your hard work will be blessed, just hold on for a little longer! These are some persevering pictures! Each one of these fish or bags were strung together in the final hour or even minutes of the days!

#3 Passion- Passion breeds success! The more passionate you are about something the better chance you have at achieving something great with it. I notice a lot of people want the glory, achievements and the accolades but they are not passionate enough to stuggle for it. Proverbs 18 says your gift will make room for you! Believe that, pursue it and share your passion!

I really do hope and pray that this helps you put more fish in the boat! If you are looking for an awesome experience while fishing Lake Glenville, Lake Chatuge, Fontana Lake or Bear Creek Lake we would love to guide you to your Dream Catch! Visit DreamCatcherGuides.com or call us @ 443-534-4900