by Steve ‘Colonel’ McCorkle
Other than a cold snap we had last weekend, May has brought in warmer temperatures and June will begin the Dog Days of Summer. The water temperatures are getting into the upper 60’s to lower 70’s and will continue to move into the mid 70’s into June. The water is mostly clear, and the water levels seem to be steady at about 1 to 1.5 feet below full pool.
The bass have moved off the bed in early May and now are either shallow near cover or moving into deeper water. Fishing should be the best in the morning and evening and the night bite will begin to turn on. There are several patterns that will work as we move into June. Bass will be around docks and other shallow structure and at night will be around docks with lights. For the shallow bass, the best baits will be trick worm, Texas rig worm, mop jig or jerkbait. Around weed beds and shallow flats a buzzbait will work well especially very early in the morning or late in the evening. At night, Texas Rig worm, a swimbait or a scrounger with rubber fish works well around the lights. Bass will also be deep on ledges and points and can be caught using Carolina rig worm, hair jig or crankbait.
Shoal bass can also be caught in the shoals in the north end of Lake Harding using small Texas rig worm, swimbait, Red Fish Magic and buzzbaits. Additionally, the small lakes above Lake Harding such as Langdale Lake or Crow Hop Lake are really hot right now for shoal bass. Fishing these lakes requires a small boat or kayak.
For those folks going to night fish, be courteous of the residents on the lake and keep your noise to a minimum. If the homeowner turns the lights off when you are fishing them, just understand there was probably someone who fished their dock and was not courteous, so do not get mad. Also, I recommend that you not shine bright lights around houses or have generators running on your boats in the late night hours. Be respectful of the folks that live on the lake, and they will respect you.
Crappie have moved out of the shallows and are now in deeper water. Crappie can still be caught around docks that have deep water and structure. They also can be caught under the bridges. Minnows are the best bait for crappie during this time of year. Fishing with lights at night under the bridges also produces good stringers of crappie this time of year.
Striped bass are still being caught, but they are mostly schooling in deeper water this time of year. Most of the stripes are located deep but can be caught on flats near deep water early in the morning and late in the evening. Best baits are spinnerbaits and crankbaits, and big live shad will work great.
Sunfish are shallow and are usually on bed during the full moon, so target shallow water with cover and you should catch these fish in good numbers. The best baits are live crickets and worms, small Beetle Spins and flies using a fly rod.
The catfish bite is also good. Catfish will bite most anything as long as it smells bad. Stink bait, raw hot dogs, chicken livers, cut bait, etc. make great baits. Fish on the bottom in water ranging from 6 to 20 feet.
Enjoy the fishing on Lake Harding. Just remember that summer brings out more folks and more boats, so be careful on the water.