By Steve McCorkle “Colonel”
This year has really been a strange year when considering the weather and the conditions on Lake Harding. We had a very mild winter and then a cooler than normal spring. Now that we are in summer, the temperatures are still lower than normal, but the humidity is outrageous. We have had more rain than normal, and this kept the water temps lower than normal, but they are now on the rise. The water will be warmer on the main lake and a little cooler up the river. Shallow areas should also be considerably warmer. July provided good fishing on Lake Harding and I expect that to continue into August, but the fish should move into deeper water for the most part as the lake transitions and the water temps rise.
Most bass will be able to be caught on points and ledges but can still be caught shallow especially in the mornings, late afternoons and at night. For bass that are deeper I recommend a Carolina rig worm in June bug, a crankbait, or a jig. I also recommend slowing down your presentation of the lure and keep your bait in or around structure as much as possible. In the morning and afternoon, bass should be able to be caught in shallow water near deep water, shallow points, or around structure using a trick worm, buzzbait, swimbait or Texas rig worm. These bass should be feeding and should be more aggressive, so you should be able to cover a lot of area quickly.
The crappie are still biting, but most crappie are being caught in water 15 feet or deeper. Crappie can be caught using minnows mostly around submerged structure around deeper water docks and around bridge pylons.
Striped bass can still be caught this time of year, and I recommend fishing the shoals upriver for stripers. The water temps at the shoals are still in the mid 70’s. The best baits are jerkbaits, swimbaits, or Rat-L-Traps.
Shoal bass can also be caught at the shoals, and even though they do not get as big as largemouth bass, they fight like much larger fish and can be real fun to catch.
Bream are really biting right now, and if you have been bass fishing along the bank and thrown a worm with a chartreuse tail, you know this as they really hammer that bait even though you do not catch them. Look for bream along the bank upriver or back in the backwaters. On the main lake, fish around docks and along the banks with good structure. The best baits for bream are crickets, red worms, small spinners or by using a fly rod with small poppers or flies.
Catfish are biting well now too. Fish on the bottom around structure or on ledges and use bait such as chicken livers, stink baits or even hot dogs.
Nighttime is also a great time to fish this time of year. Bass, stripers, catfish and crappie can be caught at night. Fish docks with lights using a Texas rig worm, swimbait, jerkbait, or rubber minnow. The best lights are the lights that are the green lights below the water surface or mounted just below docks that light up a large area around the docks.
Good luck fishing.