By Steve McCorkle “Colonel”, stevemccorkle61@yahoo.com
All species have been biting well and establishing a pattern for fish has not been too difficult. The water temps have been pretty warm with temps in the low to mid 80’s. The water temperatures at the shoals is much cooler with temperatures in the 70’s.
The bass patterns are still the same for September. Fish structure such as docks and blow-downs mostly shallow near deep water or fish deep structure on points and drop-offs. Topwater baits such as buzzbaits, swimbaits, poppers and jerkbaits work well in the early morning and late afternoon. Weightless trick worms also work well around grass beds and under docks where you may not be able to cast other topwater baits. As the sun comes up, switch to a Carolina rig worm or crankbait and fish deeper water along creek and river ledges. On the main lake, concentrate fishing in the main creeks and in the back of coves fishing docks and weed beds. Upriver, concentrate in the deeper creeks and pockets and along the riverbanks with heavy cover. At night, bass can also be caught fishing the lights on docks, especially the submerged lights.
Stripers and hybrids can be caught upriver around the shoals, on the main lake around rocky points and deep water or at night around lighted docks. The best baits are jerkbaits, rubber minnow baits, swimbaits, spinners such as Red Fish Magic or live shad or minnows.
The crappie are still biting under the bridges and around docks with deep water at night as long as the dock has good lighting to attract baitfish and the crappie. Crappie are also biting early in the morning and late in the evening around submerged structure. The best baits are minnows.
Bream, shellcracker and other sunfish are biting well. Target the back of coves, around docks and in the backwaters upriver. Live bait works best with crickets and earthworms being the best baits. If you prefer to use artificial baits, then small spinners in chartreuse or yellow work best. I really like to catch bream using a fly rod and a small popper or foam fly. This is a little more challenging but is a lot of fun watching the bream come up and hit the surface.
Catfish are also biting real well on Lake Harding. Catfish can be caught around docks and other deep water structure. Best baits are chicken livers, stink baits, dough baits or even raw hot dogs. Most people fish for catfish by using a bottom technique.
This time of year I spend most of my time fishing from a kayak and fishing around the shoals. There are shoals on the north end of the lake and also there are several other small lakes in the area along the Chattahoochee River. I prefer to fish these locations because there is no boat traffic and no jet skis to contend with. Also I enjoy fishing for shoal bass. Although they may be smaller for the most part, shoal bass are very aggressive and fight extremely hard. When fishing for shoal bass, I prefer to use a Texas rig worm with ¼ ounce weight or smaller or a swimbait. When fishing the shoals I recommend you fish with a buddy, wear a PFD, be aware of the water release schedules and make sure your gear is in waterproof containers and secured well. I also recommend you paddle your canoe or kayak in calm water before trying to navigate shoals to get used to the stability of your boat.