By Shane Goebel
October in the Western North Carolina Mountains is a fantastic time to hit the water. With the beautiful views of the changing leaves and the cool comfortable temps, a day on the water seems like a dream come true after a hot summer. Not to mention the striper fishing is also super awesome. This is the perfect time to hit the lake and experience some extreme fall striper fishing, and what’s the best way to do that? By booking a trip with Murphy, NC’s #1 striper guide service: Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service. We’ve been striper fishing these mountain lakes a longer than anyone and have what it takes to put you on some huge fish.
Currently, Lake Hiwassee is 11 feet below full pool. Water clarity is clear and water temps are in the low 80s.
Striper fishing has been absolutely phenomenal. We have seen some huge schools of stripers and these monsters are hungry! We’ve averaged 20-30 stripers a morning for the last month or so on most of our trips. Talk about some exciting fishing. Plus, we’re starting to see a good increase in size. We’ve had a bunch of fish already in the 20-30 pound range! The early-morning and evening bites are your best times to see action. We’ve also had some heavy bites in the mid-day hours. With the cooling water temps, continue to target creek mouths and points off the main lake channel but also look for schools to move back into the creeks. The majority of our fish have been caught from Point 6 to the dam. For October, in the early morning hours, freelines and planer boards will work well. As soon as the sun peeks through, we are going right back to down lines. For those who wish not to troll, October is also a great downline month. Just keep an eye on those electronics. The top-water bite has picked up a lot, so keep a spook or a Red Fin at the ready to snag surface-busting fish. The fish will start to spread out here soon and move in to the creeks. We will then move to all planer boards and free lines. We will also start pulling bigger baits. This is a great lake to catch some very nice small mouth and walleye. We always snag a bunch of those while striper fishing, so this can be an exciting lake to fish.
October is a fantastic month for catching some great trophy stripers on Lake Hiwassee. Give Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service a call and let the area’s #1 rated guide service put you on some of WNC’s most explosive striped bass. We are Murphy, NC and Blairsville, GA’s only full-time guide service, specializing in striped and hybrid bass. We also serve Lakes Nottely, Chatuge and Blue Ridge. And, for all your live blueback herring and tackle needs, check out Hughes General Store in Blairsville, GA. They carry everything you need for a successful day of fishing. So, come fish with the pros for the opportunity to be featured in Angler Magazine, and let us help you get your fish on!
Shane Goebel owns Big Ol’ Fish Guiding Service and is a member of The Angler Magazine Fishing Team. See the website at www.bigolfish.com or call (828) 361-2021