by Henry Cowen
www.henrycowenflyfishing.com
September in North Georgia is one of those funny fishing months where some years we start to see a little topwater activity shaping up by the end of the month and other years where nothing really happens until it cools down by the mid to end of October. What is great about September is that we are closer to the end of October (which is the true start of striper season). September is the one month where you really start to see the changes in the season taking place on all our area lakes.
As a North Georgia fly angler, you have a few options to keep an eye out for when fishing our area lakes and rivers. Fishing for carp has anglers getting in their last licks of the season. As the nighttime temperatures start to cool slightly, the carp will again take one more look at the flats for a meal before heading back into the river to find some food.
Not only are the carp anglers getting in their last licks, but so too are the river rats who search for stripers in the shallows before they make their journey south to get back to the lakes they call home for the next nine months. For river fisherman the best news of all is that September does not have as much pressure on the river fish as July and August does. Less pressure on a river usually means better fishing!
September can certainly be considered as the month for changes taking place. It is also the time of the season for hybrids on topwater on Lake Allatoona and Lake Hartwell. While most of our impoundments throughout North Georgia will see cooler nighttime temperatures, those impoundments further south may have to wait until October for the changes to begin. Those lakes that will see changes occur will begin to notice cooler lake surface water temperatures. Temperatures will start to cool down into the low 80âs, and with any luck, by the end of the month maybe even dropping to the 70âs.
Combine lower surface water temperatures with the lakes where the Corp of Engineers start to pull down the lakeâs water levels and you have the perfect environment for hybrids to start hitting the surface. This can lead to some fast and exciting topwater action. The fish are feeding on threadfin shad that range in the 1â to 3â size. It is a perfect opportunity for fly anglers to get in some great fishing. The topwater bite will happen at low light periods, and you can expect that from first light until 9am and then again from 5pm until dark will see the most action.
Even conventional anglers can get in on this great fishery. Just have a medium to medium light tackle outfit rigged with 10 pound test and a casting bubble along with a small fly and you will be set. Fly anglers should arm themselves with a 6-8 weight fly rod, intermediate fly line and a few small flies to be in the game. Best flies are small Clousers, Albie Anchovies and Somethinâ Else patterns.
Lakes like Hartwell, Clark Hill, Carters, West Point and Allatoona (yes the Dead Sea!) will see this topwater action. Lake Lanier, while not a hybrid lake, will see similar action with spotted bass schooling in September. With any luck you might even see small stripers in the 2-5 pound class hitting the surface by the end of the month. Use the same tactics that applies for hybrids and you too can get in on this action. Lanierâs 2013 year class of striped bass are thriving and should be in the 7-8 pound range come this fall. These fish can handle the lower oxygen levels better than their big brothers.
What this means for Lanier striper anglers is that you need to keep an eye out for surface feeding fish all over the south end of the lake. From Browns Bridge south to Buford Dam and everywhere in-between is the area you might find surface feeding stripers. I would key in on the area around Three Sisters as a good starting point. Afternoons will be the time to look for these surface feeders (especially if they are pulling water from Buford Dam).
Once we get toward the end of September, some folks will pull out their medium heavy tackle and start fishing at night for striped bass using Bomber Long A lures. While it might be just a tad early for this next pattern to heat up, you just never know when Lanier stripers will decide that fall is upon us. The changing of the weather will always cause the new season to begin.
If you have had enough of summer, now is the time to clean the tackle in preparation for the fall bite. Get new leaders rigged on the fly rods and change over the monofilament on your spinning tackle if you are not using braid.
One thing I love about September is it also means our beloved Georgia Bull Dawgs will begin their new season. I fully expect a 10-11 win season for Kirby and the boys this year. By the time UGA is 8-1 or 9-0, it wonât be long before the terns and gulls are back on the pond helping us locate the striped demons, and my drink of choice on the boat goes from a bottle of water to hot coffee. That is why I truly love September! We are simply getting closer to kick off on the pond. GO DAWGS and hope to see you on the pond as well.
Want to see what it will look like this fall on Lanier? Click on the video and enjoy. https://vimeo.com/227188094