Well, the leaves are turning and starting to fall and it’s a great time to be on the water. Some of the very best fishing you will ever get is in the fall season. When the water temperature starts falling and chilling the surface, the fish recognize the change and start feeding up for the long winter ahead. One day my uncle Gary, who taught me how to fish, took me bass fishing. It was a cloudy day and cool. He said, we’re gonna topwater all day. There was no such thing as a bass boat in those days, just tin lizzies with a 15 or 20 horsepower tiller motor. Nothing fancy. We motored around to a few spots and cast chuggers to some stumps and rocks plus anything else we thought would hold a bass. We had caught a few bass but nothing outstanding. We came around a small point in the creek with high banks and there was two trees in the water which has recently fell in the lake. They had crossed each other when they fell and made an ideal place to fish topwater. Uncle Gary told me to cast to the trees and I did. I popped the chugger along and nothing. Not even a taste. He looked at me and said I can’t believe that. He picked up his rod and cast it across the trees and boom a six pound bass nailed it. He laughed and said cast into the trees again. I did and nothing. He rolled his cigarette around in his mouth for a few seconds, picked up his rod again and cast it across the trees. Boom, another nice four pound bass was dancing on the water with that chugger hanging in its mouth. After releasing the bass back into the water, he politely told me to cast into the trees again, which I did, nothing, not nothing touched my Heddon chugger. I saw him reach for his rod again. He looked me in the eye and said, you recon there might be one more bass in there. With your luck, yep! Pop, pop, pop, no strike this time. He said son, throw that chugger in there one more time for me. I did and wouldn’t you know it, baaaam, a two pound bass took my plug and danced across the water. After I released the bass he looked at me square into my eyes and said, always fish slow and never get in a hurry to run and gun from one spot to another. Fish each place thoroughly and you will catch more fish. I never forgot that lesson on bass fishing. To this day, I slow down and fish everything more than one cast.
Bass fishing on Wylie is excellent in October with topwater and crankbaits are my choices. The creeks will hold a lot of bass. If it gets tough, use a creature bait such as a zoom lizard.
Crappie fishing is at its peak, trolling in the creeks with minnow rigs work well. Shooting docks and brush piles is a great way to get a quick limit. Tip your jig with crappie nibbles and you will get more bites.
Catfishing is excellent trolling in creeks early. Start shallow and work your way down the creek to deep water using cut baits.
White perch fishing is good. They are usually in 20+ feet of water in the creeks or around the mouth of creeks. Use your electronics to help locate fish. Until next time, good fishing and take a kid fishing.
Jerry Neeley
Carolina’s Fishing Guide Service
704-867-5116
Jerry@carolinasfishing.com