Clarks Hill Fishing Report – October 2008

Clarks Hill: Level: 14.2 feet below full pool. Temp: 76-78 degrees. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Bill Crompton had a bass heavier than 6 pounds in the boat on the morning of Sept. 22. “He hit a merthiolate floating worm on a point in about 7 feet of water,” said Bill. Concentrate on main-lake ditches and points on the lower end of the lake, said Bill. He’ll be working floating worms, flukes, Zara Spooks and a Gunfish in these areas all through October. Fish will also school early and late in these areas. “They’ll be coming to the top schooling in 40 feet of water sometimes,” said Bill. As the water really begins to cool off toward the end of the month, look for bass to push shallower.

Stripers: Guide William Sasser looks for lots of schooling action this month. “Look around Parksville and Plum Branch,” said William. “Thing Poppers and Sammys usually work well, but some days you just have to experiment. Fishing live bluebacks will also be great this month with most of our fish coming from 40 to 70 feet of water fishing 30 feet deep along the river channels and secondary creek channels. Trust your electronics. If you don’t see fish on it, keep looking until you do. Last october was our most consistent fish-producing month.”

Crappie: Very good. In addition to the incredible striper fishing this month, William really likes October to minnow fish for slabs. “We’ll fish tree tops in 20 to 40 feet of water fishing 15 to 20 feet deep with No. 1 gold-aberden hooks and No. 5 split-shots,” said William. “Good electronics are key to finding creekbeds in the right water depth that hold large numbers of crappie. Soap Creek and Amity are great places to start looking. Limits of crappie are normal for October.”