Lake Burton Fishing Report August 2013

Burton: Level: Full pool. Temp: 79 degrees. Clarity: Stained.

Bass: Fair to good. Guide Wes Carlton reports, “The largemouth bite has been fairly decent. Most of the fish we are catching are in 16 to 18 feet of water in the creek pockets. Concentrate your efforts near grass or brush. Try using a bream-colored bait or a pumpkin finesse worm Texas rigged.”

Brown Trout: Good. “The big brown trout are concentrated on the lower stretches of the lake. Most of these fish are holding on a 40- to 50-foot bottom,” Wes said. “We have had some large fish lately with two being more than 8 pounds. Most of the fish we have caught have been trolling crankbaits in the 20- to 30-foot depths. Try using a small Rapala Sr5 or Sr7 in natural colors or a Lucky Craft 78 Pointer in bright colors. Speed is the key to catching these fish. One day they like it slow, about 2.3 mph, and the next day they seem to want the baits fast at 3.3 mph. Alternate speeds with slow turns. This pattern should continue over the next couple of weeks.”

Yellow Perch: “The yellow perch have finally set up in the grass flats in the backs of creeks and pockets,” Wes said. “I rely heavily on my electronics for locating yellow perch. They hold very tight to the bottom but are in great numbers. The last few days we have had good success using a chartreuse Jiffy Jig. Bounce the jig slowly up and down off the bottom in the 18- to 20-foot depth. Where there is one perch, there are many! This pattern should be effective for the next few weeks.”