Lake Burton Fishing Report – September 2006

Burton: Level: Full pool. Temp: Mid 80s. Clarity: Clear.

Bass: Slow, said Daniel Workman. “There haven’t been any big catches lately,” he said. Daniel has been experimenting with some different baits, including a 10-inch swim bait. “I have caught a 3 1/2-lb. spot on it, and a 5 1/2-lb. largemouth,” he said. He has been fishing the bait on spinning gear and flipping it under the front of deeper boat docks. “A lot of fish will follow it out and not hit it,” he said. “You have to keep it moving. They don’t seem to like it if you stop it.” Daniel said he has also had some luck with a tandem-arm spinnerbait called a Smokin’ Mantis, that is available at the Smokin’ Fisherman in Clermont. “It gives the fish a different look,” said Daniel. “In the clear water at Burton, the fish have just been slapping at a regular spinnerbait, but when they hit this one, they hit it hard — swimming right through it.” When he isn’t trying new ideas, worms remain the staple at Burton, and nighttime is the best time. He fishes a six-inch worm with a 1/8-oz. Texas rig, and he keeps the bait moving, swimming the worm. The worm color is green pumpkin. “On these clear-water mountain lakes, if you aren’t throwing green pumpkin, you are backing up,” he said. Fish the worm in brushpiles in the 15- to 25-foot depths on main-lake points and humps. According to Daniel, to date there has been almost no topwater activity on Burton.

Trout: With the the thermocline in place, the only thing that has changed about the best way to catch brown trout in Burton is depth. Last week the thermocline, and the magic depth for catching trout was 30 feet. The optimum water temperature and oxygen level will be just about the thermocline, and over the next month or so the fish should be squeezed into a fairly narrow band in the lower end of the lake. The best methods remain the same: downlining live bait or trolling blueback imitations. The best area remains the same, too — from the dam roughly to the mouth of Murray Cove. This pattern should hold up throughout September, then falling water temperatures will encourage the fish to scatter.