Blue Ridge
Temp 81
Level full
Clarity 13ft
August was brutally hot and busy on the lake. We had some great days and nights fishing for walleye . Lots of avg size 18 to 20″ fish with a few 23 to 24″ fish mixed in . The fish we were targeting were mainly in the 50 to 60′ range .
September on Blue Ridge Lake is a transaction month . First few weeks are summer but by the end of the month it will be Fall. What does this mean for the fish ? Time to move again. Look for the walleye to start moving up with the bait fish . As the month goes on and the water starts to cool off a bit the bait will start to move back near shore or move down to the bottom of the lake where temps are more stable . Both these scenarios are good for walleye fishing. The jigging spoon is the weapon of choice this month for us and we fish a variety of colors and sizes depending on the fished reaction. The fish will start to hug the bottom on the points with bait , mark the fish and drop the spoon straight down to them on light fluorocarbon leader and give it 10or 15 jigs . If the don’t eat move on . Don’t waist to much time on non responsive fish . You can replace the spoon with a night crawler for a live bait option. First light is going to be the best time as this is when the bait will start to move . Points 1,4, & 5 have all had good schools of fish on on near them in the 40 to 60ft range during the early morning hours . If they are not on the bottom looking in the same depths just off these areas will reveal suspended fish . These fish are often easier to target as they will be a bit more active. The night bite is a good option as well as the walleye will move to to feed on unprotected baitfish . Looking in 25 to 35 ft after dark is a great option to find feeding fish . The lakes still at full pool now but be aware the annual draw down will start by months end .
Carter’s
Temp 82
Level +/-8 ft from full daily
Clarity 5 ft
Aug and Sept walleye fishing on Carters is about big fish . Getting down deep and getting them in the net can be a trick but the reward of flakey white fillets is worth the effort . It might not be a numbers game here but the numbers on the scales don’t lie. We are seeing a good number of 5+ lb walleye come to the boat and some bigger ones than that a few times a week . For this reason we choose to target these bigger fish which can sacrifice numbers but the bigger fish are totally make up for it. Here you have to contend with the pump back schedule. If it’s on and running look for the fish to be super deep. If they are generating or the dam is closed the fish will pull up a bit and get on humps and ledges vs hanging in tree tops. We are still fishing spoons , trolling crank baits and fishing some live bait depending on conditions. When looking for these bigger fish a larger presentation is key big spoons or lures or even big live baits are getting the most attention. Presentation is more vital then location right now as the fish are scattered out over the entire lake . Move from spot to spot quickly and target fish on the sonar vertically and you should see some nice eyes in the box this month .
The striper bite has been either really good or non existent depending on the schedule from the Dam . We are fishing Big spoons and big live baits around schools of fish in the creek mouths and main lake points when they are deep or pulling Capt Macks URigs and bucktails in the backs of the creeks early or when we are marking fish suspended over deeper water later in the day . The bigger fish are in the smaller schools of 5 to 6 fish and the bigger schools seem to be the smaller fish in 6 to 8lb class . Trolling, deep dropping or power reeling can all be used right now for striped fish from Wurley Creek to Fisher Creek . The daily rain has the water above the big island pretty nasty right now
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