September 2026 report
Follow the shad
All about the shad migration. The shad made a big move into the creeks, and the bass and crappie followed them in.
- Water temp
- 77–79°F
- Lake level
- Around 658 ft
- The bait
- Shad, in creeks
- Best depth
- Shallow
- The pattern
- Find the bait and you will find the fish. That was the whole month, bass or crappie — the shad decided where to start, and the shallow water they pushed into was where it happened.
- Crappie
- Getting shallow and following the shad, with the best of it on the shallow brush piles. A sixteenth-ounce jig with a Bobby Garland Baby Shad did the work. LiveScope to find them and put the jig right over their heads — once it is sitting above them it is game over.
- Bass
- Back in the creeks, on the shallow flats where the shad were. Topwater, a ChatterBait, crankbaits, a shaky head, jerkbaits and lipless crankbaits all caught fish. Shallow docks were worth flipping a worm or a jig at, and the laydowns and brush held fish too. Do not overlook the shallow water — when the bait moves up, the bass are not far behind.
Want a month like that?
Four, six or eight hours at a flat $100 an hour. Call or text and Mike will tell you what they are doing this week.