Piedmont Lake Fishing Report

Current Fishing Report: Good To Very Good

SUMMER. Early and late in the day, muskie cruise shallower cover in search of food in 3 to 10 feet of water. During mid day they prefer the cooler water 8 to 20 feet deep. Muskie concentrate near weed edges, creek channels, and points with quick access to deeper water in Summer. Ledges, reefs, weedbeds, islands and channel edges are the primary areas to find muskie during the warmer months of Summer. Some of the larger muskie may also suspend in open water, just outside these areas. Trolling or drift fishing reportedly produces some nice catches, using spoons, big spinners and deep diving crankbaits.

FALL. Cooling water moves these predators into shallower water to feed. They spend other times of the day on points and flats, from 5 to 12 feet deep, along drops into even deeper water. This is a good time to catch a trophy fish. Main lake channel edges, points around secondary creek inlets, mid-lake humps, and flats around creek mouths, are all popular areas in Fall. Later in Fall, they drop into 10 to 15 feet of water, often moving shallower for short periods of time, mostly in late afternoon when the shallows are the warmest.

WINTER. Current water temperatures are in the mid 30's, and dropping. Muskie have moved deeper and hold on structure in 12 to 25 feet of water. Points, deep weedbeds, drop-offs, channel edges and corners around the mouths of rivers are good places to find them this time of year. Ice fishing can be productive when the ice is safe, but muskie are being caught all through cold-winter season. Cold water causes muskie to be less active in winter, due to slowed metabolism. Slow moving, or motionless presentations are in order. Jigging spoons, ciscoes, shiners and suckers are favorites of muskie enthusiasts.

SPRING. Muskie move from their deep wintering habitat into shallow bays and flats for Spring spawning. They prowl 2 to 12 feet deep, once water temperatures get into the 50's. Shoreline flats and weedbeds, in the upper section of the lake are popular spawning grounds. Noisy, flashy, and bright color lures are ideal during this time as they are very aggressive. After the spawn is over and water temperatures rise, concentrate on weed lines, and drop-offs along the edges of weedy flats, 6 to 20 feet deep. Big spinners, bass assassins, and Johnson spoons will all attract hungry muskie.

Current Fishing Report: Good

Good numbers of saugeye are being caught using forward-facing, and side scanning, sonar while fishing from a boat. Fishing is better as anglers are focusing on areas with good numbers of saugeye. This is true when anglers are trolling or casting. Anglers fishing from the bank still have to search the old fashion way, via test casting, until fish are located.

SUMMER. Saugeye spend summer relating to creek channels, main-lake points, and deep flats adjacent to the old river channel. Fishing is often best during low-light periods and after dark when fish move shallower to feed on shad schools. This is when they move shallower to feed. Anglers report good catches on crankbaits, and jigs tipped with minnows in 5 to 12 feet of water. They are being caught up shallow around the mouth of coves, and on shallow flats, early and late. The rest of the time they are cruising flats and creek channel edges, where they are harder to locate. Most saugeye caught during the middle of the day are holding in 12 to 25 feet of water, where blade baits, spoons and jigs tipped with minnows are the ticket.

FALL. Fall is arguably the best season for Piedmont saugeye. Cooling water temperatures trigger aggressive feeding, and fish follow schools of shad onto points, flats, and channel intersections. Early Fall brings cooler temperatures to shallow water, drawing saugeye and baitfish into the shallows. Saugeye, much like walleye, like to slowly cruise flats 6 to 18 feet deep, close to deeper water. They actively feed at night, and in low-light conditions. They primarily feed close to the bottom on baitfish and small sunfish. As Fall continues, jigs, swimbaits, and spoons are all good choices.

WINTER. Winter saugeye remain active and often school in deeper water near channels and drop-offs. Slow jigging presentations can produce excellent catches. Saugeye often migrate to slow-moving waters below dams, during winter. They primarily feed on gizzard shad and other small fish, close to the bottom, in 15 to 30 feet of water. They occasionally moving into 8 to 15 feet during low-light periods. Blade baits, jigs, swimbaits, spoons, live bait, and worm harness spinners all work well. Trolling, slow drifting and vertical jigging while anchoring along drop offs are all popular options..

SPRING. Anglers are finding saugeye in the shallows, especially rocky areas and inlet channels, where they will spawn once the water warms to the mid 40's. Afterwards, they move to shallow points, flats, shoals and ledges just off shore nearby their spawning location. Bright colored jigs, tipped with minnows or nightcrawlers are catching them in 2 to 12 feet of water. Spinnerbaits, jerkbaits and crankbaits are also working when saugeye are up shallow. During March and April saugeye spawn in 2 to 8 feet of water, around rocky shorelines, riprap, gravel points, and tributary mouths. Later in Spring focus on deep points, drop offs, submerged structure, rock ledges, deeper flats and edges adjacent to deeper water.

Current Fishing Report: Good To Very Good

Smallmouth bass fishing is currently experiencing good results using the latest high-tech fish finders and forward-facing sonar. Especially anglers who fish from a boat, are improving their catch rate. Even when fishing is slow, it's easier to catch them when you know exactly where they are holding. The advent of new lures and equipment has also improved success for anglers fishing from the bank. Savvy anglers, who study smallmouth movements and patterns, continue to catch nice fish, even without the new technology.

SUMMER. During the warmer months, Smallmouth bass typically feed shallow early and late in the day, in 5 to 12 feet of water. They are often caught on topwater, crankbaits, swimbaits, Ned rigs and tube baits. Smallmouth bass here feed on crawfish, gizzard shad and small sunfish. They prefer rocky or gravel bottom areas, as this is where crayfish live. Popular Summer holding areas include rip rap shorelines, as well as rocky points, humps and structure near the thermocline. During the hotter parts of the day, they are being caught on points, humps, and ledges around 12 to 25 feet deep. Often these deeper fish tend to school, so finding them can deliver some fast action.

FALL. Once Fall arrives smallmouth move into coves and bays, 5 to 15 feet deep. They thrive in the cooler, shallow water, which is an ideal environment for them. Locals report that tube jigs, and drop shot rigs with small worms or shad shaped plastics, are popular in 10' water or deeper. Worms, jigs, deep-diving crankbaits, swimbaits, and slow-rolled spinnerbaits, are also successful when bass are shallow to mid depths. Later in Fall, smallies may move a bit deeper.

WINTER. Winter isolates smallies around deeper structure, points, flats and creek channels, often suspending in open water above these features. Smallmouth bass become less active during winter and typically hold around deep rocky structure and channel edges. Slow presentations are necessary to entice strikes. T hey can generally be found from 20 to 35 feet deep. Jigging spoons, tube baits, drop-shot worms, jigs and Ned rigs tempt smallmouth to bite in deep water. I like to work these deeper haunts very slowly in cold weather, as the bass are somewhat sluggish. Here they hold, feeding less frequently, awaiting warmer water to return in Spring. Smallmouth fishing can be very good on cold, windy, cloudy and rainy days.

SPRING. Water temperatures have risen into the 50's, and smallmouth are moving from deep wintering spots to shallower water, just outside spawning areas. They are feeding aggressively in 8 to 18 feet of water at this time, and are typically caught on jerkbaits, crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, and crayfish imitating plastics. Spring provides some of the year's best smallmouth fishing. Pre-spawn fish move onto rocky points and flats, and bass remain relatively shallow during the spawn and post-spawn periods. Spawning activity happens May through early June in 2 to 8 feet of water over gravel, rock, and hard-bottom areas. Some of the better spawning areas include protected, shallow flats and points. Females then move to deeper water and males remain to guard the eggs, and then the fry. After a couple weeks, the males also move into 15 to 20 feet deep, and feed aggressively. Crankbaits, tube baits, Ned rigs, plastic worms, spoons and swimbaits are catching smallies during this period.