August fishing report

Overview: Fishing is fair to good, but later this month, it should improve. The hot weather and heavy boat traffic h ave made most fishing best at night or early morning. The majority of the lake is clear, and the water temperature is in the 80s.

Largemouth bass: Fishing will be fair. Best lures will be shaky heads, deep-diving crank baits, large Texas-rigged plastic worms and jigs. Most largemouth bass are in their summer habitat. Best depths will be from the surface to 25 feet . Best areas will be deep ledges, rocky bluffs and brush piles. Early morning, late afternoon and at night will be the best time to fish . Some shad will continue coming to the shoreline later at night. Some bass will feed on top water later in the month.

Smallmouth bass: Fishing should be poor because of the high water temperatures. Best areas will be ledges, long points and humps. Best lures will be top-water lures, tube lures, drop-shot rigs and shaky heads. Best areas will be in the mid- to lower sections of the lake. Cloudy days will be the best time to try your luck.

Striped bass: Fishing will be good. Stripers will be caught mostly in the mid- to lower sections of the lake. Best lures will be swim baits, buck tails and Zoom flukes fished with 1⁄ 2- to 3⁄ 4-oz. jig heads used during the day. Vertical jigging will be a good method. Live bait and trolling will also be productive. The best depth should be from 20 to 60 feet . Best time to try your luck will be early morning and late afternoon.

Crappie: Fishing will be fair to poor. Crappie will be found 15 to 25 feet deep, and the best areas will be in the main creeks around docks, fallen trees and brush piles in the mid- to upper sections of the lake. Small live minnows and 1 ½-inch tubes and twister tail grubs fished on 1⁄ 16- to 1⁄ 8-oz. lead heads will work best. Small gulp minnows also work well when fished on small lead heads or drop-shot rigs. Light line (4-pound test) will help catch more crappie.

Tip of the month: Nighttime will be your best time to try your luck for bass. The stripers feed better early in the morning and late afternoon. If you have young children, bream are easily caught using night crawlers around most docks. Make sure to leave your running lights on after dark and wear your life jacket.

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