Not much has changed since my last report. I am still splitting my trips half crappie, half white bass but not for long. Fall has to come before long and that will cool the water temps. Once they get to about 60 the lake will turn-over and my deep white bass will be gone.

For now I am vertically fishing on points that drop off from 20ft.to nearly 40ft. so mid lake to south end. The trick is to identify what whites look like on your electronics. Several have reached out to me and not doing well. I tell them whites are easy to catch hard to find. Wind changes everything mood, positioning, active bite or dormant. I can see them on my Livescope all I need to do is get them interested and once I do I need several rods right on me to keep their interest. I have four rods rigged up with a half-ounce weight on bottom then go up a foot and tie on a 1/32oz. white hair jig on a short drop line. They love white and I use it all the time even when spoon fishing. No need for long casts we are just letting the rig go straight down. Then pop it off bottom a foot and let it free-fall back. Some days you don’t want to pop it up so radically and leave it on bottom for about five seconds or so. Wind and light penetration means everything.

End of the month they will be shallow on flats but only if we have a very strong wind. Otherwise they will be back in coves like Skull and Findley since they have a creek in the back and quick dropping shoreline with rock and gravel.

For the crappie I am fishing on brush, cubes and down trees still. The difference is they want to chase your bait. Will set and stare at a minnow until you move it or a boat wave does it for you. That is why I am also fishing a small jig on a long rod and pendulum fishing it right above structure. I love the Hammers that Lee makes or Brushpile Jigs. They stay on my Deep Ledge Jigs very well without ripping and he is making me some very shad looking colors now. White and chartreuse, pearl colors and about any glow bait has been my preference as of late since the lake is very clear.

I have very few three person trips left so my boat will be rigged up with three seats up on the nose so we can all fish the structure and pendulum fish it. This puts us all tight in the brush and not just near it. Then the minnows will be gone since I am doing very well now on just jigs. I look forward to this style every year and the crappie fishing will just get better as we get into October and November. Stable weather and stable water levels make fall the best fishing Shelbyville has. Big girls will soon come out to play and we will start seeing 13-15in. fat crappie.

I am about booked up for the rest of my season so don’t wait because like I said we have yet to see the best crappie fishing this year. I only have October 16th, November 13,25,26,27. Left

Steve Welch
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