G-Man Fishing

Its the summer doldrums again at Burke Lake. Even though the weather has been hot hot hot, my partner and I made it early and on a cloudy day. It seemed to be an excellent day for fishing so we rented a boat at the marina and then worked the weeded shoreline with spinner baits and soft plastics. Much to our disappointment, we had literally no bites whatsoever. We later drove over to a part of the shoreline with some steeper drop offs. My partner was throwing a Rapala DT-10 in the shad color at the shore while I worked a carolina rig. Its great to have a fishing buddy to work as a team with when out on the lake. Working a variety of representations means that we can find the right pattern for the day much faster than going it solo. Before we knew it, a decent sized channel catfish struck the crank bait. It isn’t the first time a catfish has taken an artificial bait and it shows that there are many ways to catch a ‘Cat’. Later on, I caught a 12″ largemouth on the carolina rig. The sun soon came out and we had to pack it in. I’ve now learned that during these hot months, you have to work baits deeper. The carolina rig was working around the 8-12′ depth. Look for places that have drop offs near the shore that provide cooler water. Having a fish finder to track the profile of the lake bottom was crucial. The last thing you want to do is roam all around the lake randomly when your time out on the water is limited.