Burke Lake October Fishing
Sunday, October 4th, 2009
The lake is still busy as the weather continues to remain fairly warm. A couple of conditions to note. First, the water levels are very low nowadays. That means there are many weedy shoreline areas that a bank angler can now access. Just find a spot and get beyond the brush so you can cast. Be careful as the newly exposed shoreline can be muddy and/or slippery. The second condition to note is that the water is now very clear. On sunny days, this makes the fishing very challenging. As an example, I walked over to the head waters of the lake on a sunny afternoon. With my polarizing sunglasses I was able to see a few smallish bass parked in the shallows. I then casted a shad colored 5 inch paddle tailed soft plastic bait past them and worked it closer slowly. The two bass darted toward the bait, examined it, and then swam off. How’s that for a rejection? I guess if I can see them that clearly, they can see whatever bait I’m throwing clearly too. Later on, I switched to a Yamamoto double tail grub on a Texas rig with a small bullet weight. I wanted something a little smaller with a lot of natural action that I could still work slowly through water with a slight current. I finally got a bite and reeled in a small 10″ bass. Although it was a small bass, I was just happy to get a bite. I do know that there are big bass in the shallows this time of the year however. My last trip to Burke was a week prior and I was able to spot a LMB in the 3 lb + range roaming the shallows. I wasn’t able to trigger a bite that time either. So… anybody have a proven pattern for clear water Fall fishing at Burke?