Got to the lake at 6:30 & fished til 4 pm when I saw those thunderstorms rolling in. Went solo today & did a lot of exploring. Fished a ton of reed beds with 0 luck. The reed beds just ain't what they used to be. They go way further out than they used to, and have a lot of dead shoots everywhere, so you are constantly getting hun up. Anyway, water temp was 90-95 in most areas of the lake. Did find quite a few fish in some old areas I hadn't fished this year so that was a happy surprise. Ended up wit 144 total...all sunfish...no bass. I did have one GIANT bass grab a 9 inch bluegill & jumped to let go right at the boat. Good thing I carry toilet paper in the boat It had to be 6-7 pounds easy. Also tried for rios on the rocks but had no luck. All fish caught on various color Gulp Alive minnows & all released to fight another day. Rained on me all the way from Buckees to the house... no chance of rain today...

Awesome post and some super nice fish. Good job Steve!



Side Note: It has been a strange year, weather wise.

Awesome catching trip......Beautiful fish....

Good job Steve. Im still up in Ohio. Hopefully I will get out on the water sometime next week. I think the fish are in the reeds, but up in them like probably a lot of shallow bass are. Its the most reed cover I have seen on that lake in years. Also its the most shoreline cover the bait fish and bluegill have seen in years. So I think there probably a bunch of them in there hiding out. But that's just my guess.

Good job Vogey. Bass have been active for me. Catching several nice ones each trip out.


Side Note: Nice slabs.

Thanks for the report Vogey. Maybe the big sunfish will show back up in the reeds in September like a couple years ago.

Jamie...Maybe, but not holding my breath. Things have changed a lot on that lake, but will still keep trying. That's how I got my start on FCL (fishing the reeds) & hoping for a comeback.
Thanks Curtis, Chuck, SK & Tom for the reply's...

Steve I have not fished Fayette in awhile but for the times I did the reeds were pretty active during the early mornings this time of year.

Those are some nice gillz you're catching!

Vogey you have those Fayette fish dialed in. Nice fish as always.


Side Note: Do you think this past freeze we had last winter as changed the patterns some? Also seems to me that a lot of rain water has been filling the lakes up this year. Do you think the added freshwater has something to do with the bite and patterns?

Chuck...Have not tried the reeds early...worth a shot.
Thanks Yesenia...
Tom...Patterns on FCL are pretty constant because of the power plant & it's affects. However, everything did start about a month late this year because it took the water a little longer to warm up. Water levels on FCL never fluctuate either way more than around 10 inches regardless of rain, so that really has no influence on the bite or patterns for bluegill. Thanks for the reply & questions.

You are spot on Steve. I think the only change the freeze made was that it set some water bodies back a month effecting the spawn. For what I am seeing now the freeze did take out a lot of Rios. I have only caught a few this year. I have also not seen many Rios here in South Central Texas and the areas around Blanco and Marble Falls. Usually I see a lot of them. The only places I am seeing some good numbers of Rios is the Nueces Canyon and they are still not biting. (Nest duty). I would also note that the waterbodies I fish are all in excellent condition due to the rain we have been getting.

Spot on Vogey. Keep catching those Fayette slabs.